Staying Cool When Disaster Strikes Your Business

One of the most important things about running a business is being able to keep your cool. Everybody, no matter what industry they worked in, has enough boss-related horror stories to fill several volumes of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. These bosses may be successful, but how their reactions impact their employees is anything but. 

If you can stay cool, calm, and collected when unexpected disasters strike, you will be better prepared to deal with them as soon as possible. There’s no point in letting the pressure get to you, and even if it does, you shouldn’t let your employees know this to ensure everybody remains calm. 

To give you an idea of what to do, here are some of the most common disasters founders will face when running their business.

IT Failures

With companies relying on computers and technology more than ever before, it’s easy to fall into a routine of expecting everything to work first, second, and one-hundredth time around. However, as useful as computers can be for day-to-day operations, they are not always perfect. 

Your business will encounter IT failures at some point, and these failures can range from cybersecurity breaches to server downtime to disappearing data to systems just not working at all. This throws a cyber-wrench in the works and can disrupt the workday immediately. 

Without computers and mobile devices, your business may not be able to function, and if your business cannot function, then you could lose out on contracts, clients, money, and precious time. However, you can be ready to overcome these problems by working with companies such as Charles IT that will be prepared to attend to your needs at a moment’s notice, no matter what time of day to ensure the downtime is minimal. 

Losing Your Star Player

Operational disasters are another thing you should be wary of, and one of the critical operational disasters that can affect business, both large and small are losing your star player. This employee could be your best seller, your motivational manager, or someone who helps bring positivity to the office. 

Whenever you lose this player, you immediately recognize a shift in the atmosphere. It’s the opposite of when you lose a toxic employee who brought everybody down. However, while large businesses can often make adjustments relatively seamlessly due to a broader pool of personnel, it is not as simple for small businesses. 

The star will need to give their notice, which is typically two weeks, but sometimes as long as a month before departing, and this will provide you with the chance to vet potential candidates whether you promote from within or bring in someone from elsewhere. If possible, get them started early to work with the departing employee for a few days so that any bumps in the changeover process are flattened. 

Marketing Mishaps

No matter how slick or forward-thinking your marketing department is, there is always a chance that there will be some marketing mishaps along the way. These mishaps can include a lack of research, failing to find a unique selling point, or ignoring the needs of the customer. This can also include an issue when your company is featured in the press—perhaps your company name was spelled incorrectly. Another significant issue is when companies try to jump on new internet trends and miss the mark entirely, sometimes even delivering an offensive campaign. 

They say that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and as long as they are talking about you, it should be considered a success. However, these mistakes can wreak havoc on your personal reputation and business image, and while people have shorter memories than most due to the frantic 24-hour news cycle, it can still be hard to recover. 

Before launching any campaign, make sure that the plan is seen by everyone who could offer advice and decide whether this campaign is the right one for your business. Doing this will make you more prepared for any backlash, but with the right eye, that backlash should never arrive. So the lesson here is to be smart and prevent issues or crises from emerging in the first place.

Late or Non-Existent Stock

If yours is a business that sells a product rather than service, then there is always the fear of late or non-existent stock affecting orders, both current and future. These supply errors are another thing that can ruin your reputation, even if it is nobody’s fault. 

The most obvious solution is to ensure you have an abundance of stock that will prevent any orders from missing their delivery date. However, this can lead to having too much of this stock, which can leave you with boxes of potentially useless products you will find hard to shift. 

Instead, consider being in constant communication with your suppliers and make arrangements in the event of a missed delivery. You can work out the best way to reimburse or compensate customers, while also ensuring you understand where the missing stock is and when it will arrive. 

Something Kinda Natural

Natural disasters or Acts of God, are something you hope never affects your business or anyone for that matter. However, depending on where your business is based, natural disaster threats, whether a storm, hurricane, or flood, among other issues, may always be present. 

These disasters can prevent your employees from getting to work, or they can cause blackouts and severe damages to your office. It’s important to have a contingency plan to overcome these disasters when they happen to ensure you do not lose any time. 

You don’t want to put your employees’ health at risk, regardless of how important meetings and launches might be. So if they cannot make it to work, do not force them. Likewise, if the office is damaged, then having Work-From-Home procedures in place will allow everyone to carry on without risking their health. 

A Cool Head In Crisis

Keeping your cool won’t just have benefits for your employees but also for you, too. While you can’t prepare for every eventuality, you can still do everything you can to stay calm when they arise. If you are relaxed, so too are your employees, and this will allow everybody to work together to work out your next move and overcome the disaster - whatever it might be - confidently and effectively.