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Leaders face challenges daily, but it's how they respond that will determine success or failure. Our Sanitary Maintenance editors tapped into jan/san industry experts for their advice on how to best handle challenging leadership struggles.
We specifically asked them:
- How does your response to difficult times impact business moving forward?
- How can staffing workload change during times of crisis/difficulty?
- How do you best communicate these changes to the team and how do you deal with the response?
Here are the answers we received from these industry experts.
How does your response to difficult times impact business (revenue, customer base, etc.) in the aftermath?
GREGO — The way we handle adversity determines how customers see us afterward. Our proactive, transparent approach during crises has strengthened our reputation and deepened customer loyalty. Clients remember who showed up when things got tough. That loyalty has consistently translated into stable revenue and long-term growth once the storm passes.
MOODY — In our industry, we benefit and profit from selling consumables. When a manufacturer is late to ship inventory or a distributor keeps overly lean inventory levels, profits are lost by backordering products to your customer. Not only are you providing poor service, but you’re having to make a second or third delivery trip. Meanwhile, your customer is not using the product for the two extra weeks that they were waiting. Those weeks worth of consumption are gone forever.
How you solve any difficult situation with a customer, team member, or vendor can strengthen your relationship. It’s always best to listen with compassion, concern, and humility. When you can go above and beyond in solving their concern, you usually end up with a lifelong connection.
SCHNERINGER — In many cases, relationships can be strengthened. It can be better for a long-term relationship with a customer to be tested, as opposed to everything being quiet and predictably perfect. Of course, we strive for quiet, boring, and predictable perfection; but I have experienced situations where you as a distributor demonstrate the ability to come through for the customer in trying circumstances, and it strengthens the relationship and gives the customer the confidence that you will come through for them when they need it.
ABIAAD — If handled proactively, it has a long-term positive impact.
CARRIZALES — While some customers are upset with challenges, most understand the dynamic environment that we currently live in. Communication and transparency have allowed us to strengthen our relationships and become an even more trusted partner.
From an internal perspective, can your staff workload change during times of crisis/difficulty?
MOODY — We sometimes suffered temporary staffing shortage due to vacations and unexpected illness, but we all step up to make it happen without disruption to our customers. For instance, our office manager ask our sales reps to come in and take some smaller deliveries that can fit into their vehicle as they visit customers in a specific area.
SCHNERINGER — Yes, during these challenging times, there can be the need to extend shipping and receiving times to get the needed products to customers, and other folks who are sourcing the products also need to increase their workload as well. Leadership can provide a good example and support everyone’s efforts by stepping up their workload so that everyone can come together to take care of the customer.
ABIAAD — Absolutely, change required flexibility from vision to execution on all levels.
GREGO — During crises, everyone’s workload intensifies, especially in purchasing, customer service, and logistics. We adopt an 'all-hands-on-deck' mentality where titles disappear, and teamwork takes over. Cross-training keeps operations smooth, and leaders roll up their sleeves alongside the front line. It’s exhausting, but it forges a stronger, more unified team.
CARRIZALES — Yes! The amount of time spent sourcing additional/substitute items has tripled. The behind-the-scenes administrative work (new item numbers, pricing, etc.) and additional communication with customers have increased, as well.
How was this handled and what was the long-term reaction of the team?
GREGO — Our people came out of hard times with pride and loyalty. We recognized their efforts, improved processes, and invested in better communication systems to prevent burnout. Yes, it was demanding, but it bonded us. The long-term result is a tighter, more resilient workforce that knows we stand together when tested.
MOODY — When team members see the owner and other leaders jump in to get things done, they feel respected and appreciated and they stay on course to step up their own production. A few years ago, we had a disastrous snowstorm that had us delivering six times the normal amount of product over the course of a couple weeks. Many of our sales team and I became truck drivers. We kept everything moving safely and had a very prosperous month. We love snow!
SCHNERINGER — The long-term reaction of the team is to celebrate how we came together to accomplish great results on behalf of our customers, while also acknowledging that we can’t keep up this “overdrive” pace indefinitely since it will lead to burnout.
CARRIZALES — We are very lucky to have an experienced sales force and internal customer service representatives. While being a fairly large company, we have been able to pivot as needed and make quick decisions based on the ever-evolving environment. Initially it was a bit of panic mode, then experience and leadership kicked in and got us to the ”let's get it done” attitude. We have been able to turn a crisis into opportunities.
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