Your Guide to Calming Panic in the Office
It’s Friday the 13th, a black cat is climbing a tree in my garden, and the world has gone completely mad. I just can’t quite believe how everything has spun so completely out of control in two weeks. How the hell did that happen?
I blame all the usual suspects – sensationalist media, inept orange Presidents, AI trading algorithms, etc – but that’s beside the point. It has happened and somehow, we need to find a way to inject some sanity into an insane world.
Let’s not forget that it is the ordinary Joe who makes the world go around. The same person who has had a quarter of their pension wiped out. The same person who even before the big lurgy scare of 2020, was worried about losing their job to a robot, nervous about the very real climate changes happening around them and feeling let down by both capitalism and democracy. Through this lens, stock piling toilet paper becomes a statement of self-determination!
The most powerful influence is most people’s lives is their place of work. Employers have daily contact with billions of people, and I believe that it is up to the business leaders around the world to provide the reassurance the world needs.
Big multi-nationals have the processes in place, but for smaller businesses, here’s my guide to restoring sanity.
Go speak to your people today, let them leave the office with a clear mind, and let them enjoy their weekend. Here’s what you need to do:
Remember that face to face is always the most trusted communication, so unless there are high risks in your office, don’t be scared to call everyone together especially if this is the last time you will all be together for the next two weeks
Provide context
Give them the facts – The World Health Organisation has a comprehensive set of resources on their website
Explain your company policy
And if you don’t have one yet, best you decide quickly… containment and delay seem to be the wisest choices for now. Here’s a great piece on flattening the curve that will help your thinking.
Explain your business continuity plan
What processes and systems are in place, what is the chain of command, who are the spokespeople, what support will be provided, who will provide this support…
Address people’s fears
Don’t waste this opportunity to provide reassurance by ignoring the elephant in the room. If necessary ‘plant’ some direct questions to get people to open up and share what’s on their minds. Even if you don’t have the answers, your people need to know that you are ‘on it’.
Put a hotline or online Q&A system in place
If you’re going to be working remotely and you don’t already have it, get one of the great collaboration tools like Slack or Facebook Workplace
Provide a plain English factsheet that staff can read through afterwards and digest in their own time
Most importantly, make the conversation human – talk about resilience, remind everyone that this is not the end of the world, you still have goals and dreams. Talk to the greater purpose of the business and what you can all collectively achieve.
Hope this helps