Avoiding the Tsunami of Perceived Indifference
It goes without saying that these are unprecedented times. The world has become a different place, perhaps especially so the world of business. Many businesses will take years to recover, some will never recover at all. Balance sheets will be decimated.
But the biggest value possessed by any business hardly ever appears on its balance sheet is the value of its relationships. Those relationships might have taken years to build, yet can be quickly destroyed, perhaps by overt mismanagement, but more likely by poor communication. Wise voices would argue that the most important relationship of all, is the one that exists between a company and its employees.
Statistics show that the most common reason that we lose a client is not price, bad service, or slow delivery but PERCEIVED INDIFFERENCE. If our client feels that we are indifferent to their needs and aspirations, they will not hesitate to go elsewhere. In exactly the same way, if our employees feel that we are indifferent to their needs then they will either look for another employer, or perform to a lower standard along the lines of “the company doesn’t care about me, so why should I care about the company”
The virus has been indiscriminate as it spread, the disaster that it brought to board rooms has been no less painful to the living rooms of those who found themselves with no work. As we emerge from the cloud, the needs and aspirations of employees will have shifted, fear will have replaced optimism, uncertainty will be rife. If employers proceed as if nothing has happened, they run the risk of falling into the perceived indifference trap, and if that happens, then their chances of speedy recovery and becoming stronger and more resilient than ever will be severely restricted.
In a small business of just a few employees, communication between the shop floor and the CEO can be as simple as a one on one conversation, but even then, it should be with an emphasis on the CEO LISTENING! Such communications are not possible in larger organisation, yet nonetheless knowing how employees feel, their fears, the hard choices they might have had to make, their personal stories is hugely critical if any organisation is to recover and thrive.
This is not a time for perceived indifference, it is an opportunity for companies to show how much they care, and if we can do that employees will feel valued, and in any business, that is a priceless asset.
