The Microsoft director said now is the time to maximise operational efficiency and to treat internal employees as customers. Enterprises also need to remove barriers to customer service by providing a range of ways that customers can choose for assistance, from 'self-help' mechanisms to telephone service.

"It's the small things that most people remember when interacting with enterprises," Ruotanen said.

'Now is the time to look beyond traditional boundaries and to challenge embedded thinking," Ruotanen said. "Companies should focus on executing excellence and getting their core operations right.

"Letting go of skilled staff from your pool may be the worst thing that you can do, because you will need to re-build when the economy recovers.