Compassionate Capitalism emerging from Corona Crisis

As leaders in this current corona crisis world, I am delighted and encouraged that I have witnessed so many of you stepping up to meet the day to day challenge of coping with such difficult trading conditions. But taking a step back for a moment, many of us share the aspiration that, given the massive bailouts from Government for business and employees, this may be a seismic moment where Businesses embrace 'Compassionate Capitalism' as part of their core ethos. In the past, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ was mostly a tick box exercise. Compassionate Capitalism takes it to the next level and makes companies the beating heart of the broader community and the foundation of a prosperous society for all. Going forward, compassion and consideration for all stakeholders can be embedded at the heart of company cultures and this is our opportunity to transform the ‘brand’ of business to be indispensable for our vibrant communities. These times bring out the ‘best’ in leaders and sadly (thankfully, very rarely) the worst. The worst – examples of Philip Green and companies like Asda turning up the heat on their suppliers - receive coverage whilst the thousands of business heroes largely go unnoticed. Therefore, I wanted to chronicle some of the positive things that our CEO community has shared with me. These examples may be helpful for you as you seek to ensure your company becomes loved by customers, employees, respected by suppliers and valued by the community. By doing so, value for shareholders is then assured. This is a time to think creatively to serve all stakeholders especially in a time of ‘lockdown’ and WFH:

1.    Customers. I suggested early on to check in with customers to ensure their well-being and support them through this difficult time. One CEO sent her customers a short heartfelt video message to thank them for their support over the years and confirm ‘we are open’ and here for you if needed. Another CEO organised a small gift of branded hand moisturiser with a personal gift card. I have heard amazing stories of the smallest companies calling their customers, collaborating on support for the vulnerable and taking deliveries to foodbanks. Another CEO who knew a customer was experiencing credit problems called the customer and offered 15 days extended payment which was greatly appreciated and honoured. You know your customers best so you will know what is most appropriate. If you go the extra mile now, you will build loyalty that will last a lifetime.

2.    Your colleagues - employees. I always think that we as leaders have an overriding ‘duty of care’ to our colleagues and in times of adversity, the culture is vital to build strong engagement.  The innovation here has seen staggering change; from just several weeks ago where we endured the daily commute, to now entering each other’s homes as we Zoom daily. There are massive implications for mental and physical well-being for your colleagues. All the companies where I am involved have been proactive making WFH collegiate, collaborative, and fun as well as cutting slack for having small children and pets raring around the house. I have seen ‘cake bakes’; exercise classes; yoga sessions; quizzes; baby photo competitions; puzzles; pizza & proscetto evenings; creative writing classes; a running competition from Boston to London between the US and UK teams to log cumulative miles to cross the Atlantic; karaoke; bad hair competitions – the list is endless.  Supporting mental well-being is vital and a couple of companies have extended their ‘mental-health first aiders’ with a buddy program where employees are teamed up to check-in and support each other with professional networks of mental health experts if needed. It’s more important than ever to watch out for each other especially as most colleagues will have a loved one impacted directly by Coronavirus and possibly a bereavement where ‘goodbyes’ cannot be said.

For your employees, recognition is always important. Simple WhatsApp personalised video messages from the CEO of thanks and understanding that WFH and lockdown can be tough, are massively impactful. Many companies are also asking for greater flexibility from employees to take on new tasks, roll-up their sleeves and double up on roles. This is all well and good but may need colleagues to be given more support – both emotional and training to feel confident.

In these times, it is better to over-communicate and easy to organise a ‘CEO start the week or month’ video session for the whole company with Q&A – colleagues love the transparency, accessibility and informality of the CEO who demonstrates ‘we are all in this together’.

You can also be planning for when lockdown relaxes and how you will adapt to learn from WFH and transition your company back to some degree of a ‘new normal’ for your employees. Sharing and communicating the plans will reassure colleagues that you have plans in place for all eventualities. It is not to be underestimated the level of trust and importance that you as the CEO, commands for your employees.

3.    Suppliers. For your most important suppliers, again it is worth checking in with them, that they are well and how you and they can team differently in these strange times if necessary. Some of the ideas relating to customers also work for your suppliers.

4.    Community. This crisis has brought out the best in humans as we see the care, compassion, and love. As a leader, it is important to reach outside the WFH walls and into your community – be creative about how you can help. You can engage colleagues (and customers) in raising money for NHS charities; foodbanks; deliveries for the elderly (respecting the rules of lockdown). On a webinar last week with Samantha Kelly, Samantha mentioned Nia Natural Beauty who provided free hand balm gifts to front-line health workers. A local big business then found out and ordered 100 gifts for healthcare workers to show their appreciation. I would never suggest we are self-serving. However, gifts of kindness and thanks are an expression of love – a good rule of life is 'what you sow, you reap'.

In your own way, I am sure you are engaging fully whilst respecting the lockdown – this is a fantastic way to engage colleagues and have colleagues run programs for the community.

I hope some of these ideas will be useful and I am sure many of you have brilliant initiatives for supporting customers, colleagues, suppliers, partners, shareholders, and the community. Some of the ideas can be deployed for the benefit of those you serve. Please join the conversation and comment on winning ideas for surviving the 'lockdown'. By doing so we will all emerge stronger with a more vibrant company culture that benefits all stakeholders. Your company and your leadership will sit at the heart. Compassionate Capitalism will ensure business is embraced by all communities as a powerful force for goodness.