If there is one thing that the pandemic taught us – it is that a crisis can hit anytime & what matters the most during this time is humane leadership & transparent communication. We explore how mature leaders have gotten through some of the biggest crises through remarkable communication.
Amy Edmondson recently wrote, “Transparency is ‘job one’ for leaders in a crisis. Be clear what you know, what you don’t know, and what you are doing to learn more.” Communication forms the fundamental of solutions in any crisis.
Employees, clients, and business partners become anxious during crises, and randomly circulated information is seldom helpful. Not to mention that every stakeholder has the right to know what’s going on.
In times of crisis, it is up to the leaders to keep the communication pipeline open. By being genuine in your communication, you help the stakeholders understand that they are a crucial component of the company and that the leadership is undertaking the required measures.
The value of good leadership & communication in crisis is universal, but its necessity was understood only post-COVID-19. During the pandemic, which was a period of extreme stress and uncertainty, organizations and administrations that kept the communication lines open and were transparent with their employees, were able to keep the morale high and workflows uninterrupted. These leaders assumed an empathetic, calm, open, and fact-based stance.
Historically, during some of the biggest crises seen by individuals & brands, humane leadership & transparent communication have led the way.
Humane Leadership & Transparency In Communication
While a number of CEOs did an empathetic job when it comes to letting their people go during a crisis, Ashish went a step forward and made a case for the workforce he was compelled to let go.
Not only did he appreciate their talent and showed remorse but also urged his industry peers to hire them, and share leads with them. This helped BMS’ goodwill, in spite of the situation. It also, made consumers more considerate of the brand’s plight during the pandemic.
In the absence of communication, people allow their own stories to form or they start to form their own version of reality. It’s important to be transparent and open. Employees, customers, and partners gravitate towards people who show up authentically and are true to themselves through all of this. Consumers trust brands that treat their own people right during any crisis and strive to do good for society at large.
I’d like to reiterate this point with one more example. In 2008, a crisis involving listeria-contaminated products was experienced by Maple Leaf Foods, a Canadian food processing business that provides processed meat. It resulted in twelve deaths and numerous illnesses.
Michael McCain, the CEO, accepted the responsibility and made no attempt to assign blame to the workers, the food safety regulations, or the equipment makers. Further, he took a step towards transparency by informing the public of the safety standard violation. If he hadn’t explained what Maple Leaf was doing, someone else would have driven the story and placed him in a defensive position.
Following the disaster, Maple Leaf hired the best personnel for their food processing facilities and launched a number of marketing campaigns to reclaim market share. They turned a profit by the end of 2009.
Typically, businesses assemble an army of accountants and lawyers to minimize the harm and assign blame. McCain, though, handled his clients like humans and understood their feelings. He explained the truth, and the audience understood.
Crisis management includes crisis communication.
Even if you may have already identified the issue and begun to fix it, your customers won’t be aware if you don’t let them know. You can’t work in silence, especially during a crisis.
A typical crisis plays out over three time frames: respond, where a company deals with the current situation and manages continuity; recover, where a company learns and emerges stronger; and thrive, where the company prepares for and shapes the “next normal.” CEOs have the significant and additional responsibility to nimbly consider all the three time frames concurrently and allocate resources accordingly.
Mature leaders can take specific tactical actions within the context of these broad imperatives to enhance these attributes throughout the current crisis, blunting its impact, and assisting their firms to emerge stronger. Instead of simply returning to the status quo, this crisis has the potential to be a chance to advance and produce even more value and great societal impact.
The Nestle Chapter
A case in point would be that of Suresh Narayanan, Managing Director of Nestle, India. Suresh was a part of Nestle Egypt during the Arab Spring movement. He decided to stay in the country even in the middle of the crisis and kept the factory open. A Forbes article suggests that unexpectedly most of the workforce came to work when the factory was reopened because the workers respected the fact that the senior management didn’t desert them during these difficult times.
Similarly, in India, during the Maggi ban, which was one of the biggest crises for Nestle in the country, one of the first things Narayanan did was establish open communication channels. Not just with the employees but also with the customers, suppliers, distributors, media, and FSSAI.
He stated, “Whatever I try to do or say, it is with dignity, calmness, and maturity. I am not here to hurt anybody and say ‘You are the one who ruined me.’ I am here to share my point of view transparently and reasonably and am willing to listen to your point of view as well.”
Resilient leaders seize the narrative at the outset, being transparent about current realities—including what they don’t know—while also painting a compelling picture of the future that inspires others to persevere.
Crisis in the era of Social Media
With the changing socio-political landscape and the rapid rise of cancel culture, social media crises unfold almost every day. While some crises might be on account of miscalculation or a mistake on the organization’s part, some are just caused due to bad reactions from a certain sect or maybe even social media trolls.
All that organizations can do, is be prepared. Have a crisis management mechanism in place, keep the communication channels clear, and employees informed.
Recently Zomato found itself in hot water and received flak for their campaign featuring Hrithik Roshan. The brand was quick to respond and shared an apology for hurting any sentiments.
Key Takeaways for Effective Crisis Communication
- Accountability: Accepting responsibility and accountability for what went wrong, would be step one. A mistake has occurred, the only thing that you can do now is come forward and apologize.
- Transparency: This factor cannot be emphasized enough. Your employees have the same right to information that you do so that they themselves can take informed decisions. Plus, transparency leaves little scope for imagination – it puts the leader on the same page as their employees creating a base for a true team effort.
- Humanity: People’s mental health, personal problems, families, and emotions all become an equal part of the equation. Be considerate of their situations and respond accordingly.
- KISS – Keep it simple, silly: Do not use jargon, PR terms, technical vocabulary, or diplomatic answers. Be direct and humble. There is no other way out.
- Keep Going: Keep the communication and humane leadership going. Your leadership doesn’t have to be restricted to the crisis. Keep the momentum going to create a better work culture.
Customers can better grasp your position by listening to your story during a crisis. In order to prevent it from happening again, your stakeholders want you to be open and upfront about what you are doing. You may navigate the crisis by taking into account the feelings of your clients, team members, and community members and using that knowledge to back your message with the appropriate tales.
You can control the dialogue if you own the narrative and convey it. It is not important what occurred because mistakes are unavoidable, communicating what you are doing to improve the problem is more crucial.
If you liked this blog on crisis communication, check out our blog for more amazing content from the world of storytelling.
