“When you run into situations that require critical thinking around a crisis, take note of that. Keep a notebook. I can guarantee that some of the themes are going to persist, whether it’s a small crisis of missing a deadline or a big crisis like we’re in now.””

The Harbert College of Business is committed to partnering with companies and alumni to engage industry and improve business practice.

Three leading industry managers and Harbert College alumni offered their views on managing through a crisis during a virtual Zoom discussion presented by the Harbert College of Business’ Graduate Career Services, on Wednesday, April 29.

Jesse Adams, General Manager for Digital Transformation at Delta Air Lines, Glenn Scott, Senior Manager for Advisory Services and Performance Improvement at EY, and Jeffrey Rummel, Supply Chain Analytics Manager at The Home Depot, shared views on how their respective companies are altering in operations in response to social distancing and how to effectively manage during COVID-19.

“This thing happened so fast,” Adams said. “Step one for us was to interpret the chaos here and then quickly set priorities for the team.”

How is that resolved? Transparency and communication.

“Establishing effective use of technology has mitigated some of the issues of working remotely. We’ve made a point to communicate with one another on video once or twice a day at minimum,” Adams added. “Virtual engagement is so critical at a time when teams are looking to their leaders for direction.”

Scott, who noted that even the best business continuity plans didn’t envision a global shut down, says his organization observes the pandemic, or any business interruption in three phases: now, next, and beyond.

“Establishing effective use of technology has mitigated some of the issues of working remotely. We’ve made a point to communicate with one another on video once or twice a day at minimum. Virtual engagement is so critical at a time when teams are looking to their leaders for direction.””

“I believe that most of our clients right now are somewhere between now and what’s next, which would be recovering,” he said. “The specific elements we start with are people. What does people’s security look like now? Because at some point, I would imagine that we are going back to an office building. What does that look like? Are we going to have to take out half of the cubes? Because everyone has pretty much gone to an open office space, how do we collaborate?”

Panelists agreed that the No. 1 issue for any organization is safety. “Some of the things that our company put in place were social distancing requirements within stores, limiting the number of customers at one time, as well as changing the store hours,” Rummel said. “Specifically to the customer, there have been a lot of efforts in that space by enacting different price freezes so that there’s not someone paying three to four times more what they normally would for hand sanitizer, for example.”

How can an organization better market itself to consumers during these times? As an essential business, The Home Depot looks at it holistically.

“What are your values? It’s not just something on a wall. You also have to have purpose with empathy. Empathy is a little different than sympathy. None of us are alone.””

“(With the pandemic), you see impacts with the suppliers that are manufacturing those goods, the distribution centers and stores that are servicing those customers,” Rummel said. “There has been a lot of rethinking on our side in terms of what are some of those product classes that are going to be required to help people in the same ways that would have supported a weather event?”

How can one effectively manage during a crisis?

“Be a student of your environment and understand your surroundings,” Adams said. “When you run into situations that require critical thinking around a crisis, take note of that. Keep a notebook. I can guarantee that some of the themes are going to persist, whether it’s a small crisis of missing a deadline or a big crisis like we’re in now.”

During tough times, Scott said it’s important to fully understand your organization’s purpose.

“What are your values? It’s not just something on a wall. You also have to have purpose with empathy. Empathy is a little different than sympathy. None of us are alone.”