by Paolo Gallo of “The Compass and radar,” and former Director of Human Resources at the World Economic Forum
We’ve been, and we’re still, in the midst of a crisis of epic proportions, but do we have any idea of the correlation between how corporations handle the crisis and how they influence their reputation?
I don’t build a crisis, but rather it proves it. Crisis is acidic control of leaders and will reveal the true colors of organizations and societies in general. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have witnessed very many other responses to the crisis. But among these, I discovered the example of Ferrari, one of the most identified brands on the planet and a hard social force in Italy, very revealing. Let me tell you a little more.
A few months after COVID-19 caused an emergency in Italy, Ferrari executives learned that the company and its workers had to get back together. To do this, he introduced a program called “Back on Track”, which began as an initiative to reopen the plant safely while keeping staff healthy, but the concept has evolved into a genuine strategic program with a call to action for all stakeholders involved. 18 months, was to ensure the safest operating conditions, the most productive and emotional operational and qualitative controls – a genuine team effort: a program that involves all workers at all levels, further strengthening their sense of belonging.
The program was expanding. Ferrari already learned in early January 2020 from its colleagues in Asia and in Ferrari Greater China’s offices of the possible effect and disruption of the COVID-19. Long before any government action, the team was able to anticipate it through running with experts, fitness professionals, virologists and the regional government to expand a detailed action plan. This preventive development plan has also allowed the company to provide emotional help to all the staff, their families and the ecosystem partners we share. to anticipate and the agility to react temporarily with the substance and structure, “Back on Track” was implemented.
Ferrari helped its fitness initiative with a number of additional key commitments, adding a truly important monetary donation, a separate charitable initiative with “Ferraristi” (Ferrari owners) and a charity matching program. He paid all wages to all workers of this era (without a license, without state subsidies, without de-pay in the holiday pay). And the CEO was in normal contact with the workers, sharing with them the steps that were taken, appearing care and help and listening to what they had to say. “on Track”, in fact, has become a strategic program in line with a sense of objective and a sense of belonging for the entire Ferrari team, in the best consistency with the classic values followed through founder Enzo Ferrari.
So, apparently, the Back on Track program worked for Ferrari, but can you measure the moral behavior of Ferrari executives during the crisis in terms of reputation to attract and retain overall skill?RepTrack, a company that measures reputation and evolution, provides useful data and data. According to them, seven points have an effect on a company’s reputation: products and services, innovation, workplace, governance, citizenship, leadership and performance, and its effects are based on a survey conducted in Italy at the beginning and half of the Covid19 crisis is revealing.
It turns out that reputation is one of the few, if not the only, assets of corporations, which, in general, has not eroded as a result of the crisis, highlighting and confirming that what corporations did in the following months The initial spread of COVID-19 met customer expectations, but renowned engines have changed. In January, before the COVID crisis, they focused primarily on a fair product/service that fulfilled customers’ wishes. Demonstrating transparent and moral and proactive corporate behavior for local communities and respect for the environment came at the time and third place.
However, in April, due to the effect of COVID-19, consumers radically repositioned their business expectations at a rate RepTrak had never experienced before. Now, the main driving force of reputation, accepting as true and esteem revolves around how corporations behave in the market position. In other words, moral behavior is now the number one driving force. Product quality dropped from first position to engine number two, and in third position came the emerging importance of leadership. The explanation for why corporations have kept their reputation intact is that from January to April, the maximum aid invested and prioritized and aid for the country’s wishes, that is, the desires for fitness and protection resulting from COVID-19.
That doesn’t mean the painting is finished. There are many demanding strategic situations left for companies, adding how to maintain the painter’s commitment and “paint-life balance” in a permanent environment of “paintings from home”. Companies that will be able to adapt temporarily, and embrace change, with a laser-driven moral culture and strong leadership at the forefront, will gain in the economy of redefined reputation. And in all this, moral leadership will not be a “good” but a tangible asset that will be a reputation, with a profound effect on the perceptions of consumers and potential painters. Being moral is not only the right thing to do; it will also be the only way forward.
But this indicates that the technique adopted through Ferrari and other Italian corporations is correct. Ferrari has demonstrated with its Back on Track program how moral leadership can be done in times of crisis. But as we well know, in the race, it’s not just about “going back to the track” after a pit stop. It’s also about maintaining smart functionality until the end of the race. Hopefully we can see this not only from Ferrari, but from all the corporations in the leadership race.
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