Lessons in Crisis – An Opportunity to Build Pride in Your Company’s Leadership and Values
Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, CEO and Executive Creative Director, Tribe, Inc.In the wake of Harvey, organizations in and around Houston are preparing their employees for a long recovery. As the crisis conditions recede and companies try to get back to business, effective communication will be key to getting employees refocused on work and engaged in the future.Assuming you have a crisis employee communication plan in place, including the necessary change management communications for workplaces that have been destroyed or damaged, employees will want to know how their companies are addressing the larger picture. In other words, what sort of corporate citizenship will your company display?Any crisis offers opportunity, and the aftermath of this natural disaster provides an opportunity to build employee pride in the leadership and values of the company. This is a chance to communicate compassion and confidence, and to set examples of leadership being driven by something beyond just profits.For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook wasted no time sending an email to all employees after Houston was flooded with record rainfall. In it, he first offered his emotional support for all those impacted, and then provided concrete details on what was being done to help employees in the flooded areas. He went on to describe the company’s efforts to help, from setting up collection points for food, diapers and personal hygiene items to sizable financial contributions to the American Red Cross and a two-to-one matching program for any employee contributions.That email provides a model for five important points to cover in leadership crisis communications:
- Be a human being: Recognize that people are having a lot of emotions about the disaster and show your own empathy and support for those effected.
- Put employees first: If employees are in trouble, focus on what’s being done to help them — either by first responders, government organizations or the company itself.
- Be a company that helps: Give concrete details of what your organization is doing to contribute to the larger effort. Is it setting up mobile kitchens in disaster areas, like the Texas-based grocer HEB? Is it donating first aid and medical equipment, as Walgreen has done for Harvey rescue efforts?
- Be a company that gives: If your company is making a charitable contribution to support disaster relief, share details of the dollar amount and the organization to which the contribution was made.
- Give employees something to do: Providing some way for employees to collectively respond to the crisis helps them build shared pride in the organization’s ability to be a force for good. This could be in a monetary way, like setting up a link for employees to contribute to an organization like the American Red Cross, or in a more hands-on effort, like collecting needed food, bottled water, diapers or clothing.
For the moment, the immediate crisis of Harvey may have passed, but any lessons learned can be applied to communications in the next crisis. Is your crisis communication plan in place? Are employees included? If that’s done, revisit your plan with any Harvey-related lessons learned, then focus on adding a corporate citizenship component, with chances for employees to be engaged around collective recovery.As I write this, Hurricane Irma is heading our way, as if to remind us that a crisis can affect you and your employees at any time. [author]About the Author: Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin is CEO and executive creative director of Tribe (www.TribeInc.com), an internal communications agency that develops strategic plans and designs creative vehicles to build employee engagement and the internal brand. It works with national and global brands including UPS, Porsche, Target and Coca-Cola Refreshments. She blogs on employee engagement, professional performance and quality of work-life at www.GoodCompanyBlog.com. [/author]
