Tips in Dealing With Employee Protests
The last thing you want to see are your employees holding up signs outside your company building and protesting. It’s a sign that you were unable to control things internally and they have to resort to such actions. Regardless of the reasons, it can tarnish your brand. It doesn’t even matter if you believe the business has done nothing wrong. As long as you see protests, you must know how to handle them.
Talk to the leaders
Determine the people organizing these protests. They might be regular employees whom you have never met before, but they control the protests. You should speak with them as soon as possible since they’re capable of calming people down. They will also negotiate with you in behalf of the employees.
Stay calm
You can’t fight fire with fire. Emotions are running high and people are looking at your moves. If you don’t stay calm, you might say the wrong things. You will also worsen the situation. Even if you believe these protesters failed to understand the situation, you can’t be angry at them. They’re still your employees and you want them to return without a heavy heart.
Release a message
Your silence during this tense situation isn’t helping. It’s only a matter of time before these protests receive media attention. You should release a message immediately to pacify the protesters. The tone must be sympathetic. Don’t be defensive in sending out a message. Your goal is to calm the situation and prevent further escalation. You also want to control the narrative instead of letting everyone speculate. If you still don’t know what to say, send a message telling everyone that you will soon release a longer message.
Be willing to negotiate
You should have controlled the situation before these people went out to the streets to protest. Since you’re already in this undesirable situation, the only thing you can do is to negotiate. Make sure you understand what the offer party wants and be willing to give an offer. You don’t have to give in to every demand, but you can at least find a middle ground. Employ the best people to the forefront. They have to be calm even if the situation is tense. They should also have the best interests of both sides.
Always show empathy
Even if you feel different inside, you can’t let your emotions show. You are representing the business and you must show empathy to these protesters. Again, they might be wrong, but they’re out there begging for changes. The least you can do is listen and show an ounce of empathy. You also want to protect your company’s image and values. You’re already the villain in this situation and you can’t confirm people’s biases because of your actions.
Dealing with employee protests can be tough. Make sure things don’t end that way, but know what to do once the problem escalates. You will learn from the situation and prevent similar problems from happening again.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/7cdb96663b2dc5abf24fd244781be58aba77011e/c=0-569-4664-3200/local/-/media/USATODAY/GenericImages/2013/12/05//1386259346000-1.jpg
2nd image from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/pages/when-employees-become-activists-.aspx
