4 crisis management tips for employers, from a people strategy expert

Crisis management amid COVID-19

Running a business amid the COVID-19 pandemic is tough. To help business leaders in these uncertain times, Glints hosted ‘GlintsTalk: Crisis Management: Adapting Your Business to the Current Situation’ on 19 May.

People Strategy Expert Anne Caron shared her top tips for employers through online meeting platform Zoom – here are her best practices:

1. Ask yourself: is the business’ survival at stake?

Business leaders should first identify if the business is in ‘survival mode’. Does the business have at least a 12-month cash runway? 

If the answer is yes, the company’s survival is not at stake. Take this time to prepare a post-crisis strategy and improve operations. For instance, leaders can explore new business models or upskill their staff.

But if the answer is no, the company’s survival may be at risk. Still, avoid downsizing. Staff morale will go down and rehiring trained candidates in the future may be more expensive. Instead, consult your team about cost-cutting measures, redeploy employees, or ask them to volunteer for salary cuts.

2. Leaders, communicate with your staff

After you’ve evaluated the company’s survival, share this information with your staff. Don’t keep people in uncertainty! Instead, involve them in helping the business; put them in the driver’s seat. This honesty (and lots of empathy) will go a long way. 

Also, be sure to appear even when there’s nothing new to share. Your staff needs to know that there’s still a captain in their boat.

3. Adapt your management style

Micro-management and telecommuting don’t go well together. That’s because employees may face various challenges while working from home, like less-than-ideal workspaces, having to take care of children, etc. It’s best to be aware of these situations and show more understanding to your staff. 

BONUS: employee evaluation template

Instead, leaders can adapt their management style to their employees’ competency level and interest. 

4. Adapt work routines

Working from home means fewer informal, in-person interactions. But employers can replicate that online. Leaders can request their HR teams to create communication channels (Whatsapp groups, Slack channels, Google Chat) for spontaneous gatherings. Work-wise, leaders can implement project trackers through Trello or Toggl Plan (compatible with Slack) to improve remote coordination.

Still, there are more stories that People Strategy Expert Anne Caron shared during the webinar. Such as experiences from her nearly 10-year career at Google, where she rose to the position of APAC People Operations Manager.

Dive into all the stories and tips in the full webinar recording!