Your Employees Need Your Leadership, Even During Global Unrest

During times of uncertainty, like the war in Ukraine, there can be a lot of anxiety, stress, and fear in the air. As a leader, it's your job to help the business navigate these challenging times. You may be thinking about the direct impact the event is having or could have on your business – like new gaps in the supply chain or increased production costs – but what about the effects it may have on the people who make up your team? 

During periods of unrest, your employees can be impacted by the changes that arise and may need your guidance to get through it, and it's important to make sure that they are considered in your plans. By familiarizing yourself with the issues impacting your employees, listening to their concerns, creating an action plan, and maintaining ongoing communication, you can ensure that the people who keep the business running have what they need to thrive. 

Familiarize Yourself With the Issues

When turmoil arises, emotions can be high and there is a lot both for you and your team to consider, including the current issues and who is impacted, as well as how the situation impacts your business, customers, community, and your employees and their families.

Before you begin communicating with employees, do some research so you have a baseline—that is, an understanding of what your employees are thinking. Try hard not to focus on solutions right now. Instead, concentrate on gathering data. Read up on the event so you’re working off of the latest information. Meet with your leadership team to see if they have insights into employee concerns or morale. 

Once you've familiarized yourself with what’s going on internally and externally, set aside time to speak with your employees so you can hear from them directly. 

Schedule a Listening Tour

When news about the Ukraine war began trickling in, I already knew something was going on because I had heard bits and pieces of the information from my team. I own and run the Women+ insights and brand studio, Tote + Pears, where we help emerging and transforming companies find and connect with their customers and employees. 

We have clients and employees worldwide, and the Ukraine war was impacting everyone differently. People in Europe were concerned about safety; some even knew people close to the border. People in the U.S. raised concerns about rising prices and affordability and wanted to know how they could help. Information was coming from different sources, and I wanted to better understand what was needed, so I set up a listening tour. 

Listening tours are informal meetings held virtually or in-person with one or more employees and are designed to gather insights on business operations, culture, or products or services. The sessions usually run between 30 minutes to an hour and include up to six attendees. 

I started the meeting with a handful of open-ended questions to get the conversation started. For example: Are you familiar with what's happening with the Ukraine war? How have the last few days/months impacted you and your family? Then I listened as my team responded, leaving room for follow-up questions and an open discussion. When you're conducting a listening tour, try to meet with a variety of employees from different business areas to gather diverse insights. 

Identify Ways You Can Address Their Concerns

After completing your listening tour, take what you learned and identify the common themes. From there, determine how you can help resolve your employees’ concerns or challenges, either directly through changes that you make in the business, by directing them to outside resources, or by offering guidance. Then, develop a plan of action. 

For example, one of the themes that arose during my listening tour was the desire to help. So we identified a list of nonprofits and partners who were doing humanitarian work to benefit Ukraine which offered opportunities to volunteer or help in other ways. Some of our employees offered up their time and money as support while others chose to volunteer.

When one of our clients held a listening tour, a common concern heard among their employees was increased prices and the impact they and their families were sure to feel. To address these needs, they started analyzing their budget to see if there was room to increase salaries or offer bonuses. 

 During periods of unrest, your employees can be impacted by the changes that arise and may need your guidance to get through it, and it's important to make sure that they are considered in your plans.

Your action plan should address your employees’ concerns while aligning with what your business can do. If you cannot offer raises at this time, that's OK. Consider alternative ways to help your employees solve their financial challenges, like pointing them to financial counselors or partners who offer financial guidance or outside resources on budgeting or financial management. Or you might offer an alternative schedule allowing employees to work from home so they can save on gas and childcare expenses. 

Once you've created a plan, share it by scheduling follow-up meetings, sending out a newsletter, or holding a town hall. Then set up frequent check-ins so you can stay informed on how the team is responding and make adjustments as needed.  

Managing a business during uncertain times isn't easy, but listening to your employees can help navigate your business to calmer waters, all the while enhancing morale, strengthening your relationship with your team, and driving business results.

Photo: Getty Images