Coronavirus Escalation Sees Aristocrat Leisure Cancel All Asia Travel Plans

The Coronavirus outbreak has become a worldwide health scare and unfortunately, infections and result deaths are reported to be escalating in regions such as South Korea and Italy, as well as part of Iran, even as China appears to be slowing down both.

The World Health Organisation is reporting that as of Monday it has confirmed nearly 2600 deaths globally with nearly 80,000 reported infections. Fear of contracting the virus has had a major impact on both individuals and corporations as companies shut down imports and exports and consumption of products from key regions comes to halt, bringing many industries and economies to their knees.

 Putting People First

Australia based Aristocrat Leisure Limited, the company behind such social casino apps developer Product Madness, social gaming site Big Fish and a land-based casino games supplier worth more than €2.6 billion, announced that in order to safeguard the safety of their international staff all travel throughout Asia will be cancelled with immediate effect.

Trevor Croker, CEO and Managing Director of Aristocrat, said:

“However, we have been closely monitoring developments with a focus on our people, customers and supply chain. We have temporarily suspended travel in the region, and are supporting our staff in Macau and Hong Kong. We are also proactively monitoring and managing potential supply chain impacts.”

With digital business solutions and the co-operation of their various business partners and stakeholders, Croker is positive that there will be no adverse impact on the business. Despite the challenges, he predicts a year or year increase in revenues by the end of 2020.

 This Should Be The Standard

The Coronavirus scenario is an extreme one but there are lessons we can all learn from how Aristocrat handled this situation.

• Always put people first. People not systems are the backbone of any successful enterprise. To be successful you need them and their support for your vision.
• Communicate clearly and simply. Croker set out a simple set of actions, focusing on who they will impact and then following up with a promise to keep the lines of communication open.
• Lastly, Croke knew his audience. Not only did he address the real fears of his staff his family offering a tangible solution but he also addressed shareholders and investors, advising them of his confidence in the plan and the non-existent negative impact it will have on the bottom line for 2020.

This was an expert handling of a very scary situation and one that we can learn from both in business and personally.