How to help your employees through times of crisis

From...

By Kathleen Melymuka, Melissa Solomon and Kim Nash

(IDG) -- In the aftermath of a disaster, the most difficult issues for IT managers to cope with often have nothing to do with technology.

"The biggest problem we've ended up having to deal with is getting everyone to stay on task, myself included," said Brian Kilcourse, CIO at Longs Drug Stores Corp. in Walnut Creek, California.

"It's a tragedy of immense proportions, and everyone needs to work through it," he added. "We try to be sensitive to the fact that some days are really, really tough days, and this was the worst of them."

Helping people work through it will be important for IT managers in the days and weeks to come. "I'm sure American business is feeling a lack of productivity because we're all preoccupied with this," said Joseph Dadourian, a Los Angeles-based workplace psychologist and director of clinical services at QuickSanity LLP in Los Angeles, which provides Internet-based psychological services for companies.

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"We're all different, and everybody's going to handle it differently," said Dadourian during a break from helping an IT group in California deal with their grief. "One woman was crying profusely today; someone else told a joke," he said.

"Let them have the reaction they're having, and that's going to help them get through it faster than anything," said Eileen Strider, a principal at Strider and Cline Inc., a Kansas City, Missouri-based firm specializing in organizational effectiveness. "Companies are crazy if they think they can tell people to put their heads down and get to work."

And don't worry that you're not trained for this. "No one has the answers," said Jean McLendon, an organizational consultant and psychotherapist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. "The manager needs permission to stumble along." There's no single way people are supposed to feel, she said, adding, "Your job is to allow people to express what they're feeling without any judgment."

But as you listen, be careful of your reactions, said Dadourian. Don't feed rumors or speculate about the unknown. Also, remember that everyone is different, he advised, and be careful about saying you know what someone is feeling. Because most likely, you don't. "Some people are outraged and they are ready for retaliation. Others are in grief and hopelessness. Others don't even know what they're feeling," he said.

Depending on the severity of the reaction, you may have to send someone home, but don't do it lightly, said Dadourian, because the structure of work helps people maintain control. "Managers need to keep people focused on work, but the environment needs to be more understanding," he said.

People are going to have moments of grief, but don't let them wallow in it, Dadourian said. For example, one company set up a television in the CEO's office and invited people to watch it on their breaks. That sent the message that it's OK to grieve, but you also have a job to do, he said.

Some people may need to work through their feeling with action.

"Allow employees to band together to brainstorm an appropriate response," said Susan Santos, who teaches crisis management at Boston College's Center for Corporate Citizenship. In written advice for managers in the current crisis, she noted that appropriate responses could range from blood drives to care packages to financial support.

Your company may want to take some action as well. Fear may be a very real reaction for some workers, said Santos. Let them know about your company's security and emergency evacuation plans and that you are re-examining them to make sure you could respond in an emergency.