As posted in Dynamic Business
by Nina Thomas, Founder and Director at Harmonic Advisory
In case you missed the article on expert strategies for rebuilding trust in the aftermath of a crisis for businesses and individuals alike, this was my contribution:
“If you haven’t already, take responsibility and apologise meaningfully. To rebuild trust, the people who matter to your business need to know you’re sorry for what happened and that you’re taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
“Develop a strategic response to prevent any knee-jerk or emotional reactions that might create further problems.
“Talk with your key stakeholders – face-to-face. Reputational repair starts when you acknowledge the crisis, take responsibility and show how things are going to change. This means walking the talk.
“Face-to-face communication with the people who matter most to your business should be an absolute priority, even if it means getting on a plane. Looking people in the eye goes a long way to rebuilding trust and has the power to save your business.
“Yet, I’ve seen more Chairs and CEOs shy away from this than I can count. Imagine you’re a customer, investor or employee attending an EGM, AGM or town hall and the CEO and Chair are standing at the door to greet you and listen to your concerns. It’s disarming, brave and shows they are committed to change.
“Finally, keep communicating. This doesn’t mean continually apologising, it means keeping the lines of communication open so you’re listening and people can see change. Eventually, they will start to trust you’re doing the right thing.”
You can read the full article here.