Getting ‘Back To Business’

The tragic events of September 11 will have long-lasting effects on the many aspects of our business, not the least of which is the emotional toll. In this document Jack Burke offers business owners, managers, and agents advice on coping with the aftermath of Terror Tuesday.

'If I don’t get on the plane, the terrorists win!' That was the comment of British-born American citizen and president of Bayes Corp. Nigel Cooper as he left Los Angeles two weeks ago for a meeting with Hartford in Connecticut.

Although many business people throughout the world echo his sentiments, many others are still having a difficult time in coming to emotional grips with the aftermath of September 11th. Since that day, our country has experienced a resurgence of patriotism not seen in two generations. Americans are expressing their loyalty in many ways from long lines at military recruiting stations and millions of flags mounted on houses and cars to a nearly unanimous solidarity behind our president. Yet, perhaps the most critical expression of patriotism might well be simply 'getting back to business.'

Unfortunately doing so is easier said than done. Despite the many who are walking through their fears, there are many more held captive by them. Wives fearful of a husband’s departure (and vice versa) on a business trip, employees functioning at sub-par levels due to lack of sleep, salespeople so intent on discussing the tragedy that they forget to ask for an order, and some people who are simply too numb to focus and concentrate. This emotional paralysis is real and is dramatically impacting our ability to get back to business.

A few employee-relations suggestions that might be beneficial include:

1. Hold group meetings (maybe an hour long) to allow staff members to voice their fears and seek support from each other. Communication is critical in overcoming fear.
2. Offer travel alternatives. If someone is fearful of flying, allow them the extra time to make the trip by car or train. The simple act of travel by any means will help them eventually overcome the fear of travel by plane.
3. When possible, allow spouses to make the trip with their partner. The spousal support will help each one of them.
4. Meet one-on-one with any employee having more serious problems over the attacks.
5. Have information available from your health care provider on available resources to help employees deal with their fears.
6. Allow more latitude in company policy on personal conversations by telephone, e-mail and actual office visits. Family and friends are invaluable support tools.
7. Promote employee involvement in charities and fundraising, if you’re not doing so already. This need not be specific to the tragedy; it could be a local charity. Bottom line: any service work is good for emotional health.
8. Above all, be patient and understanding. Your actions under these circumstances can significantly increase employee loyalty or totally undermine it. It’s your choice.

As for clients and prospects:

1. Don’t use a discussion of the tragedy as the ice-breaking conversational opener in any sales call or visit. If the client/prospect brings up the subject, feel free to talk about it — with a sensitive focus on bringing the conversation back to business.
2. Concentrate on existing customers rather than prospects. Everyone’s looking for the connection of a human touch. Let your customers know the measures you’ve taken to ensure the security of your performance. Be prepared to reinforce the financial strength of your underwriters and markets. Let them know that you’re there for them. This is a good time to review terrorism-related issues that have created new risks or that might impact their current coverages.
3. Ask your best customers if there’s anything you can do to help them get back to business as usual. Let them know that you have their best interests at heart — whatever that might entail.
4. Continue your prospecting efforts. The media is using a heavy hand in touting the dramatic increases in premiums because of projected losses from September 11th. Business owners and managers will be thinking in terms of expense control and financial strength. Cater to those concerns.
5. Because of everything mentioned in point #4, it’s critical that you contact every single customer. In this case, e-mail isn’t the way to go. Personal visits are your best bet, with the telephone running second.

As for your agency operations, I offer three suggestions:

1. If you don’t have a written disaster plan, get busy preparing one.
2. If you do have an emergency plan, review it based on what we’ve learned since September 11th.
3. Once you have a viable and current plan, share it with all of your Commercial clients.

These suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg. If you have additional ideas, share them with your peers by e-mailing me at [email protected]. The more closely we work together, the sooner we can get back to the business of business. It’s our patriotic duty.