During the recent big snowstorm that hit the South, at least one store showed how to care for its employees.
My friend, who works for Home Depot in Virginia, recounted how, as she was leaving, her manager called her into the office to check that she had everything she needed in preparation for the storm. Then, once the storm hit, she received a text from Home Depot Disaster Support. It said they were checking on all associates in impacted areas. During and after the storm, they would periodically send welfare check texts, and everyone was asked to respond. If no one did, Home Depot would notify police and EMS in the area.
Of course, the store was busy with everyone stocking up on ice melt, shovels, generators, propane, etc. So, to care for those working, each store has a credit card for disaster relief, which the manager used to purchase pizza for employees for lunch and dinner shifts. The human resources manager made breakfast and crockpots full of soup.
Home Depot is a major corporation, but in this instance, it demonstrated how to act like a family business. In advance, it also established systems and processes to handle disasters or other extenuating circumstances. What would your employees say about how you handled a similar event?
Thanks, Joan!
