Anti-crisis manager: what is it's role in a crisis?

 

"I noticed the moment when things started to go wrong, and I knew how to correct mistakes. But he could not find the right people to carry out his plans," George Soros admitted. For sure, crisis management would have helped him in difficult times.

What is a crisis manager?

A crisis manager is a specialist who manages the rescue of an enterprise that is approaching collapse. In short, he understands the causes of the downturn, develops a strategy for getting out of the nosedive and implements it.

Visionary leaders ask for help as soon as they notice problems. Then the matter is limited to preventive measures. If the moment is missed, anti-crisis managers help to avoid bankruptcy and minimize losses.

Anti-crisis managers are top-class economists. They are professionals in finance, excellent analysts, they know how to plan, organize and control processes. They are versed in law, marketing, psychology, conflict resolution and many related fields.

Suppose a coffee maker that delighted with a fragrant drink began to flounder. Throw it away? Do not rush: try to disassemble the mechanism, find and fix the breakdown. Voila! Coffee teases my nostrils again.

Great, do not stop and buy beans of a different roast, try a new recipe and forget the way to your favorite coffee shop, because latte brewed at home is no worse and cheaper.

Upgrading a coffee maker, of course, is not comparable in scale to setting up business processes, but the essence is the same. It's just that crisis managers do not tighten the screws, but loose financial indicators.

Stages of work

Anti-crisis management is introduced at sinking enterprises.

Like any project, it has:

  • purpose
  • strategy
  • implementing its tasks,
  • deadlines,
  • executors and responsible persons.

The work of a crisis manager is to lead the company away from bankruptcy, as well as to strengthen its position in the market, to achieve stable development. These are goals. They solve them one by one: first, they extinguish the fire in a burning house, and then get back on their feet after the fire.

The effectiveness of crisis management, first of all, lies in maintaining a balance between the achievement of goals and the optimal use of available resources.

There are four components to the formula for success: analysis, course development, implementation, and control.

Analysis of the situation

Discord arises in any structural link - in production, in logistics, personnel policy, management.

If profitability falls, customers go to competitors, the company's rating decreases, then it's time for drastic measures.

The crisis manager needs to figure out why this is so.

 

The causes of the crisis can be external and internal. The instability of the economy, the political situation in the country are external reasons. They reverberate throughout the business community.

The coronavirus pandemic has become a serious challenge. If weather disasters occur, crops die from frost and drought, there will be a crop failure and massive losses in the agricultural sector.

Even a super-manager cannot change external factors and predict the consequences of "black swans". But he will find levers to soften the blow.

"A thorough economic downturn is revealing the most unsightly things. An old market saying goes: "The crisis will reveal what auditors cannot detect."

Philip Coggan is an economist and analyst at the Financial Times.

Local causes are easier to deal with. Internal factors can be:

  • production – low labor productivity, obsolete equipment and technology, unqualified personnel;
  • Market – high competition, poorly adjusted supplies of raw materials, small target audience;
  • managerial — mistakes in marketing.

At this stage, the manager studies the financial documentation - compares the expenditure and receipt of funds, derives the percentage of costs to turnover, and looks for weaknesses.

Special insurance programs are becoming an additional safety cushion for business. To get out of the crisis situation more easily, insure your company with Sovcombank Insurance.

Strategy development

There are two models of anti-crisis strategies: American and Japanese. In the United States, the leader chooses the best plan and consistently implements it.

The Japanese do not rely only on the authority of the head of the company. They motivate employees, break down tasks, and launch activities in several departments at the same time. It's faster this way.

A crisis manager has a great responsibility. He must decide what will work best: process optimization, restructuring, marketing adjustments, merging with a more successful company. He needs to imagine the big picture and see the prospects, generate solutions.

The way out that an anti-crisis specialist has found may not be obvious, even risky.

"When solving complex problems in business, it is important first of all to choose an objective, fact-based approach"

Bill Gates is an investor and co-founder of Microsoft.

At industrial enterprises, equipment modernization helps. Source: Shutterstock

Implementation and control

At this stage, the crisis manager coordinates the work of the team and makes sure that the tasks are completed on time. If necessary, he promptly removes obstacles and adjusts the plan.

People go into the profession who, in addition to deep professional knowledge:

  • have leadership qualities and are ready to lead the team;
  • know how to convey their ideas and defend them;
  • effectively interact at all organizational levels;
  • think positively and support the belief in success in colleagues;
  • show flexibility;
  • know how to resolve conflicts.

Experts also emphasize the importance of corporate culture. When the team is determined to overcome difficulties, things go easier.

However, often the crisis team has to overcome the resistance of the environment. Employees do not want changes, they accept innovations "with hostility". They oppose staff reductions, wage cuts. Crisis managers face staff sabotage.

"If you have to fundamentally change a company to keep it from falling apart, you have to be tough but fair."

Linda Joy Wachner is the president of Max Factor, the head of Warnaco.

 

Stories of companies that have overcome crises

Anti-crisis strategies have given a second wind to many eminent foreign companies.

The services of crisis managers are in stable demand. The profession is given at the economic faculties of universities and at the courses of additional professional education.