Four CTO Tips To Get In Order Before A Recession

Innovation Four CTO Tips To Get In Order Before A Recession Agur Jõgi Forbes Councils Member Forbes Technology Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Sep 16, 2022, 08:30am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CTO of Pipedrive with expertise in scaling technology and organizations.

Experienced as an innovator, founder and C-level manager. getty A recession is looming for much of the world, including the U. S.

and the UK. Economists and politicians are debating the scope and how to combat it. As technologists, we must simply prepare our domains to best support our organizations.

Right now, enterprises should have a few key technology priorities to get them in shape for a storm. We want our tech stacks to be scalable, our business operations to be efficient and our processes to be well-integrated and automated wherever possible. We are looking for efficiency and longevity to help our colleagues achieve solid revenue in the mid-term.

1. Digital Transformation Unfinished and planned projects must be evaluated. What is their importance to the health of the company if revenues drop? Will they increase the resilience or profitability of the organization? Be ruthless! Does data flow freely so that business decisions can be made wisely? Leaders want to use the sophisticated software our industry has made for them.

Platforms and tools must integrate, from CRM for sales and marketing to ERP (the traditional enterprise backbone) and other financial tools. Leadership has come to value data-led decision-making, so the technology stack must support the CIO’s role in ensuring data does what it should. Immediately prioritize efforts to ensure that infrastructure and processes can handle expected demand—and that vital knowledge is recorded rather than locked up in team members’ heads.

MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event 2. Plan To Do More With Less Budgets are likely to be cut, no doubt. A CTO must have plans B, C and D for how to keep essential services running, what projects must be fought for and what sacrifices can be made that result in the least degradation of service.

Even better, if streamlining frees resources elsewhere, then ensure any surplus goes to improving vital services. Make no mistake: The technology team carries a heavy burden. What’s more, they can be a convenient punching bag as problems arrive.

Maintaining service levels is key where they directly impact on revenue, such as the provision of services to customers. Other areas such as purely internal systems for operational staff may be critical—so long as customers, customer care and revenue-generating staff are looked after for the health of the business. 3.

Talent Must Be Retained The media has long spoken of a technology skills gap. Now many technology organizations have led global trends by reducing headcount in advance of an official recession. However, rest assured, to fulfill goals, technology talent is still key.

Technology leaders will work with their financial counterparts to ensure that key talent, from innovative software developers to the vital engineers who maintain critical software supply chains, are kept productive and happy. In what will be a challenging exercise, technology leaders must ensure they know the needs and desires of key staff and work to retain them to maintain continuity. The business of technology grinds to a halt without the human in the loop.

Recessionary times call for those humans to be understood and cared for. Strong leaders know that compassion and culture may be more impactful than a monetary boost, so bring your full empathetic self to work and encourage the same from everyone. 4.

Manage The Recession, Focus On Enabling Future Growth Intelligent companies use bad times to build the next growth foundation. The CTO, CPO, CMO and CCO will agree on what clients need after the recession. During it, there will be less client demand, so focus on building for future growth.

A recession is the wrong time to “cut the fat. ” Make cuts when the next growth cycle starts. You gain two goals by doing so.

First, people who have to leave can be more easily replaced. Doing so, the company might even improve the employer’s brand. Secondly, planning for unavoidable growth brings positive stress to your organization, so it’s easier to set ambiguous goals.

A team mindset is key. The organization will win or lose together. Technology leaders have a key role to play: Their teams power the business and every other team able to fulfill their varied roles.

Our company’s own customer research, the State of Sales & Marketing 2021/22 report , showed key areas where technology can play an immediate role in supporting the business. A quarter of respondents said their organizations digitalized more of their business processes over the pandemic. The data indicates that the businesses that invested in automation for sales data and activity management activities had a higher probability of achieving their targets.

The 74% that already had a CRM platform grew more in 2021 compared to those without (59%). And finally, the businesses that had well-integrated their sales and marketing were doubly likely to exceed their growth forecast. Technology can make a direct difference to all parts of the business.

A sensible CTO will be actively searching for projects that can be implemented rapidly that promise to support the resilience and scalability of their organization to prepare for whatever comes over the next series of financial quarters. Finally, ensure all your reports know that it’s all cyclical. After the drought comes the rain.

There will be an upswing in the economy. The task before your team is to win till it comes. Stay positive, keep planning and be productive.

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