I have a cousin who works for Lehman...or did. He is a computer network professional so will probably be the last one out..or moved over...or what have you.
His description of the chaos in the wake of the failure demonstrates both the opportunity and the failure of HR during a moment of crisis. (Years ago an HR friend in another meltdown did step up to the plate and saved the pensions of the employees who had retired before they could be attached by creditors but that is another story).
My cousin has no means to get legitimate information so rumors expand. Extraordinary time is spent in speculation rather than the business at hand. Leaders are more concerned about jumping ship at the right moment than they are about getting projects accomplished. Decisions are delayed...and delayed...and delayed.
About the same time I saw an email from Shawn Slevin theat included seceral suggestions worth revising for HR.
3 Talent Management actions that HR could provide leadership around to bring some order are:
Establish a Credible Central Communication Source: Daily and hourly if necessary. From emails to Town Hall meetings, openly keep everyone abreast about the conditions affecting your business - solicit rumors and answer them publicly - the more transparent you can be the better it is. It's not about good versus bad news. Go beyond that. it's about speed of response and accuracy regardless of the judgement others will make- as long as the answers are truthful.
Maintain Business Focus: Until the doors close, we have business activities in place, goals to meet and projects to complete...for a reason- it makes us money and helps pay the bills. Plans should define not only our approach during the best of times but contingencies and the decisions that need to be made when trouble arises. Leaders should be in place to discuss and solicit ideas up and down the org structure to look at mitigating risk and downside as well as looking for opportunities to capitalize. If someone jumps at the leader level...fill the gap even temporarily immediately. It may be refreshing to see who steps up
Empower People: Offer guidance, limits and support (tell them you have their back and then be there). It is essential to remove the fear of taking action in a stressed environment. Individuals who are unwilling to take decisive action, will take no action. Employees empowered to do what they do best, execute on the plan will be more likely to ensure we all weather the storm
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