Countless companies have been laying off employees, and the numbers have accumulated to millions. Large corporate organizations did not get a pass, and many of them send thousands and thousands home. The anticipation of a second wave of coronavirus infections may be adding to further financial disruption in specific sectors.
We wanted to see how transparent these household names have been about it in their online communications.
Hilton
It’s evident that tourists aren’t traveling, and the hospitality industry has been hit the hardest. Seeing that most of its hotel rooms are probably still vacant, this flagship brand of American multinational hospitality has let go of thousands of corporate staff “to reduce its cost structure, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the hospitality industry.”
Hilton president and CEO Christopher Nassetta said: “Never in Hilton’s 101-year history has our industry faced a global crisis that brings travel to a virtual standstill. Hospitality will always be a business of people serving people, which is why I am devastated that, to protect our business, we have been forced to take actions that directly impact our team members.”
Adding that “Our company’s spirit has always been grounded in a culture that supports our team members and delivers hospitality for our guests. We will keep that spirit alive, and when the world begins to travel again, we will be ready to welcome them back.”
While COVID-19 destroyed and even temporarily closed hotels, the Hilton website is following some of the seven commandments for CRM in a post-corona world. The banner on the company’s homepage leads to a statement from Hilton that checks off numerous boxes on our list, including being transparent and relevant:
We’ve also noticed that the American hotel chain is trying to be helpful by offering guests the ability to cancel reservations free of charge when planning them now.
Perhaps, a hotel chain as large and well-known as the Hilton could be offering a bit more as far as discounts and promotional offers go, to help customers plan. This would be much appreciated and well-used by potential future guests.
24 Hour Fitness
The mid-tier national gym chain filed for bankruptcy and permanently closed 100 gyms making it very obvious why they’ve been laying off employees.
CEO Tony Ueber explicitly blamed the temporary closures caused by COVID-19: “If it were not for COVID-19 and its devastating effects, we would not be filing for Chapter 11,” he said.
“We expect to have substantial financing with a path to restructuring our balance sheet and operations to ensure a resilient future.”
The company is “unable to provide details on the number of employees impacted by the difficult decisions that were made during this time,” it said in a statement to CNN Business.
Simultaneously, the marketing people of 24 Hour Fitness seem to be following some best CRM practices in a post corona world. Their homepage is “relevant,” “transparent”, and “helpful” with the following slide banner:
They do put in the work to make sure site visitors know what’s going on, with messages such as the following:
“COVID-19 Member Update
We continue to follow the requirements and recommendations from government public health agencies on when and how to safely and responsibly re-open clubs.
Click here to find clubs and areas opening, plus see all that we’re doing to prepare for your return.”
And they are following the rules:
There is still no mentioning of the company’s status, as it has been reported on the news.
HSBC
Europe’s biggest investment banking company resumed plans to cut 35,000 jobs, or roughly 15% of its global workforce, saying that the “coronavirus pandemic has made the overhaul it announced earlier this year even more urgent.”
A memo by CEO Noel Quinn of HSBC stated, “We could not pause the job losses indefinitely – it was always a question of ‘not if, but when.”
As for how the brand is behaving during a pandemic, they are checking off CRM practices for this situation, being a bit “helpful,” but we would certainly expect a lot more than this banner:
AT&T
The American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Texas plans to cut 4,700 jobs and close 250 stores. According to the union, the layoffs will affect AT&T jobs across the United States, including those of its divisions.
The company said, “the cuts were made necessary by customer preferences gravitating away from ‘legacy’ products, such as landline phones, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
All in all, their website doesn’t seem to consider any of the seven commandments for CRM in a post-corona world, which is in-line with the overall sentiment of large portions of the American public towards this brand.
Watch this space for more company updates to come.
