Tackling COVID-19 Crisis Mitigation

During this time of fear, uncertainty and misinformation surrounding the novel COVID-19 virus spread, employees, members and the community are looking for sage guidance and a steady leader. Amongst many anxieties during this unprecedented crisis, finances rank the highest in your community. According to last week’s USA Today/Ipsos poll, Americans have expressed greater concern about their financial well-being than their health.

As a community leader and a beacon of financial strength, now is quite possibly the most critical time in the history of your credit union to step up and deliver on the proclaimed promises of truly caring for and about members and community. How the credit union and its leaders respond during this crisis will be a defining moment in its legacy.

We are well past offering health-related “wash your hands” and “stay at home” instructions to thwart the broader ramifications of this potentially deadly virus. It’s now time for crisis mitigation actions for the entire credit union team to adopt, while offering members timely financial advice for turbulent times and related products and services to immediately assuage their concerns.

Immediate Response & Business Continuity

Of course, a credit union’s priority is to ensure that the health and overall well-being of its staff and members is being addressed. Next, back-up plans for the credit union’s business continuity must be codified. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) provides an Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), including advice for developing a response plan and steps that all employers can implement now.

COVID-19 Crisis Response Steps

ReputationUs, a crisis management firm specializing in credit unions, is offering the following COVID-19 crisis response steps to 1) Establish internal protocols; 2) Designate, assemble and train crisis response teams; 3) Anticipate potential scenarios; and 4) Offer members practical products and services to weather the COVID-19 crisis.

1. Establish protocols.

• Develop specific procedures on if/how/when to communicate with staff, members and community (including media and social media outlets) when COVID-19 issues escalate.
• Establish hourly, daily and/or weekly decision-making checkpoints and procedures.
• Draft and revise timely, relevant communications for all audiences.
• Identify and direct information via the best channels of communications (e.g., website, social, internal).

2. Designate, assemble and train the credit union’s crisis response team.

• Identify a team of internal leaders that meets frequently to both gather timely information regarding COVID-19 and promptly communicate developments.
• Include a member of the C-suite, board, HR, operations, member relations, legal and communications.

3. Anticipate potential scenarios.

• Ask potential questions and predict future scenarios the credit union may have to tackle.
• Consider near- and long-term strategies and a timely communications schedule.
• Analyze and decide what materials, resources and expenses are needed now and into the future.

4. Consider related products and services.

• Immediately decide what tailored products and services the credit union can offer.
• Decide what extreme measures the credit union can perform to assist desperate business owners and cash-strapped individuals in the community.

Casey Boggs is President of ReputationUs in Portland, Ore.