Natural disasters, like we have just experienced with Cyclone Alfred, pose significant challenges for businesses and their employees. Whether the impact on your business has been minor, moderate or significant, the task of reopening, rebuilding and returning to normal can be daunting.
Here are some effective best practices to help your workforce return to business as usual:
-
Honest and transparent communication: You cannot over-communicate in times of stress.
Uncertainty is inevitable in the wake of a natural disaster. Provide regular updates to keep your team in the loop, check in with your team who may be experiencing significant challenges themselves and establish clear communication points for employee contact.
Consider implementing a brief daily update that outlines employee movements and priorities. This can be structured as a simple email or a shared document. Here’s a suggested format:
Subject Line: Daily Team Update – [Date]
Body:
Employee Movements:
List any employees who are out of the office, working remotely, or on leave.
Include any new hires or team changes.
Current Priorities:
Highlight key projects or tasks that need immediate attention.
Mention any deadlines approaching within the week.
Closing: Encourage team members to reach out if they have questions or need support regarding their tasks or the status of their colleagues.
This approach keeps everyone informed and aligned, fostering a sense of community and collaboration, especially during challenging times.
-
Offer flexibility and support: To support employees facing their own challenges following a natural disaster, offering flexibility in work schedules, remote work options, access to paid or unpaid leave, as well as access to employee assistance programs or mental health support services can go a long way in showing your employees that their well-being is a priority.
Be clear about what leave options or flexibility is available to your team:
During these times, we would suggest reminding the team about the different leave options available. These include: personal leave; annual leave; flexible working hours (make up time); TOIL; etc.
-
Consider alternate work arrangements: Is there another location that your employees can be deployed to or alternate duties that can be offered, provided that it is safe and feasible to do so, and your employees are skilled and capable to perform these duties?
Take the opportunity to consider other tasks that can be completed during this ‘down time’. What has been put on the backburner that now there is space and opportunity to tackle. Think: online training or accreditation; professional development; projects; research and development; policy reviews; data entry tasks; tidy up of internal processes. Most of these valuable functions can be performed remotely.
-
Encourage use of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP): Remind your team about the availability of EAP services, which can provide crucial support during recovery. Accessing these resources can assist employees in managing stress, reducing trauma, and facilitating a quicker bounce back to normalcy. Encourage open discussions about mental health and ensure that everyone knows how to access these services.
If your workplace does not offer an EAP service, make available contact details of other available support services. Consider offering Mental Health First Aid training.
-
Come together: In times of crisis, volunteer opportunities to support the community, internal peer support programs or other team building activities can reinforce your team members’ sense of belonging and purpose at a difficult time.
Consider getting together as a team to support the recovery efforts of your town or area of impact (business-sponsored volunteering). Coming together could be as simple as holding a casual get-together (like a morning tea or lunch and learn).
-
Show appreciation and support: A natural disaster, whilst challenging, often brings out the best in others, as people rally together to provide support and assistance in the rebuilding process. Acknowledging and encouraging this behaviour can significantly boost morale and foster a sense of community in the workplace.
There are many simple ways that businesses can show appreciation and support – team celebrations; personalised thank-you messages; gift cards to support local businesses’ and the employees’ personal recovery; paid wellness days.
What about if your business has sustained significant damage, making reopening or rebuilding unfeasible?
-
Follow a thorough redundancy process: In the event a business is required to close or downsize due to the impact of a natural disaster, it is important to follow a thorough redundancy process for permanent employees including transparent communication, consultation and consideration of alternatives before a final decision is made. If redundancy is confirmed, notice periods and redundancy pay may apply.
-
Support your employees to find alternate employment: This may include providing references or connections with other employers.
-
Keep in touch: Stay connected with your team. In the event that rebuilding can occur in future, this retained connection may encourage previous employees to reapply.
These are tough times for everyone. If you are in need of support with any of the above, please reach out to our team.