Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World is Flat and Hot, Flat, and Crowded has said that "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste." It was used in his books in the context of the energy crisis, making the point that sometimes it takes a crisis to get people to really adapt, change.
Don't waste this workforce crisis on haphazard decisions. Grab that need to reorganize to seriously look at:
• Where is your key talent?
• How should your workforce be structured to reach your goals?
• Do you have talent in one position that may be more valuable in another position?
Now, you could totally reinvent your organization's structure. Post-it® Notes have made millions for 3MTM, yet the glue that makes them work was a failure from another invention. What or who can you relocate or reassign that fits better in this new economy or strategy?
Take this crisis you may be facing and turn it into the reorganization you really need to do anyway. Make the investments you need to help you make the right decisions. You may need a new tool. You may need to look at fresh data. But you must take the time and not waste the opportunity this crisis provides you.
Cheers,
Lois
Lois Melbourne is CEO and Co-Founder of Aquire, Inc., a provider of visual workforce planning and management solutions based in Irving, Texas.
