How to Support Your Team in the Wake of Disaster

Many of you are dealing with crisis situations in your business if you are based in Florida or have many team members in Florida. Recovery is a marathon and keeping goals in clear focus and communicating effectively while not going or pushing too hard is a delicate balance. Here is the down and dirty on staying connected to your team while supporting them (and your business) after a disaster like Hurricane Ian:

1-Create your recovery team.

Who is responsible for what? Who is running point on day to day ops, on recovery-specific initiatives, on disaster-related expenses, on internal or external communication? Clearly define these roles then over communicate them. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF CREATING CERTAINTY.

2-Set up your communication cadence and channels.

How frequently will you send updates internally and externally? Max out all channels you have because people are already distractible and now they are dealing with direct or indirect trauma. You cannot over-communicate. For example, you may have a daily morning email brief, a weekly wrap up and look ahead at next steps, a running communication in your shared drive that can be accessed at any time for updates, a Slack channel and then email and text “hot alerts” for urgent matters. It's not too much. Make a plan and stick to it.

3-Address the trauma.

Immediately offer practical resources for your team members’ recovery efforts. Even if you are pointing them to agencies, providing the information in one location that offers ease of access to government, non-profit or company resources is incredibly helpful in stressful and uncertain times.

Likewise, if you have an EAP program, remind your team, or if you have counselors on hand to help team members through this challenging time, communicate that routinely. Normalize getting emotional and mental support.

It goes without saying that leading with empathy right now is a MUST. People first, then profit, even if you’re scared to death about the financial impact on your business. Take care of your people and they WILL take care of you.

4-Be simple & specific.

You cannot leave any detail out. Address the "who, what, when, where, why and how" for EVERYTHING. People’s brains are not fully engaged, so you have to spell everything out clearly and concisely with a specific call to action per communication. This is not insulting. This is compassionate.

5-Coordinate volunteer efforts for your team members, customers and the communities you are in.

This is a practical way to help and speed up recovery. It shows how much you care. It helps unite your team and business or geographical community. It also provides both an outlet that allows people to feel like they are doing something or accomplishing something in the midst of chaos, while also bringing people together through a sense of pride that they are part of the solution.

Final Thoughts

These are my top of mind tips after reopening Gaylord Opryland post-historic flood, supporting countless businesses through the mandatory government shut down and throughout the pandemic, and so much more.

I cannot emphasis enough that YOU CANNOT OVER-COMMUNICATE IN TIMES OF CRISIS.

If you are stuck, need help, or simply need a thought partner, send me a message. No strings attached. I am sure I can send a voice note that could help answer a question quickly and help you stay focus on doing what you do best. Feel free to share this with anyone you think will find it helpful -- we all need to help each other any way we can.

My team grieves with those of you who have experienced loss, and we send your teams positive energy and prayers for best case scenarios and outcomes.

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