If You Are in Crisis Mode, Show Your Emotions And Be Apologetic!

Welcome back, Readers! This week we are going to talk about how to promote emotions at work and handle a communication crisis. You are probably thinking how these are connected to each other but, do not worry readers, I have an answer to that. However, you have to keep reading this blog post to find out.

Let’s talk briefly about how emotions are perceived and reacted to a place of work. I have been very appreciative for the chance of working in the United States because it has given me specific sets of skills and training on how to handle the workforce environment. On the other hand, I was able to hone my specific set of skills through previous working experience and practice, others like respect, expressing emotions, and what communication styles to use, were learnt through the hard way. When I talk about expressing my emotions at work, I do mean both the joys and sadness I went through daily both at work and my personal life. What I realized as an employee, some will be empathetic towards you while, others give blatant disregard towards you. This creates a hostile environment not only for the employee but, others around them. For example, if you see an employee who looks disgruntled and their body language is closed off, the best way to approach them would be to use humor. For example, show them a meme on social media or a joke, this breaks the ice and you can have an in as to what is keeping them feeling this way.

Furthermore, as an organization who values its employees and workplace culture, they should promote emotions at workplace. Promoting the emotions also means that the company is accepting its employees as humans, first. Moreover, it also translates to other potential employees, stake holders, and organizations that each individual looks out for another. This enables the company to stand out because it has an “honest, open, two-way communication that focuses on mutual respect which employees’ support through their voluntary and valuable communication behaviors” (Young, 2018). Think about it, if I have the freedom to express my emotions with respect to other employees and the company values without any consequence, it will help with productivity and longevity. Similarly, this would also help me, as an employee in higher or lower management, to tackle any crisis that the company I work at faces.

When a company is in crisis mode, it becomes crucial that it is handled with sensitivity and care. It needs to follow the communication crisis plan that has been placed in case of an emergency. The question is what is the best possible way to handle a communication crisis without it being blown out of proportion? The answer to that question is not simple.

Firstly, every big or small corporation should have a communication expert hired on their respective teams. They are crucial for when there is an active crisis because they have the required expertise and ways to help handle the situation. Secondly, with the help of a communication’s expert, higher management, which includes the CEO and executive members, need to be immediately notified of the crisis at hand. They should all call an emergency meeting and try their best to contain the situation at best, if the media isn’t already aware. The next step would be to let the employees, board of directors, stakeholders, interns or other higher education experts on your team, and donors know of what the company is facing at a collective such that they are not left in the dark. This further helps in containing the crisis if everyone is involved; they can use social media to direct any negative light away from the company, let the stakeholders know that they have invested in an organization that wouldn’t sweep the incident under rug instead resolve it. Moreover, if the media hasn’t sensationalized the incident then talk to a media outlet your company can trust. This helps to let the media and public know that you are handling the incident discreetly and with haste. This helps in eliminating the chances of repercussions from them.

For example, Fed Ex had a communication crisis during the holiday season of 2011 that resulted in negative feedback from the public due to a customer uploading a video on YouTube. That video featured an employee throwing a “fragile” package beyond that gate and leaving. As the video went viral across social media platforms and media outlets, FedEx’s Senior VP of Express U.S. Operations Matthew Thornton released an apology to the affected customer and the rest of its customers who employ their services, within 48 hours. They wanted to assure its customers and stakeholders that not everyone they employee is the same and one person’s work ethics cannot describe the company’s. That apology saved the fate of the company because the deliverance of the apology has the correct impact. Thornton’s admitted that there was something wrong and profusely apologized. Moreover, he was sensitive and expressed his emotions via verbal cues and assured it employees, stakeholders, and customers that they will do their best to improve and correct the situation.

Likewise, in 2009 Dominos had a crisis where the perpetrators violated health regulations and safety. The video was filmed as a joke but, went viral globally. The stocks for Dominos declined massively since the incident. Further, customers and other employees were hesitant to dine again there. That specific video showed the worse way to sabotage someone health. However, Dominos used their crisis management plan to get ahead of the incident and filmed an apology to its employees, stakeholders, and customers. The President of Dominos, Patrick Doyle, took extreme measures by firing and issuing warrants, sanitizing every inch of the place, and confirming that their hiring process will be handled thoroughly and differently. Mr. Doyle got personal and responded by showing his emotions. He understood the outrage and disgust from every single person regarding the incident. These two cases on crisis management showed that acting smartly and with compassion helps resolve an issue faster than covering it up. The use of emotions in both the videos ensured the viewers that they are human, and they are willing to make the necessary changes.

In conclusion, I believe that emotions are what makes or breaks company’s culture. When an organization faces challenges like crisis, every employee and management become emotionally involved because their company is being targeted. Employing the use of emotions helps others know that we are all humans and sometimes, things get out of hand. Therefore, the best way to let the public know is through expressing yourself via verbal and behavioral cues. I hope you enjoyed reading this post, Readers!

References:

Young, K. (2018, October 15). Enhancing Employee Communication Behaviors for Sensemaking and Sensegiving in Crisis Situations. Retrieved November 3, 2019, from https://instituteforpr.org/enhancing-employee-communication-behaviors-for-sensemaking-and-sensegiving-in-crisis-situations/.