---
title: "Under the Epidemic, Manufacturers Face a Big Test, Team Building Comes First!"
description: "On February 5, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on organizing the resumption of work and business for commercial enterprises, actively supporting qualified enterprises including wholesale markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and community vegetable stores to resume operations as soon as possible. This means that brand owners need to start their resumption work early. This article discusses the team building issues that brand owners face first when resuming work."
author: "海游"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2020-02-08"
categories: "Management & Methods"
language: "en"
canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/under-the-epidemic-manufacturers-face-a-big-test-team-building-comes-fir-68f38e69/"
markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/under-the-epidemic-manufacturers-face-a-big-test-team-building-comes-fir-68f38e69.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/q7EPcPXs4zvO_ZAJXJEAfw"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E7%96%AB%E6%83%85%E4%B8%8B-%E5%8E%82%E5%95%86%E9%9D%A2%E4%B8%B4%E5%A4%A7%E8%80%83-%E5%9B%A2%E9%98%9F%E5%BB%BA%E8%AE%BE%E6%98%AF%E9%A6%96%E4%BD%8D-68f38e69.md"
attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/under-the-epidemic-manufacturers-face-a-big-test-team-building-comes-fir-68f38e69/"
citation: "海游. “Under the Epidemic, Manufacturers Face a Big Test, Team Building Comes First!.” New Distribution, 2020-02-08. https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/under-the-epidemic-manufacturers-face-a-big-test-team-building-comes-fir-68f38e69/"
usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt"
---

# Under the Epidemic, Manufacturers Face a Big Test, Team Building Comes First!

> On February 5, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on organizing the resumption of work and business for commercial enterprises, actively supporting qualified enterprises including wholesale markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and community vegetable stores to resume operations as soon as possible. This means that brand owners need to start their resumption work early. This article discusses the team building issues that brand owners face first when resuming work.

