The reality is that crises happen constantly. During such times, businesses face unprecedented challenges and unpredictable difficulties. How can you prepare for times of crisis? And how do you not only survive — but help your business thrive in these periods?
Tetiana Petrukha, lecturer at the UCU Business School and service management expert, shares effective strategies for how businesses can prepare for crises and continue to grow successfully.
“A crisis is not just about economic hardship or social instability. It’s a real test for any business — because during uncertain times, customers judge companies not by their products, but by how cared for and safe they feel.”
— Tetiana Petrukha
Tetiana Petrukha outlined the most common challenges companies face:
- Resource reduction – Budgets for service and staff training are cut, while customer expectations remain high.
- Team stress and burnout – Employees experience increased workloads, which negatively affect the quality of interactions.
- Changing customer expectations – Clients are looking not only for a product, but also for emotional comfort and transparency.
The lecturer also suggests strategies that can help businesses overcome a crisis effectively and successfully.
1. Care as a Strategy (Care-Driven Approach)
In times of crisis, care becomes a strategic tool. Today’s customer values care through ease of interaction and speed of issue resolution — often more than politeness or bonuses.
Key expressions of care:
- Minimal effort to get results – customers shouldn’t have to take extra steps or repeat their requests.
- Customer history available to the team – past interactions, preferences, documents, and issues are remembered, so the client doesn’t need to start from scratch.
- Simple returns and fast problem-solving – if something goes wrong, the process must be clear, quick, and without unnecessary questions.
- Optimized documents and instructions – customers receive clear guidance on what to fill out or sign, without needing to read the entire document.
2. Team Support and Motivation
The care strategy starts inside the team. A demotivated team can’t notice details or go the extra mile for clients. When internal resources are drained, employees miss subtle signals during interaction.
Key practices:
- Daily check-ins to monitor well-being and prevent burnout
- Regular meetings to discuss difficult situations
- Access to psychological sessions for employees
- Gratitude rituals and team traditions to support emotional balance
- Simplified and systemized internal processes to reduce overload
- Automation and productivity tools to free up time for client interaction
- Ongoing feedback sessions and fair motivation policies
- Transparent internal communication
3. Process Flexibility
A rapidly changing context affects customer lifestyles and shifts their expectations from companies.
Key practice:
Service design is more important than ever. If experience design used to be valuable, today it’s critical. Behavioral flexibility comes from deep immersion into customer touchpoints, analysis of the Customer Journey, and understanding their experience across different situations. This helps identify which processes need simplification or adaptation.
- Hospitals – online appointment booking, e-prescriptions, SMS reminders, chatbots with up-to-date schedules
- Banks – push notifications for transactions, instant account opening via government app, access recovery without branch visits
- Postal/logistics services – parcel pick-up without ID, mobile branches in remote areas, automated delivery updates
- Restaurants/cafés – quick online table reservations and contactless payments
Tetiana Petrukha emphasizes that consistency in keeping promises is another essential element that builds trust in turbulent times: “During crises, quality and communication standards are often the first to suffer: the team starts deviating from normal practices — and the customer notices it. They expect familiar service, predictable wait times and delivery. When those expectations aren’t met, loyalty quickly turns into complaints.
So, whether you’re rebuilding service post-crisis or just starting to develop it, focus on operational and communication standards first. These simple pillars can stabilize service and improve customer experience within just 1.5 to 2 months.”
“Step by step, we’ll explore how service standards are created — and where they tend to break down.
We’ll dedicate a full section to regaining customer loyalty when something goes wrong.
We’ll examine the components of great service and trace its evolution.
One full day will focus on working with the team — since it often becomes the critical factor in service implementation.
See you on the course!”
