REBOUND FROM A CRISIS BY REBUILDING TRUST
A crisis can hit at any time, shaking the confidence of your employees and your clients. Whether it’s the result of an ethical lapse, or something beyond your control, your first job is to rebuild a positive attitude within your organization. Here’s how to regain employees’ trust:
• Get the facts out. Your staff wants and needs to know what’s going on. Even if you have only partial information, share what you know and what you don’t know as quickly as possible, before rumors start squeezing out the truth.
• Re-recruit your best people. Your competitors won’t wait long before picking off your best employees (and clients). Identify the people you must keep, open the lines of communication, and do what you must to keep their loyalty.
• Maintain your focus. Don’t let the crisis distract employees from their jobs, or you from yours. Though you and your staff may have to deal with the immediate crisis, stay organized so the main work continues to get done.
• Build some momentum. Aim for a quick success that will keep everyone’s spirits up. This lets everyone see that you and your organization are here to stay.