Poll

April poll question: How to handle a workplace crisis that isn’t your company’s fault?

This month, we’re polling our community to gather the BEST advice for dealing with a workplace crisis that isn’t the company’s fault.

Laurence Cadieux

Hello! My name is Laurence Cadieux, and I’m a Communication Coordinnator here at Devolutions. My role includes overseeing the content strategy and development of our blog, managing the content and communication for our VIP advocate platform “Devolutions Force,” and working closely with our PR partners around the world. I also handle our off-site content opportunities (magazines, journals, newspapers, etc.). Academically, I have a bachelor’s degree in marketing. When I’m not working, I sing in a band, and I enjoy watching my favorite movies again and again. I also love cooking, and during the pandemic, I became a bread expert — I can now bake the most amazing key lime pie on earth (if I do say so myself!). Plus, I recently discovered LEGO and there is no turning back — I’m hooked! I’m always happy to help, and you can reach me directly at lcadieux@devolutions.net.

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Hello Devolutions Nation! In a moment, we will get to this month's very unique and interesting poll question. But first, we need to say a few things to set the stage.

The Force Awakens Sleeps

As we all know, at work we often face challenges. And sometimes, we encounter problems. But every once in a while, we are hit with a real crisis.

No, we are not talking about life and death issues (thankfully). But we are talking about something urgent and consequential, and with the potential for long-term negative impact.

Recently, here at Devolutions we experienced a crisis when the third-party platform that we use for our VIP user program, the Devolutions Force, went down.

To make a long (and unpleasant) story short: a few weeks ago, the vendor who houses and maintains the platform decided to move ahead with a mandatory migration to a new system. As you can probably guess by now, the migration did not go well. But that was not even the worst part.

What turned this problem into a full-blown crisis, is that we had no control to resolve the issues. It was also surprisingly difficult to work with the vendor’s support team, and the responsiveness and turnaround times fell far short of our expectations and standards.

The good news is that after heroic efforts by several members of our team, the problems have been somewhat fixed. We have to say "somewhat" at this point, because things are not yet 100% back to normal. But we are pleased to note that the platform is functioning – albeit a bit wobbly.

As we’ve already shared with the valued members of the Devolutions Force, getting this right will remain our TOP priority. We have very high quality control standards, and we require vendors to meet this level. If they cannot or will not, then we won’t hesitate to make all necessary changes.

The poll question

This ongoing saga brings us to April's poll question, which is unlike any other poll question that we have ever had. This month, we would like to know: What is your best advice for dealing with a workplace crisis that isn’t your company’s fault?

You are invited to share what you have personally experienced, as well as lessons that you have learned from other individuals and sources (such as books, training, etc.).

You could win

Simply by participating in this month's poll question you will be automatically entered to win one of two $25 Amazon gift cards.

We will announce the randomly selected winners in early May when we highlight your BEST advice for dealing with a crisis at work caused that is not caused by your company. What are your top priorities? What is your game plan?

We look forward to your responses, and as always you are invited to share anything that you wish. And if you can add some examples – good, bad, and ugly – from your personal experiences, that would be even better!

Also, by "BEST" advice we do not necessarily mean things that you believe absolutely must be done in dire situations. You can also share actions that should be avoided at all costs. For example, due to their lack of transparency, clarity, and accountability, the vendor whom we referred to above took a bad situation and made it far worse.

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