It is impossible to ignore the war. What strategy is the large international companies choose?

This approach is part of the Capitalism of Stakeholders, for which companies cannot afford to make short -sighted decisions that are only intended to protect the short -term financial interests of the owners of companies, and to ignore the external consequences of such decisions that adversely affect employees, communities and around. Video Day in Russia's War Against Ukraine The issues of corporate policy and regional business development of international brands were particularly acute.

Many international companies immediately and unparalled have stated the decision to leave the market of Russia, others are looking for ways to solve topical problems ("keep your face", but do not lose profit, not provoke a number of conflicts in local Ukrainian offices). In connection with the situation, new challenges have been opened to CEO and the board of international companies that require the transformation of development strategies and corporate communications.

The choice of anti -crisis strategy is most often the main offices of the largest international companies are geographically remote from their regional units, and their perception of problems in them. A striking example is Auchan and Metro retail giants. From the first day of the war, Ukrainian representative offices began to assist volunteers, Terrobon, with these networks in Russia continued to work.

The Metro Ukrainian Office has even posted an open position that the network stores should be closed in Russia. The position and response of the Retailer Central Office was shocking: something about the Kshalt “we will define the company's development policy, you will literally be“ punished ”for similar public utterances. This case is a stick with two ends.

On the one hand, the CEO and the Board of Directors of the company demands from each unit the execution of the delivered KPI, on the other - they are responsible for the reputational risks, which also lead to financial losses. To keep neutrality or ignore the situation in CEO and board of directors, you need to choose one of the strategies for further communication both within the company and with external stakeholders. The first variant of events is a risk exclusion strategy.

It is a long game when the company evades any risky action, but loses its local market share and revenue. So McDonald's acted at the beginning of the war, closing all the network restaurants in Ukraine. In the case of risk exclusion strategy, the global office should analyze all external factors and listen to the position of local unity. He will explain which company policy is unacceptable in the country and proposes to take some actions in response to external crisis.

Then CEO and management take into account the arguments, transforms or completely ceases to work in the region, realizing that local specificity can have a huge impact on the company as a whole. The second option is a risk evasion strategy. Local unite, trying to minimize problems in its market, gives information to the global office, saying that if it does nothing globally, then the brand will generally be perceived as problematic.

Choosing a risk evasion strategy, the head office takes steps to minimize them. For example, reduces market share, reduces investment, rebrands. It is a kind of half -day on the part of the global office, which is intended to delay the onset of negative consequences for business, and corporate lawyers give time to take steps to minimize the effects of staff reduction, and close accounts.

Such a strategy was chosen for themselves in the spring of Procter & Gamble and Unilever, Nestle, who declared the cessation of investments in Russia, but did not stop supplying their products and the operation of their products and the work of local factories. In the corporate world, they often translate responsibility for the crisis to third parties. Risk distribution strategy can be both a pre-proven and prompt response to the force majeure.

The bottom line is that in the case of understanding the inevitability of risk, the top management of the company is looking for a third party that will separate responsibility for its consequences. Such may be insurance companies. Or, for example, in the relationship system, the developer - the owner of the apartment, the third responsible party may be a supplier of electricity. A striking example of a risk distribution strategy is the World Health Organization campaign for COVID-19 vaccination.

Responsibility for risks and health effects were laid on vaccine manufacturers. Pfizer even took a social mission and conducted an educational campaign on the importance of vaccination. The essence of the risk strategy is to understand the risk potential and the consequences of its realization as a crisis. In this case, the company can actively and fully form reserves to eliminate the consequences.

In simple language, to say, "This is inevitable, we must be ready and make the necessary resources to eliminate the problems that have arisen as a result of the crisis. " Of course, you can choose a passive scenario - to solve problems in the event of their occurrence. If the risk happens, then to attract someone to analyze the consequences and start acting. But here is the likelihood of large financial losses both due to the crisis itself and the high cost of eliminating its consequences.

Regardless of which anti -crisis strategy will choose the decision -making center, there should be an understanding that in the modern world the risk is inevitable and its consequences will be tangible for the company. Let's hear and listen to return to the vertical of the anti -crisis relationship between local offices and decision -making center. The relevance of this type of communications has become sharply obvious in 2022.

We watched different tone of voice brands in response to the war of Russia in Ukraine. The particular complexity of this situation is that its solution was influenced by the position of local units, the decision of global management, as well as the position of customers of companies and consumers of brands. It was the consumers who said that the company's position was not satisfied. Therefore, conflict is possible.

In such a situation, the local office signals the problem to the head office, which in turn can either seriously and attention to the situation, or respond nervous This is a problem, ”leaving this situation out of mind. Ignoring leads to the fact that consumers increase pressure, begin to publicly criticize or even attack, in particular through social networks, use all the communication capabilities of the digital world.

The greatest mistake of the corporate world is not to hear the side that signals the problem, to make her feel offended, unclear, incomprehensible. This leads to a conflict situation both outside and inside the company. In response to ignoring the problem of global management, the company begins to leave employees, often becoming sources of negative information about the central office.

How do top management from the very beginning to properly build a vertical communication? In cases of crisis, such as Russia's war against Ukraine, the company's local team becomes the main stakeholder for the global office. The global office should not act on the principle of "I am a boss - you are a fool", in the crisis situation there is no issue of subordination. It is necessary to really evaluate the possible threats and maximize their consequences.

The threats can be different, starting with the mass dismissal of workers in the region to the loss of the market as a whole. In particular, the authorities of the country can deprive the company of preferences, refuse opportunities for development, or even force the market. Therefore, there can be only one recommendation for global management: to reject hierarchical relationships. Working with a crisis as if the company worked on solving the crisis with the participation of its ordinary client.

After all, in such situations with clients, the company tries to be careful, which is empathized, which apologizes both in personal communication and in public manifestations. There is a search for a crisis with empathy and attention to the client's interests. You should also feel and act in a crisis where your employees in the local office are actually your client.

Obviously, the use of this approach will allow the company management to look differently and go through the crisis with the least loss. Assessment of reputational risks with focus for the future world brands, which in response to military escalation left the market of Russia, were in an extremely difficult situation. Russia is important for them in sales and profit. From the point of view of corporate financial statements, the market of Ukraine is significantly losing.

But in today's situation, the choice of or not to be in Russia is obvious for one simple reason - the risks of reputation. The world's reputation is 70% of the company. And the strategically risk of losing reputation is more significant than the financial losses from a closed network of restaurants, cars production or retail. For those businesses that are now bet on the short term and remain working in Russia, long -term losses will be very noticeable.

Business can be sanctioned not only in Ukraine but also in the EU and the US, to refuse to cooperate with world banks and investment funds. There will be problems with the work of highly skilled personnel. It is important to understand that the crisis related to the ignorance of the position of the local office in one country is carefully observed by executives and employees of other countries.

Therefore, global management is important to take into account that the steps and decisions will be made in one country depends on the stability and efficiency of their business in one or more regions. It is very similar to the strategy of working with critical customer feedback. They should be written as if it are addressed directly to the author of the recall, but in fact to other people who can read it. Because these people are thousands or tens of thousands.