'People need to feel heard – touching base, making sure things are okay – it's all about building trust'
With many people and businesses affected across Queensland and New South Wales by ex-Cyclone Alfred, it’s a stark reminder of the importance of crisis management strategies, according to a senior lecturer at Deakin University’s Department of Management.
“After a crisis as tragic as this, the focus of a business and HR leader should be switching to a promotion focus. Looking at the good – how we dealt with it, how we were effective,” Florian Klonek told HRD.
“They also have to be adaptable but sensitive to the unfolding of a crisis, both before and after. People could have been directly impacted. Their families, friends or loved ones may have been affected.”
People need to recognise it will take a while for their employees to feel safe, he said.
“Going into conversation about this is critical and helping them through the recovery process is massively important in how someone ‘bounces back’ into their role. Mini interventions and keeping communication lines open is crucial,” Klonek said.
“People need to feel heard. Touching base, making sure things are okay, it’s all about building trust.”
During a crisis, it’s important to ensure workers and employers are on the same page when it comes to safety protocols. But how do you negotiate when there isn’t an alignment in values?
It’s key that employees feel heard, Klonek said.
“It’s a two-way system. Businesses need to listen to concerns people have about feeling safe and how that needs addressing. Then, they can explain the safety protocols in place that counter that. It’s a way of building an increased capacity to be resilient in the face of the next crisis – there might be things employers haven’t even thought of before.”
Everyone has their own opinion when it comes to resolving dilemmas and problems – and HR leaders should acknowledge differences and be genuine, authentic and straightforward.
“A key thing is giving flexibility. There's a universal need for autonomy, that they're not restricted in their choices... we know that from the self-determination theory. So, forcing people into doing something that even feels unsafe is not a wise decision, from both the motivational perspective but also then that we're putting them at risk,” he noted.
A worker has several rights in response to a crisis such as the one experienced over the last few weeks, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman, like taking annual leave or flexible working arrangements.
Both employers and employees can receive disaster relief payments if they have been affected by the recent ex-Cyclone Alfred by logging into their myGov account.
Every crisis experienced by a business provides an opportunity to improve and make changes to internal procedures – to give the company a more streamlined and effective approach in the future.
The same rules apply to crises such as these, according to Klonek.
“Teams working in extreme environments deal with issues like this all the time. They usually do a briefing before they go in – and then do one after: ‘What went well? What went to plan? What didn’t go to plan?’”
“It’s this reflection that ensures teams keep up their resilience and capabilities to perform at their best,” he noted.
The way in which HR professionals succeed at negotiating periods of change plays a crucial role in how they themselves succeed as a HR professional, an HR leader previously told HRD.
A report published by the Governance Institute of Australia echoes this – stating that contingency planning is a “must” amongst business leaders, as seen during the pandemic.
“Overwhelmingly businesses rose to the challenges presented by COVID-19 but... a comprehensive continuity plan was lacking for many and will be essential in order to tackle future crises,” the report stated.
