If you’ve ever worked for a company where there’s some sort of crisis, one of two things probably happened.  The first scenario is where the boss was honest and open, the staff were fully informed and this resulted in everyone supporting each other.  All very lovely.  Then there’s the second scenario…

This is the scenario where the boss says very little.  He or she will occasionally make an appearance, make some vaguely optimistic comment and then disappear.  This results in rumour, gossip, fear, anger and then everyone starts planning their exit as they assume they’ll all lose their jobs anyway.

Advice

Hopefully it’s the first scenario that rings bells with you.  If you’re a boss and you’re wondering how you would deal with a crisis should one ever emerge, then we have some sound advice for you.  Those splendid lads and lasses at melcrum.com recently wrote an article on how internal communication can guide everyone through such troubles.

A crisis usually means change.  So the old way of doing things goes out of the window.  In their article, melcrum.com looked to the writings of William Bridges who identified three key stages that occur during a crisis.  They are as follows:

The Ending: this is where everyone has to let go of the old way of doing things.

The Neutral Zone: this is that random time where the old way has gone but the new way hasn’t quite started just yet.

The New Beginning: this is where everything finally gets moving again and you have to adapt to the new way of doing things.

Tips

So these were the tips that melcum.com and William Bridges came up with.  Naturally, we’ve added our own observations as well.

1. Make sure you know what people stand to lose or will have to leave behind.  This way you’ll know how everyone is likely to react, so you can plan how to deal with it.

2. Help everyone understand WHY the change is happening and take ownership of it.  Let them see the problem first-hand, then they’ll be more inclined to let go of the old ways and embrace the new.

3. Spell out what you want everyone to stop doing and how you want them to continue.  Random clichés such as, “Be more customer-focused” and “Work as a cross-functional team” are not good enough.  People need to know the details of how you want them to behave differently.

4. Talk to people about the transition process.  This way EVERYONE will understand what EVERYONE is going through together.  Let them all realise this isn’t just some piece of “bad planning” on the company’s part.

Focus

There are also four areas they advise to focus on during that New Beginning phase we talked of earlier:


1. Explain the purpose of what you’re aiming for.  This is very important because then everyone can see WHY they should be investing their energy in helping you get there.

2. Paint a picture of what it will look and feel like.  Not literally of course.  You don’t want everyone sat around watching you dabbing away at an easel.  Describe the details of what the future will be like, even down to what their average working day will look like.

3. Set out a plan of what needs to happen.  A step-by-step guide will make this New Beginning a reality.

4. Give each person a part to play.  If they have a specific role they will be keen to contribute and participate.

Podcast

Once you’ve identified your challenges and shared them with everyone, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how everyone will pull together.  Avoiding your teams and being blindly optimistic will just alienate everyone and spread panic.

Of course it’s not always possible to communicate everything to everyone simultaneously if you’re managing a business with numerous branches up and down the land, or even spread across the globe.  This is where Fresh Air Studios can assist.  We produce audio for companies such as Barclays, Serco and E-ON whereby CEOs can record messages or interviews.  Colleagues can then access these “podcast” style shows in their intranet or on their ‘phone system.

There are many other delights to observe and numerous joys to uncover from https://www.melcrum.com/ so feel free to click away and have a nose.  If you want to look into having your own company podcast, have browse around the Fresh Air Studios website.  Have a chat with us via our “contact us” page.  We don’t bite.  Well, not unless you request such bizarre behaviour.

Whatever you do, keep communicating!
 

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