Lessons from a crisis
In the real-estate business, the last three months of the year are normally the period when every developer makes all-out efforts to push for higher sales volume to make up for any accumulated shortfalls or, even achieve higher targets.
This year, however, the circumstances are different. As we all know, the current severe flooding has been causing havoc throughout central Thailand and nearby regions, and everything that stands in its way has been left in tatters. Thousands of lives have been left in a state of shock and despair. This is a national disaster on a scale that hasn’t been witnessed for many years.
I can imagine how hard it must be for the prime minister and the government who are trying to tackle the situation when it seems no one can precisely, scientifically, and most importantly timely foretell or anticipate the extent of this flood and the extent of damage it will cause. This flood is a test of our crisis management capabilities at a national level.
At the same time, this is also an unwelcome opportunity for every business to cross-check its crisis management plans, to see if we are ready for such disasters and how strategically and collectively everyone in the organisation can perform their assigned duties to minimise the impact.
For everyone in the real-estate business, including ourselves, flooding is a kind of physical crisis and the effects are very different from other kinds of crises. Economic, financial, political, or confidence crises could leave emotional scars on consumers but it is very unlikely that the physical aspect of the real-estate business will be affected. Flooding is a crisis that damages the actual being of the business and affects the actual consumer’s means of dwelling – flooded sites, damaged properties, water shortage, electricity cut off, sanitation issues etc. Moreover, though much less important given the current situation, many of our partners’ factories are submerged under water, resulting in shortage of construction materials. Even when water recedes, these factories will need repairs and overhauling, which could take some time.
In dealing with such a crisis, it is compulsory that we anticipate the situation and prepare for the worst, and it is preferable that both preventive and passive measures are worked out in advance. Unfortunately, the information provided to people by the government and other related agencies has been speculative at best. That leaves everyone very vulnerable and dependent on their own ill-informed judgments. We have been meeting every morning for the past week prior to the flooding to evaluate the situation but we knew we couldn’t solely depend on news and reports from state agencies to evaluate the situation. As a result, the best we could do – and I strongly recommend others also do the same – is to send a team to be stationed at the site 24 hours. It is critical that detailed information is precisely communicated to the management and swift action is taken accordingly. Also, once you have preventive measures fully in place, useful information should be communicated to customers. In times of such crisis, it is a good idea to set up an ad hoc 24-hour response centre. This could be a call centre, blog page, website, real time SMS response to database, or any useful means that we think can be utilised. The customers want to hear what is needed to be told from us constantly.
One more very basic but important gesture that I want to encourage is the management must pull up its sleeves and get its feet dirty by visiting the affected sites themselves. If you are truly involved in tackling the problem from the start, this will surely send out a signal to everyone trying their best to protect the properties that you are taking this task to heart.
Lastly, reputation is another thing that every business affected by this flood must be carefully about. I personally disagree with anyone who takes this opportunity to promote themselves by advertising their help and donations. Marketing people must put on a different hat when it comes to genuinely and sincerely helping out those who suffer. I must say I am very pleased that our fellow developers have not come up with cheap PR stunts to promote their contributions and assistance to the affected communities. I am also very pleased that many, though not all, developers are taking it seriously in helping their customers the best they can, even though sometimes the assistance might fall short of customers’ expectations. But at least, the priority is correctly in place.
