Coping with grief as a group at Thrivent
Employees at Thrivent Financial recognize how important it is for sensitive messages to be calm, compassionate and considered. Below you’ll find some advice and examples for communicating sensitive information to staff.
by Marie Uhrich, senior vice president of communications, Thrivent Financial
In August 2007, Sherry Engebretsen was in her car on the way home from work in Minneapolis at fraternal benefit society, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, when the major bridge she was travelling on collapsed and she perished in the river.
Create a company bond
As soon as we learned of the bridge collapse we activated our automated calling system to check on our employees’ safety. Because we knew we couldn’t rely solely on this system, I sent an e-mail asking managers to do a head count of their employees and report in first thing in the morning after the bridge collapse. Taking the time and care to account for every single employee sent a very important message to all of our employees – we care about their personal safety.
Taking the time and care to account for every single employee sent a very important message to all of our employees.
Choose the right expressive channel
After we confirmed that Sherry was the only employee missing, the first communication to employees was delivered at 10am via intercom in our two headquarters locations to ensure that everyone heard the same message at the same time. We chose voice communication so that we could adequately express the compassion and concern of the organization. Sometimes, e-mail just can’t do that. Below is an extract of the message I delivered to employees:
“By now you are all aware that we had a catastrophic bridge collapse last night on a route used by many Thrivent employees. We interrupt your work in this way to give you an immediate update on what we know at this point. We’ve done our best to account for all of our employees through our emergency phone system and through managers this morning. At this point we have accounted for all employees with the exception of one. Although the search continues for Sherry Engebretson, according to official reports, it’s now a recovery effort. While we remain hopeful, officials have announced that they believe there is a very minimal chance of survivors being found.
This type of tragedy has a profound effect on all of us. We encourage you to do what you need to do today and tomorrow to work through this.
We know that this type of tragedy has a profound effect on all of us. For that reason, we encourage you to do what you need to do today and tomorrow to work through this. For some, working might be the best answer, for others, time with family away from work may be more helpful. Work with your manager to do what’s right for you.”
Acknowledge different reactions to shock
We pulled together a prayer service for employees which was well attended. By the day’s end we had confirmation that Sherry was among the 13 people who died in the bridge collapse. At 6pm I sent a voicemail message to all employees, again trying to convey the compassion of the organization and to ensure that our employees heard the news from us rather than the media.
One of the biggest challenges was that it was very difficult to stay ahead of the media reporting and also to ensure that we were getting accurate information to convey to employees. I learned that it’s most important to tell employees what you know when you know it, and not to wait for the full story. Just confirm the facts and share them as quickly as possible.
I learned that it’s most important to tell employees what you know when you know it, and not to wait for the full story.
Offer a group activity
We scheduled a memorial service for Sherry at Thrivent the following week. The senior leader who hired Sherry gave the eulogy and an employee choir of about 25 employees sang in remembrance of Sherry.
This group experience was very helpful in providing closure for employees and also allowing colleagues to share their grief with others. Thrivent also set up a memorial fund for donations in honor of Sherry and offered to match up to US$100,000 in donations.
Employees appreciate honesty and sincerity
The positive comments we received from employees about our handling of the situation highlighted the benefits to an organization of following our approach to communication surrounding this tragedy.
Marie Uhrich oversees Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ internal, external, field staff and member communications and corporate relations programs. Prior to joining Thrivent Financial, Uhrich served as an executive consultant to the organization through her firm, Silver Creek Consulting, Ltd.
First published by Melcrum in 2007.
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