The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all of us, including most businesses. Shops are shuttered, bars, restaurants, gyms and other businesses are closed and it is certainly a strange time. Businesses have had to quickly adapt and change the way they operate. With this change also comes other concerns to deal with and how you are perceived during this time is very important. As a business is it not just about surviving – but also assessing how the general public as well as your customers react to the way in which you handle the crisis.
Crisis management is a term that not everyone has heard of – until now. It can take many forms – for example, our wonderful NHS is literally managing the crisis – and that is a very literal example. But more generally, businesses can sometimes face a crisis from time to time and how they deal with this can affect their reputation forever – especially in the online world. Comments, shares and forum posts can linger online and can be difficult to deal with and manage. Handling a crisis means you can effectively manage the flow of conversation, educate your audience and ensure that your customers and audience know that whatever the situation, you as a business are doing your best in an open and transparent manner.
As you may have seen in the press recently, there have been stark differences in the way businesses have handled the coronavirus pandemic.
Tim Martin the owner of the Wetherspoon chain has been widely criticized for this attitude towards his staff. He told his 43,000 staff they would not be paid until the beginning of the government programme to cover 80 per cent of salaries of workers temporarily laid off, which could be at the end of April. This was then reversed after a huge backlash which included negative graffiti splashed across pub windows in Glasgow and London.
Wetherspoons pub in Nottingham vandalised with ‘pay your staff’ graffiti – https://t.co/zeb5nGVY79 pic.twitter.com/B8eHKVZVba
— UniStash (@unistashtoday) March 28, 2020
Upper Norwood Wetherspoons daubed with ‘pay your staff’ graffiti https://t.co/we9x9142Xz
— News Shopper (@NewsShopper) March 25, 2020
He has been hugely criticized for suggesting his staff could even get a job at Tesco:
Absolute state of it.
Rather than look after his staff, Wetherspoons owner Tim Martin tells them to go and work in a supermarket. pic.twitter.com/7jsvHkyNAb
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) March 24, 2020
This is in stark contrast with Nandos who have been praised by staff for acting quickly at the start of the crisis as well as offering a support package for all staff.
Nandos has offered similar clarification: “We are now shifting our entire focus onto how we can best support all 18,000 of our team over the coming months. We have contacted all our team members to reassure them that they will be paid their full contracted hours for the next two weeks. We will provide another update later this week about a longer term package to support them further.”
Kyle Gillespie, who works at Nando’s Falkirk, told Eater that that support has been entirely forthcoming: “I am happy with the way they handled it and so were my colleges. Every bit of advice from the government was enforced as much as possible in the restaurant. There was only a little bit of talk about why we hadn’t closed but that was in the days leading up to us closing anyway, so I’m sure there are many who are happy to not be facing multiple customers day in and day out during this health crisis, I think it was the right thing to do.”
As Gillespie said of his experience with Nandos: “There was nobody left wondering what was going to happen, and we were updated as soon as any managers knew what was happening. The way it was dealt with made life that little bit less stressful but it makes me feel for staff who haven’t been treated in the same way.” Source
Nandos have also been donating meals and drinks to staff in the NHS which has been hugely welcome and a great thing to do at this time.
Meanwhile in Basildon, a Nandos restaurant donated 100 meals to Basildon Hospital free of charge, for the NHS staff who are all working hard.
A spokesperson from the Nandos said: “It was such an emotional and rewarding thing to do as the staff are all rushed off their feet.” pic.twitter.com/AiMRP29MRb
— Your Southend (@YourSouthend) March 18, 2020
The difference between the two companies is huge, and yet they employ a similar number of people and have similar outputs.
Our tips for crisis management that can help you navigate any unforeseen issues that happen to your business:
- Be honest and upfront as soon as possible – address the issue head on – your customers and the general public always respect honesty.
- If there is any fault from your end, address it immediately and put a plan in place to rectify those issues and publish it as soon as possible.
- Think about how you will communicate with your audience and how it will come across. (This can be tricky if it is not something you are used to dealing with)
- Speak with employees and customers about any crisis or event as soon as you can to offer reassurance and to let them know how and when it is being handled.
- Review your online social channels and consider which ones will be most effective and relevant in terms of communicating with your customers.
Don’t forget: If you need help in managing your pubic relations or how to communicate in a crisis please speak to our experienced team on 0800 088 5506 or send us a DM on Twitter