25 Practical Tips For Managing a Crisis in the Workplace

December 11, 2014 Project Management, Technology

13. Don’t Skimp on Ethics

Depending on the circumstances, your executives may be pounding on you for closure, customers may be asking questions faster than your team can answer them. And perhaps the media is aware, and critiquing your every move. As mentioned in #12, when the pressure is on and the hours a long, there will be a strong urge by many to put the issue to rest and put it in the past.

During these times, though, remaining true to ethical business practice is of utmost importance. Taking short cuts, avoiding difficult questions, and omitting facts will only lead to more issues, making the situation worse. Actively engage each individual from time to time to make sure that all team members are comfortable with the decisions being made and the level of rigor with which you are conducting the investigation. If you sense discomfort, be sure to speak with any individuals privately if necessary.

14. Take the Time To Listen

You’re surrounded by empty take-out boxes, sitting alongside your colleagues in the conference room late at night. Inevitably, opinions will be expressed with passion. People will talk over one another as a result of the stress the team is under. When leading and managing a crisis team, promote equal participation and facilitate tolerance of ideas and opinions. Encourage everyone to speak. Not only is such behavior exemplary of good leadership, it helps bring stability and professionalism to an environment that can otherwise be tense and overwhelmed by stress and emotion.

15. Distinguish Between Short Term Needs and Long Term Objectives

Confusion and miscommunication are the most frequent difficulties you will encounter when managing a crisis. Amidst this, the team may frequently lose sight of how all the puzzle pieces fit together.

In terms of efficiency, be sure to map out and distinguish between short-term activities and those that may either take more time. Some tasks will have several predecessors and thus cannot be completed until sometime in the future. The last thing you need is for team members to get confused and spend precious time answering longer term questions when there are more imminent, critical path tasks that need attention. Block diagrams can help you articulate the difference.

16. Promote Break Out Sessions

Adverse circumstances that threaten a business often consume a large number of people and team members. Remember that the most productive teams are in the range of 4 to 9 people. So while there may be temptation to pack everyone into one large conference room to work through the issues, this will usually progress because there are simply too many people and too many opinions being offered. Though standing meetings with the whole group are necessary, encourage sub teams to break out into separate meeting rooms or areas, such that each team can focus on their specific task.

17. Ask, Because Everyone Needs Help

Asking for help – from specialists, senior leaders, and even customers – is a common occurrence in crisis management. The key, however, is the be very specific with what help is needed. Don’t just say you need a financial analyst. Say you need an experienced financial analyst to review the calculations to confirm there were no mistakes made. Don’t just say you need a programmer. Rather, state that you need someone who knows a given software language in order to troubleshoot a specific issue.

While you may feel you just need a warm body, you run the risk of losing time if you do not get the right person involved. When it comes to asking help, make sure you are clear with the specific skill set or experience you actually need.

18. Create a RAIL

If lists are your friend, RAILs are you best friend. A RAIL, or Rolling Action Item List, is a simple continuous list of actions that the team members and other individuals need to complete. While a variety of a tracking tools can work, an effective RAIL is simple and consolidated to be easily updated and managed. If the RAIL document becomes too difficult and cumbersome to manage, it will lose its value.

The most important component of the RAIL are the specific names assigned to each action or task. During the investigation, actions will quickly amass for a number of a people. Not only does the RAIL help you keep track of who is doing what, it can also help you identify areas where help is needed. If one team member has three times more actions or tasks than other team members, for example, he or she would be a good contender for needing help. Focus on who will do what, by when.

19. Stay Calm, Keep it Professional

There is more than enough stress and pressure to go around when managing a crisis. If the overall crisis manager or leader doesn’t handle him or herself well, it will impact the morale of everyone on the team. No matter how frustrating the situation may get, be sure to keep your cool about you. As the manager of the team working hard to fix the issue, your demeanor and ability to keep calm and focused will help the team do the same. Don’t forget that once the crisis is behind you, you’ll still have to work with those team members.

20. Require Protocol and Discipline

Despite the natural desire to run wild in pursuit of an immediate end to the chaos, the most effective approach to crisis management is to methodically go about executing the various tasks. Require the team respect the protocol, scheduling and communication mechanisms outlined at the beginning. The same goes for the functional leaders, who must follow the protocol established at the onset.

Failure to maintain discipline and follow through on protocol will only make matters more difficult. If there is a status meeting scheduled for 3PM, make sure all participants are aware and present. You are not doing anyone favors by repeating the same discussion more than once.

21. Remember Fatigue

When a work crisis hits, it will instantly lead to an increase in the hours of the team. While initially this may not have an impact, after several weeks or months, such circumstances will wear significantly on the team members. At some point in time, productivity, clarity and the ability to make decisions effectively will suffer as a result of fatigue.

While the resolution is needed quickly, make sure the team gets adequate rest. If weekend work is required, give the team one day off to recharge. If you cannot afford to let a day slip by, consider two shifts to get more productivity out of the team and allow or sufficient rest.

22. …And Respect Personal Boundaries

Similar to the issue of fatigue, if the investigation does last multiple weeks or months, be sure to respect and adhere to personal boundaries of the team members. When a team member takes some time off to spend with family, have the discipline to let that individual enjoy that time and get a break. This helps offset the fatigue, and allows them to come back refreshed and ready to jump in again. If you absolutely must disturb a team member on a holiday or on vacation, be sure to have a specific reason or purpose, and not just an update.

23. Compensate for Hardship

Very likely, your situation will place some hardship on the employees and team members. To get the most focus and dedication from the team, be sure to offer compensation in some form for that effort. This is not necessarily a monetary entity, but something noteworthy to compensate them for the significant number of extra hours being worked.

For example, let the team members know that if they have to forego a planned vacation, that the company will pay for ticket change fees. Alternatively, you can offer some extra days off to make up for lost weekends once the crisis is in the rear view mirror. And if it’s the end of the year when employees need to burn any remaining vacation days before they’re gone, work with your HR department to ensure the unused days are not lost if people are unable to use them. Such activities will not only make the team members feel valued, it will also help serve as a way to help them focus at the task at hand.

24. Share The Knowledge Gained

When major issues or crises emerge in business, they are rarely the result of a single failure in process or protocol, but rather the result of several breakdowns in control. Further, most of these instances reveal a number of important facts and lessons over the course of the investigation.

Once a resolution and corrective action are implemented, share that experience, those mistakes and the learnings you discovered during the investigation with other employees and teams to pass on the information for awareness. Unfortunately, that invaluable list of lessons you learned the hard way will inevitably be called up again at some point in the future.

25. Recognize Contribution

Once all is said and done, and the crisis has been resolved, recognize the effort of the entire team. A team dinner, public recognition and an all-around demonstration of sincere appreciation are all valid options. It’s likely that during the crisis and ensuing investigation, tempers flared, emotions overwhelmed and frustrations boiled over. Proper and effective recognition is a great way to let those low moments subside and to help transition the team from panic mode back into business as usual.

Managing a Crisis at Work

Dealing with a crisis at work is never a pleasant experience. As this list of 25 tips illustrates, much of it comes down to how you organize, prioritize and communicate with people. Use discipline and a steady framework to guide your way through the maze, and continuously drive the focus. When the crisis is resolved it will be the results of the team’s effort and dedication.