Leadership in a Business Crisis

When a trauma engulfs a company, all eyes are on the president for answers and guidance
By Judy Artunian, Freelance Writer Insider trading, layoffs, floods. You can’t eliminate the emotional fallout from a devastating event, but you can bolster the confidence of employees, customers and shareholders if you lead your company through the crisis with honesty and compassion. That means: 

1. Providing updates to employees often and in person.
2. If you’re dealing with a natural disaster, making employee safety your top priority.
3. Projecting confidence.

Get help now

If a crisis blindsides you before you've had a chance to put a crisis management plan in place, consider calling a consultant who can step in on a moment's notice to guide you through the trauma.
Try:  Towhey Consulting Group and Bernstein Crisis Management are two highly regarded consulting firms that offer immediate crisis leadership and management counseling. If you’re dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster, The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides a list of emergency response action steps.

Ask employees for feedback

Even if you are delivering news and updates on a regular basis, employees will continue to have questions and suggestions. Ask them to share their thoughts with you via an e-mail or the Web. Be sure to answer promptly. You can also be proactive by issuing a questionnaire that asks employees about their top concerns.
Try:  At FormSite.com you can develop an online survey form, collect responses and analyze the results of your survey. Learn how to create a questionnaire that will yield the answers you need by consulting StatPac’s free online tutorial on survey and questionnaire design.

Keep offsite workers and stakeholders in the loop

Whether or not they're on your premises, everyone with a vested interest in your company wants the straight story about the crisis and your plans to get the company back on its feet.
Try:  Talk to your telecommunications provider about services that will allow you to quickly communicate with employees and others who work offsite. Not sure what to say? Download C4M’s Communicating in a Crisis: A C4M Pocket Guide for Emergencies. You’ll get no-nonsense advice such as, don’t play down what happened and stay on-the-record at all times.

Get the word out to the media

To discourage the media from speculating about your company's fate after a major crisis, explain the situation and your recovery plans.
Try:  Use a news-distribution service to deliver press releases. PRNewswire and Businesswire let you select the media outlets to which you want your releases distributed. If you hear about inaccurate reports in the media, set the record straight. To find out what the media and others are saying about your company, subscribe to PRNewswire’s eWatch. Monitor the blogosphere for comments about your organization by conducting a free search on Technorati.com.

Be prepared for the next crisis

It's never easy to guide your company through a troubling period, but having a crisis-management plan in place can ease some of the stress.
Try:  Get help developing a plan from consultants such as Institute of Crisis Management. Check out The Center for Creative Leadership’s webinar entitled, “Crisis Leadership: How to Lessen the Impact of Chaos on the People You Lead.” Natural disasters present their own set of challenges. The U.S. Small Business Administration explains what to consider when preparing for a natural disaster.

• Publicly praise employees and others who go the extra mile to help others weather the crisis.
• Stay visible to employees. Locking yourself away with a group of advisors for hours every day will only fuel employees' fears.
• If you assign a spokesperson to talk to the media, make sure he is armed with the facts. If he is asked a question that he can't answer, he should get back to the reporter with the correct answer rather than speculate on the spot.