The tougher the times, the more resourceful and creative people become to navigate through them. This applies to companies as well. The coronavirus pandemic has further compelled corporate management to find lifesaving solutions for their businesses because no matter how perfect previous business plans were, they did not remotely include surprises like the corona crisis.
In extraordinary circumstances, it was crucial to make quick key decisions that had to take into account a range of factors: employee health, availability of products and services, adapting business processes to pandemic conditions, maintaining production, logistics, and the company’s liquidity. This is not at all simple even in normal business conditions, let alone at a time when there seems to be no end to the crisis. Everyone faced extraordinary measures in their own way and adapted according to their capabilities.
What is common to all, apart from the corona crisis, is that they must make decisions very quickly as the situation changes from day to day. Some temporarily halted production, others sent employees to work from home, while others began producing the currently most sought-after products such as disinfectants…
Fanon’s Commercial Director Mario Jarnjak compares adapting to the corona crisis to a sailboat without a sail and engine on the ocean.
Less painful reality
Sometimes he thinks it would have been better if Fanon had suspended production for a few weeks and relied on state aid and the payment of minimum wages, thus breaking the banks and collecting incentives. However, he emphasizes that he is grateful they did not stop production because it is difficult to restart after a halt.
– At the end of April, Fanon launched a restart plan in all sectors: we reorganized teams, postponed investments, but also worked harder than ever on research and development and seeking new solutions and concepts for our and European farmers who initially faced high demand, and now with accumulating surpluses, especially milk. This will be an even bigger problem in a few months due to the situation in hospitality and tourism with other products as well – notes Jarnjak.
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The greatest success is considered to be that this situation has brought Fanon’s employees even closer together. Those who work from home did not just observe the sacrifices of people in production and transport, but wanted to contribute in any way they could.
– I consider it a general success that we felt perhaps at some moments fear and disbelief about what tomorrow holds for us and what we can rely on, apart from tourism. If this situation had gone a step further and our neighbors or the main countries from which we import food products had closed their borders for strategic products, as Romania or Russia did for grains and oilseeds, I believe that self-sufficiency data would quickly become a painful reality. And these slogans like ‘Buy Croatian’ need to be brought even closer to people – says Jarnjak.
From ribbon to customer
Labud, which operates within the Meteor group, reacted exceptionally quickly to the new circumstances and adapted to market changes.
– We engaged most of our capacity for the production of disinfectants. Demand surged sharply, and to respond to that, we organized production in three shifts. Along with Labud’s Zagreb facilities, we also started disinfectant production in Meteor’s facilities in Đakovo – says the marketing manager of Meteor group – Labud Milica Damjanović.
Before the outbreak of the pandemic, disinfectant production was a smaller part of Labud’s total production for professional needs in the HoReCa channel, hospitals and healthcare institutions, educational and other public institutions, industry, and trade. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the demand is now so high that LABpro disinfectant products literally go straight from the production lines to customers.
Given the situation, Erste Bank is daily adapting its operations to the new circumstances, trying to find ways for clients to use its products and services as safely and simply as possible. This bank, in addition to regular internet and mobile banking services, has also introduced a so-called remote consulting service, or video calls via smartphones, computers, laptops, or tablets, aimed at small entrepreneurs.
To sail or sink
JGL, according to its CEO Mislav Vučić, has recently redefined priorities in operational activities and capital investments.
– Accepting uncertainty and consequently speed, assessment, and flexibility in some medium-term period will become an integral part of business plans. The global crisis that the coronavirus pandemic has placed before all of us is a real test for many segments of business, as well as to see how agile you are and ready for quick adjustments and changes. At one moment, you realize that all those usual patterns of business and behavior that you thought had to be that way and not any different are falling apart, and that only your quick reaction determines whether you will swim or sink – says Vučić, emphasizing that so far they are sailing well, but significant risks, such as a 20% drop in currency values in the CIS region or a 60% drop in oil prices, significantly negatively affect JGL’s operations.
