A COO’s guide to tightening operational resilience in services
Robert Cesafsky is Chief Operating Officer at Certinia. His primary focus is to optimize operational efficiency and drive strategic growth initiatives across Certinia’s global business. Read his blog here on how to help COOs with organizational resilience in times of economic uncertainty.
Headlines about potential trade shifts and tariffs understandably create uncertainty, and frankly, some frustration for services leaders trying to plan for the future. It’s easy to feel pressured by the noise, tempted towards reactive decisions. I certainly understand that feeling from conversations with peers across the industry.
Firsthand experience guiding services organizations through various economic cycles shows that while we can’t always predict the external environment, the most effective long-term strategy remains consistent: focus inward on building operational resilience. That inward focus provides stability, regardless of what market swings or policy shifts may unfold.
Periods of economic uncertainty have a way of stress-testing our businesses and revealing hidden weaknesses. I won’t lecture you on the fundamentals of sound business practices like profitability or customer focus. We all know they’re critical. But I will challenge you to dig into how effectively some of these foundational pillars are actually holding up under pressure.
Based on my personal experience and Certinia’s work with leading services organizations worldwide, here are four fundamental areas where we think a deeper focus can build resilience:
1. Stress-Test Your Cross-Functional Handoffs
Of course, seamless collaboration between sales, delivery, and finance is ideal. But in choppy waters, established communication channels and data flows can become less reliable or reveal previously unseen bottlenecks. Now is the time to actively map and scrutinize the handoffs between these teams. Where does information get lost? Where do processes snag under pressure? Are forecasting inputs reliable when deals shift? Exposing and fixing these specific friction points is key to maintaining efficiency and protecting margins when agility matters most.
2. Build Workforce Agility and Real-Time Visibility
Strategic talent deployment is always crucial, but uncertainty requires genuine workforce agility. Can you quickly adapt to fluctuating demand or unexpected project pivots? This means having real-time, accurate visibility into not just who is available, but their precise skills, capabilities, and costs. It also requires exploring flexible resource models or cross-skilling initiatives to handle unpredictability without compromising delivery quality or burning out your people.
3. Sharpen Financial Predictability
Turbulent times place an intense focus on predictability. Are your revenue forecasts truly reliable under different scenarios? How quickly and accurately can you convert work delivered into cash received? Now is the time to scrutinize forecasting models against changing conditions, tighten cash conversion cycles, and ensure billing processes are flawlessly accurate. This internal financial stability provides the bedrock for confident decision-making.
4. Actively Reinforce Customer Trust
Alongside internal stability, proactively managing customer relationships is critical during uncertainty. When external news is unsettling, your clients look for reassurance. This means transparently managing engagements, proactively communicating status and potential impacts, and relentlessly demonstrating the value you deliver. Reinforcing trust isn’t passive; it requires deliberate actions to show stability and commitment, making relationships more durable against market shifts or anxieties.
Focusing on optimizing how we execute across these four pillars transforms basic business principles into powerful levers for resilience. It allows services organizations to navigate uncertainty not just reactively, but with a foundation built for enduring stability and confidence. And that internal strength is the ultimate competitive advantage, in any market.
