Be There When It Counts

When it’s urgent. 

In thinking about how to partner strongly with our clients as we face a potential infectious disease outbreak, I am reflecting on learnings from my previous experiences across industry-based crises, longer-range economic downturns, and local or regional natural disasters – approaches and lessons that will improve outcomes. I’ve worked in various cities around the USA and the world, and have observed a wide range of corporate preparedness and responsiveness in these situations. This article is not intended to serve as a comprehensive business continuity or employee support guideline, but rather a preliminary framework by which we can better partner with our clients and help them serve their customers well.

I am operating through the lens of a professional services firm: Pariveda Solutions, a management consulting firm driven by technology disruption. Our people are incredibly talented and we have a strong learning culture that is complemented with dedication to servant leadership and growth mindset. We are absolutely a people-first organization, and we are committed to building lifelong relationships with our clients and growing our people to their fullest potential. It is from the lens of a consultancy leader that I approach this topic, and I am dedicating my efforts to both ensuring our clients’ success and maintaining business continuity for our firm.

Remember, we are human.

My first overall recommendation is to ground yourself in the human dynamic and understand that people – and corporations – have a wide range of understanding of the components of the situation, direct experiences that influence their next-time response, and, potentially, special considerations for themselves, their family members, and their organizations. For example, I was living in Miami when an intense hurricane was tracking for a direct hit. I had shuttered up and evacuated our home in a surge zone several times, often leaving for an inland friend’s home to play endless board games. When I became responsible for a group of employees I realized the wide continuum of reference points: one had moved from the northeast and was not sure what to expect; one was worried about the dog’s anxiety during storms; one had an elderly grandmother who could be at high medical risk if there was a long-term power outage, one had only survived the previous hurricane by hiding under a mattress as the roof popped and peeled away from the house, etc. Across the group, they all had different concerns and tolerance levels for how much we were planning for business continuity. It is important to meet people where they are emotionally and accommodate their personal needs well.

Secondly, it is important to help your teams and your clients access reliable sources of information. Partner with your clients proactively to understand the sources their teams are leveraging to work through decision-making processes. Many employees are unaware of reliable sources and are relying on ad-hoc media information. Share your planning with your clients and ask if they are open to sharing their guidelines. Approach the conversation with a spirit of partnership, knowing that the more you understand their perspective and priorities the better you can plan to partner well with them. For example, with the current progression of COVID-19 in the United States, three clients – one in healthcare, one in energy, and one in financial services -- shared their information with me early. Learning from this information, I was able to confirm that we were all building from core Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) information, as well as referencing the local Office of Emergency Management (OEM) for public alerts. It reassured me to know we would be operating from consistent information.

Plan together. 

Similar to how we would design and test materials for product use, it is critical to step back and consider the various components in the system and how they interact to perform well. In our business, our assets are our people and we produce by identifying complex problems with our clients and driving to solve them. This process involves building relationships, co-creating for potential solutions, and matching talent with projects via contracts. Most of these projects require lead times of three to twelve weeks to define and contract. So, when there is a disruptive event it is not just the current work that is at risk, it is the future work that has yet to be identified or shaped. It is easy to focus on basics such as how people will collaborate while working remotely, how invoices will be paid, etc., and yet it is as important to think ahead several steps to how will we work through the upcoming scope, who will be available to approve a contract, what will the availability of executives be when it is time to evaluate success criteria, etc. Think through the multiple processes of relationship building, business development, contracting, gaining facilities and systems access, delivering, invoicing, collecting, etc. and account for key levers that will provide continuity for your business across the system. Be aware that there are both short- and longer-term impacts for slowness or stops in any one of these processes, and ensure you and your teams are clear on what you will prioritize for by account or business unit level.

Be there.

Engage with your clients on a personal level during the event. Actively listen and ensure you are emotionally in tune with your client. When I was in the San Francisco area we experienced widespread, heavy rain and many creeks overflowed, washing out roads and flooding homes. Some of my clients were only lightly affected and wanted to ensure we could push the work without disruption, and others experienced great loss and needed to focus on their families and their homes. When you engage openly and seek to understand, your client will send clear messages. I found this to be true during Hurricane Harvey in Houston, as well. Some clients responded with updates on their families and employees, some accepted offers of personal help, and one asked if I was okay and then made sure we could meet the day the office re-opened so that we could expedite the contract. The gray area will be minimized in your near-term business development cycle – it will be clear whether the work will move forward on schedule, or if it will be delayed and, potentially, at risk of being cancelled. The longer-term visibility will be compromised, and it is important to plan to adjust to potentially longer close cycles and lower win-loss ratios over the acute and recovery periods. Know that being there for your clients personally and to also help them run their business well is valuable to them. They will appreciate your balanced approach and re-engage when ready.

A disruptive external event will likely generate new priorities for you and your clients, and leaders need to ensure those priorities are clearly communicated to their teams. Readily align roles and responsibilities with your clients to ensure individuals are focused and productive. Business will change. Depending on the functional area or industry, demand could surge or employees could be pulled for new supporting roles – there could be increased demand for partner resources. As the new normal develops, create opportunities for easy connection and rich communication. Schedule brief recurring meetings that connect team members virtually and consider creating daily online chat opportunities. Welcome employees to share more about their remote situations. Depending on the home and family dynamic, it could be quite difficult to have no one in the background of a video conference or a fully quiet environment. Ask people to share more about their remote environments and make it okay to be off mute and fully engaged in the conversation, even if the dog may bark, a roommate might be working in the background, or a child might make a brief sound during the meeting.

Be human.

 It is critical that you are approaching the entire situation with servant leadership and engage genuinely. If you need to take care of yourself and your family during the event, ask for help from your teammates and share the coverage plans with your client. The balance of maintaining business continuity for your organization and taking great care of your people is the same challenge your clients are facing. Partner strongly with your clients during these situations and you will both manage through more successfully. We are better together.

Allison Esenkova | Vice President | PARIVEDA