However, Vučić considers the greatest success to be that not a single employee has contracted the coronavirus, as well as that they have ensured uninterrupted supply of their products to users and patients during the pandemic and that the company has continued to invest in employees and capital facilities despite the crisis.
The business plans under the conditions of the corona crisis were adapted by Carlsberg Croatia in two phases. According to member of Carlsberg’s Management Board for Human Resources Marija Zovko, the crisis management team was solving challenges that arose in different phases of the pandemic on a daily basis. This management had to act daily because the decisions of the Headquarters and the instructions they provided changed from day to day and were mostly implemented in a very short time.
– The management considers the greatest success to be the unity and exceptional professionalism shown by all employees, from production, through sales to all other services. Some have been at their workplaces the whole time, some have performed their tasks under difficult conditions, and some have worked from home, but it was a challenge for everyone. What was common to all was that they never stopped being dedicated and giving their all at any moment. That is the greatest success – says Zovko.
Regular and additional bonuses
The world’s largest manufacturer of video surveillance cameras and security equipment Hikvision had to cancel appearances at fifty fairs and professional conferences. Among them is the first major Hikvision Innovation Summit that was supposed to take place in mid-March in Amsterdam, which had already attracted over 1200 participants from across Europe.
– However, the most important business moves were the transition of the business model to online and the development of new solutions based on artificial intelligence, thanks to which we were able to respond quickly to market demands. We managed to develop thermal cameras for rapid temperature measurement on the surface of the human body in a short time. They are now used worldwide in hospitals, airports, shopping centers, train stations, government and city institutions, factories, and office buildings. We also developed cameras for monitoring and managing customer movement, i.e., guests, which help retail spaces successfully avoid crowds and gatherings of more people in stores or other locations. The demand for such solutions is so high that it helps us maintain stable operations – says Hikvision Europe CEO Derek Yang, emphasizing that the pandemic, unfortunately, is not over yet, and it is too early to talk about any success.
At Coca-Cola HBC Croatia, they consider uninterrupted operations and customer supply to be a great success. For those most affected by this crisis, hospitality and tourism, which are extremely important for the company’s operations, they decided to help by establishing a fund for financial assistance to bartenders affected by the corona crisis. The ‘Raise the Bar’ project will be implemented until the situation normalizes. In addition, Coca-Cola has donated more than two and a half million kuna to the Croatian Red Cross for the fight against the coronavirus and for assistance to citizens affected by the earthquake.
Telekom A1 Croatia sent four hundred employees to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, and they responded to more than one hundred thousand customer calls during the pandemic. The number of calls in A1’s customer support increased by more than twenty percent, and the number of requests for activation of mobile lines for companies of national importance increased by up to two hundred percent. A1 Croatia’s Chief Business Transformation, Human Resources, and Corporate Communications Officer Ivan Skender considers the greatest success to be that certain categories of employees who cannot work from home and for whom there is a higher risk of infection (over sixty years old, pregnant women, and employees with chronic illnesses) have been exempted from work obligations with full pay until further notice.
– In addition to the regular annual bonuses we paid to employees in March, an additional bonus will also be paid to employees who have exceptionally contributed through their work in these extraordinary circumstances – says Skender.
Nothing without people
The company Metalis has maintained normal operations despite the corona crisis, preserved jobs, ensured the transport of raw materials, and delivery of its products.
– We kept a cool head and operate as if there is no corona. We consider the greatest success in this situation to be the preservation of jobs and business, and we are pleased that we can present our new product to the market – says Metalis CEO Marko Lovrenčić, who believes that the market has realized that preventing such scenarios in the future is the most important role for society and the economy.
Tele2 also retained all employees and even hired thirteen new ones, although it had to close all sales points due to the coronavirus pandemic. This was achieved in a short time by training retail employees to provide customer support through online channels.
These are just some examples of what the mentioned companies have done to save their businesses and jobs. However, one of their most important moves was to protect the health of employees, without whom even the best business plan would not be achievable.
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