9 lessons in crisis management from Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo

Let employees lead

Stryker also responded by leaning on its employee resource groups, internal organizations that had been established to represent people of different races and ethnicities.

Employees in Stryker’s African American Resource Group asked if they could meet without any managers or other employees present. The raw feelings and emotions shared at the meeting led to a report to senior managers about problems at Stryker.

“They told us some things about our company that were tough to hear, to be honest, about their own experiences,” Lobo said. “They shared some positive things and some very negative things. We sort of knew some of these things probably were happening, but to hear it… They felt very free to speak openly, and I think that was the most powerful part of this.”

In December, the company launched a new resource group for employees of Asian descent.

Next>>