Bizly chief strategy officer Kevin Iwamoto offers guidance for managing beyond the Covid-19 crisis
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a global panic and
reaction which should be a wake-up call and reminder that crisis management
advance planning and strategy creation is a must in today’s global economy.
I have weathered several global crises including the post-9/11
global travel industry meltdown when I was NBTA president and CEO; SARS, Ebola,
and the global financial meltdown while I was senior category leader in global
corporate procurement; and other more regional crisis situations.
If you have been around for a while, this isn’t your first crisis.
If you’ve been involved as a crisis management volunteer and/or project
manager, you know there are steps and actions to be taken, but the most important
planning centers around how to keep employees safe for the duration of the
crisis.
Equally important, is what actions and steps company
leadership will take to safeguard employees from the crisis and ensure the
company survive the crisis financially. Here are some thoughts and actions to
consider in crisis management planning.
BEFORE THE CRISIS
- Understand the internal and external
landscape. Scope out what’s happening globally and identify potential
threats to your business, but also to the world economy. For example, the time
to start putting together crisis management strategies and plans for the coronavirus
crisis was back when it was first reported that a contagious outbreak was
happening in China and other parts of Asia. Waiting until it started to spread to the U.S.
and Europe resulted in companies and governments scrambling on what to do. As
people wait for the powers in charge to come up with plans and protocols, more
people get impacted and casualties escalate and rise.
- Model multiple scenarios. Crisis plans
should cover multiple scenarios ranging from initial actions to worst case
scenario planning. Whenever crisis hits, remember that timing and decisiveness
is critical to ensure well-being for the employees as well as for the general
populace.
- Stay calm and do not be reactionary. In
times of crisis, panic and the lack of factual information causes mass hysteria
and desperate actions from people who just want to know what is really
happening. While media and social media can be helpful, it can also be harmful
in spreading misinformation and flat-out lies. People should be directed to
official sites where the information is more fact-based and not politically
influenced.
DURING THE CRISIS
- Expect all levels of change management to
manifest within your organization. Wise executive leaders will use the
crisis period to reposition the company’s short- , medium- and possibly
long-term goals. They may also use the opportunity to “right set the ship” adjusting
headcount, consolidating jobs, adjusting management and employee levels, salary
and benefits, and other uncomfortable decisions to position the company to weather
the crisis.
- Do not obsess and focus on matters that are
out of your control. A viral
outbreak is beyond your control, you cannot do anything about that other than
to become knowledgeable and communicate findings and recommendations to your
company employees. Don’t assume they are reading and keeping up to date on the
situation like you are, ramp up your communications and recommendations during
this period. Employees also take comfort when they see constant outreach and
communication that the company is on top of things and cares about them. It’s
OK and encouraged that company leaders over communicate during crisis
management.
- Keep the business going. Company leaders
and staff must rely on each other to keep the ship afloat while preparing for
post crisis planning. The company must do what it needs to do to service customers
during this period to position the company to jump back into growth mode once
the worst part of the crisis passes.
- Keep employees focused on the job. It’s
so easy to take your eye of the prize when dealing personally and
professionally with a crisis. Balance the serious internal communications with
positive encouragement and incentives so things don’t seem so dire at work and
in their personal lives.
- Dust off the backburner projects and
deliverables. Use the time waiting out the crisis to work on things that
were put on the backburner, or lesser priority due to bandwidth and/or staffing
constraints. Time and bandwidth get freed up as business priorities and
business in general slows down during a crisis.
AFTER THE CRISIS
- Plan post-crisis speed to market. If you
study how successful companies rise from the ashes of a crisis back into growth
and profitability mode, you will notice a commonality, the longer it takes to
bounce back has a direct correlation to the life or death of the company. Great
companies not only prepare for and skillfully maneuver to survive a crisis,
they also plan on what to do post crisis. Therefore, planning a “speed to
market” strategy post crisis separates successful companies and those that just
hope for the best. Timing is critical and determines which companies are the
fittest.
- Have marketing campaigns, communications and
strategies ready to go. Timing is everything and post-crisis companies need
to reintroduce themselves to the marketplace and consumers. Is it a good time
to launch an incentive? An introductory trial for free or at a cut-rate
price? Whatever it is, be ready to
launch. Planning after the crisis passes is too late.
- It’s OK to grieve and be retrospective post
crisis. What did we learn that we could’ve and should’ve done better? Enhance and improve your crisis plans based
on lessons learned. There will also be sadness and challenges in accepting the
aftermath impacts of a crisis—colleagues who lost their jobs because of the
crisis, job role and scope changes, loss of some pay and benefits, companies that
didn’t fare well during the crisis getting sold, merged or going out of
business, etc. Use the period after a crisis passes to reflect and learn from
what happened personally and professionally so that you are better prepared for
the next crisis no mater how big or small the scale of it may be.
- Celebrate the survival. There’s no dispute that every crisis takes a
toll. Don’t have survivors’ guilt, celebrate that we are all survivors. Crisis
bonds people together; it shows us what we are made of and gives us confidence
to face the next crisis. That kind of self-learning transforms people—and people
transform their companies.