The above is the notice issued by the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce on February 5 regarding organizing the resumption of work and business for commercial enterprises, actively supporting qualified commercial enterprises including wholesale markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, and community vegetable stores to resume operations as soon as possible.
This means that the resumption work for brand owners should be started early. Today, let's discuss the team building issues that brand owners face first when resuming work.
**-01- Brand owner teams should seek stability while aiming for success**
In the past few days, I received calls from three former subordinates, and the questions were basically the same: the company hasn't resumed work recently, they're at home with nothing to do, and after thinking about their work and income over the past two years, they feel that once the epidemic is over, there will be many job opportunities, and they want to try changing companies.
Indeed, once people are idle, their minds wander, and with too many thoughts, stability becomes poor.
Facing the epidemic, companies treat employee income in the following four ways:
> 1. National statutory holidays are paid leave, and the rest of the holidays are treated as collective personal leave without pay;
>
> 2. National statutory holidays are paid leave, and the rest of the holidays only pay basic salary or according to the local minimum living standard;
>
> 3. National statutory holidays are paid leave, and the rest of the holidays pay basic salary normally + normal performance assessment;
>
> 4. National statutory holidays are paid leave, and the rest of the holidays pay basic salary normally + normal performance assessment + additional monthly incentives;
The above, in fact, are all reasonable and justified according to the company's operating conditions, and employees can understand, but not necessarily accept. The daily necessities of life will make employees' restless hearts even more eager to move, especially those with ability. Let me share a first-tier brand's February assessment policy.
Imagine how employees of this company would think after this policy is announced. The company is so difficult under the current epidemic, yet it still cares for its employees. If managers add a little emotional appeal and mobilization, the subordinates will be full of passion, and peers will also yearn for it. Let's calculate an account:
> 1. What is the recruitment cost of an employee? Including online and on-site recruitment fees, HR department wages, and other related costs.
> 2. What is the training cost of an employee? Including training expenses, and the time cost invested by supervisors and leaders.
> 3. What is the cost of an employee during the probation and adaptation period?
> 4. If an employee jumps to a competitor and takes away customer resources, how much loss does it bring to the company?
In summary, **I suggest that brand owners treat special periods specially. The significance of providing timely help is far greater than adding flowers to brocade. A stable team is the foundation of a company. Market competition is more about talent competition. At this time, if conditions allow, do not save small money and make big mistakes.**
**-02- Brand owner team recruitment and training should be carried out simultaneously**
The above is a Jinmailang recruitment notice that often appears in my circle of friends recently. Like many companies' advertisements: **We never lack people, but we lack talent.**
Talent in recruitment is sifted out through waves. Every year after the Spring Festival is the period with the most personnel changes. At this time, the HR department of brand owners should act first. During this special period, I give the following suggestions:
**1. General talent: online recruitment, video interviews**
The HR department should collect talent demand information from various employing units, post recruitment notices on websites, and use frequent refreshes, pinned recruitment, scheduled group chats, and other forms to build a talent reserve database, and invite managers from various employing units to conduct batch video interviews.
**2. Special talent: understand details, maintain close contact**
For management talents needed for special or key positions, do not conduct hasty video interviews. Obtain detailed personal information through third-party referrals or other channels, maintain contact, and during the epidemic, send care supplies such as disinfectant and masks, and after the epidemic, get a face-to-face meeting opportunity as soon as possible.
**3. Organize batch training + post-training exams**
After the video interview, select qualified candidates for batch phone or video training (there are many software like Xiaoe Tech, WeChat Work, DingTalk meetings, and many live streaming platforms that can meet online training needs). The training content is recommended to be these three aspects:
**1) What kind of company have you come to: company development history and corporate culture training;**
**2) What products do you come to the company to do: product knowledge training;**
**3) What work do you come to the company to do: daily work process training.**
It is recommended that online training only cover these three points. More would make the company seem cumbersome, and less would make it seem unprofessional. It is worth mentioning: after training, an online exam must be conducted. The questions can be pushed via WeChat mini-programs, and the scores can be used to judge the person's focus, learning ability, and whether they are qualified.
Of course, the old team can also use this form for training. FMCG is a labor-intensive industry, and usually, work is busy and there is no time to study quietly. This opportunity is also rare.
**-03- Work method guidance for brand owner teams**
**1. Personnel screening and safety education**
Before the Spring Festival is the peak period for major brand owners to hold sales annual meetings. During the meeting, sales personnel from various markets across the country gather for several days, and inevitably, some are from Hubei or even Wuhan. For those who have held national sales meetings before the Spring Festival, it is recommended to conduct internal screening as soon as possible to avoid secondary infection. Secondly, strengthen safety education, and force employees to wear masks correctly, measure body temperature in real-time, observe physical conditions in real-time, and wash hands frequently.
Do not force employees to visit routes; you can make appropriate attendance requirements. Suggestions:
> **1) Flexibly allocate, avoid severely affected areas, and follow up with positioning;**
> **2) If discussion is needed, do it in a warehouse or a well-ventilated area, keep it short, only talk about key points, and follow up with photos in WeChat groups;**
> **3) You can require team members to take selfies and upload them every 2 hours to reflect the working environment and status, for attendance records, and follow up with terminal systems.**
But note: **In the face of disaster, if you gamble and nothing happens, everyone is happy. If something happens, you become a sinner for ages. Once someone in the team gets sick and causes infection, human life is at stake, and the risk is far more than just compensation.**
**2. Guide the team to achieve "home delivery" service**
In my live broadcast the day before yesterday, I mentioned that currently, there is no problem with suppliers, and no problem with consumer demand. It is due to the epidemic that the bridge between supply and demand is blocked. Teacher Liu Chunxiong mentioned in his special column during the epidemic period, "Opportunities and windows for FMCG companies to 'self-rescue' during the epidemic," that "the main channel during the epidemic is contactless home delivery business."
**Because communities are closed, home delivery has become the main channel. Brand owner teams must make distributors and retailers realize that home delivery is currently the main channel, and the original channels are all or mostly closed." So after recent exploration, "home delivery" service is bound to be the focus of the next step.**
**1) Companies with complete platforms: make great efforts on the "home delivery" channel**
For example: Nongfu Spring, after years of accumulation, has its own platform, which can effectively bridge the supply and demand gap during the epidemic. At this time, the team's work focus is to promote their own platform and expand influence.
**2) Companies without complete platforms: build their own "home delivery" channels**
For example: Jinmailang Beverage requires the team to forward a letter to store owners every day: Dear bosses, **the epidemic continues and business is sluggish. Instead of waiting for business to come, why not send water delivery information to the WeChat groups of nearby residential communities.** Many such Jinmailang water delivery groups across the country are doing good business. Ten orders a day, ten packs of water per order, can earn 200 yuan. With a little effort, business is booming.
**3) Companies without complete platforms: leverage "home delivery" channels**
The above channels are familiar to everyone. Almost every market has such platforms. So brand owners should guide their teams to work in this direction, borrow water to sail, and success will come naturally.
**3. Prepare for the upcoming "revenge consumption"**
**Regarding "revenge consumption," my view is that it depends on when the epidemic completely ends. If it ends in February**, then there will definitely be a round of very stimulating "revenge consumption," such as gatherings to celebrate (weddings and funerals blocked by the epidemic) which will drive catering, entertainment, and upstream industries.
Affected by the epidemic, everyone is stuck at home and bored. After the epidemic ends, there will definitely be a round of relaxation and release of consumption emotions. At that time, whichever brand owner has more employees at work and more goods in hand will have business.
At this time, brand owners should ask themselves: **Are my goods ready? Are my distributors across the country back to work? Are all the employees of distributors back at their posts?** **... These preparations should be made early, as they directly generate sales.**
**-04- Go all out to help distributors solve operational difficulties**
The Spring Festival, as the first of all festivals, drives a trillion-yuan sales market. Most distributors do not specialize, hoping to get a share of the New Year goods market during the festival. The epidemic may cause increasing pressure on distributors' inventory, cash flow, and returns. At this time, brand owner teams should put themselves in the distributors' shoes, not just limited to their own brands.
To put it bluntly, if the pressure is too great, distributors will inevitably optimize their product structure, cut off a limb to survive, and drop a few brands. If your product is dropped, it will be very difficult to recruit new distributors at this time.
**-05- Establish social responsibility and correct value orientation**
I want to repeat and emphasize: **At present, the primary work focus of brand owners is not sales, nor is it how to use the epidemic gap to attack competitors and occupy the market, but to meet social consumption needs, fulfill social responsibilities, and guide the team to establish social responsibility and correct value orientation while expanding brand influence, under the premise of minimizing personnel contact. From a profit perspective, brand value is far greater than sales revenue. In the current situation, do not act solely with a business mindset.**
**Final words:** Everything has two sides. Regarding the epidemic, there is a bad side, no need to say more, but there is also a good side. The epidemic is like an exam, testing brand owners' ability to operate in the face of sudden events, and the cohesion and combat effectiveness of brand owner teams in the face of sudden events.
**Did you pass the exam? The epidemic will eventually fade. What will it leave for brand owners?**


---

## Citation metadata

- Publisher: New Distribution
- Author: 海游
- Published: 2020-02-08
- Canonical: https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/under-the-epidemic-manufacturers-face-a-big-test-team-building-comes-fir-68f38e69/
- Original source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/q7EPcPXs4zvO_ZAJXJEAfw

## Copyright and AI use

This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL.

Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671