It takes a lot to survive through a tragedy of great magnitude and it takes even more to stand taller and stronger like the Taj Mahal Hotel does after the dreadful 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in 2008. The story of how this luxury hotel revived itself after the attacks is laudeworthy and inspirational to many budding hoteliers across the globe.
Let’s take a page out of Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata and the then Managing Director, Raymond Bickson’s book on how they worked hard and smart to put Taj back in the good graces of the people. The findings below are from a case study titled ‘Protecting from brand burn during times of crisis: Mumbai 26/11: a case of the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel’ by Melodena Stephens Balakrishnan.
It is important to understand what crisis management is and why it is important to develop it as a skill if one wishes to be a hotelier. Crisis management is how a company deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the company or its stakeholders. Why should one be knowledgeable about it? That’s quite elementary really! Misfortunes may occur in a variety of ways. Right from an accident at the hotel to a natural disaster, it can happen in unexpected ways and no matter the magnitude of the problem, as a leader, you need to be prepared.
Media Relations are Essential
The one key practice that helped the majestic Taj Mahal Hotel pull through the travesty were their relations with the media and the way they monitored the information being sent out to the press. During those chaotic nights, a lot of misinformation was being spread by the media and the management at the Hotel knew that. Ratan Tata was the face of all communication going out from the Taj during the siege and after it as well. This was a smart move as Ratan Tata is a trustworthy and charitable figure which the people in the country know and admire..
We are in this Together
During their campaign, the Taj Mahal Hotel management had successfully shifted the focus from “an attack on Taj” to “an attack on the entire nation”. In multiple interviews following the incident, Ratan Tata mentioned how it was not a time to blame people but to recover from the devastation as a nation. It is of pivotal importance to pause and think about the situation and understand what is the best approach for it.
Doing Our Bit
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities are key in such situations. Taj realised the importance of charity and selflessness in those dire times and this is precisely what aided them in the speedy recovery. The management created the “Taj Public Service Welfare Trust,” which aided all victims of the Mumbai terror attack, not just those connected with the Taj. This, once again went on to show that the luxury hotel was doing all they could and not being partial to one set of victims.
Employee Aid
Employees form the backbone in any organisation. A business can function in an orderly manner solely if the employees are passionate about their job and are satisfied by the work environment as well. The trauma that originated from the things the employees saw, touched, heard, experienced was all very much real and the management was conscious of this. Ratan Tata and senior managers met every staff member and their families affected by the event. Employees were provided psychological support through group and individual counselling, town hall meetings, workshops, meditation programs and professional training on a regular basis.
These are just some of the thousands of little lessons we can learn from Ratan Tata and the management’s handling of the event. The strategies they implemented appeared to have prevented brand burn by emphasising Taj’s direction and commitment, as well as their “Can Do” spirit of fighting against all odds. Of course, direct inspiration cannot be taken from this particular crisis management case study as Taj is a large brand with uncountable resources at hand. What is important to note are the key elements of employee satisfaction, clever strategization, social responsibility, etc which remain constant.
