5 Lessons For Surviving Crises From SE Ranking’s Ukrainian Team

This put up was sponsored by SE Rating. The opinions expressed on this article are the sponsor’s personal.

With over half of our staff hailing from Ukraine, SE Rating confirms that via teamwork, you may climate the best of storms.

Regardless of the disaster, lack of clients, withdrawal from the Russian market, huge employees relocation, and struggle zone work setting (for individuals who stayed in Ukraine), we not solely managed to outlive however to evolve past our pre-war stage as a enterprise.

By this text, the SE Rating group want to share how we not solely survived however thrived, regardless of the unspeakable circumstances.

1. Put Folks First. They Are Your Lifeline.

Every one in all our group members ran the additional mile within the midst of this disaster.

Their exhausting work and dedication are what saved this firm afloat.

No business-related ideas and tips might ever make a distinction with out them, which is why SE Rating centered on offering as a lot safety to the group as doable.

SE Rating Moved The Workplace From Kyiv To Wroclaw, Which Helped The Staff Relocate To Safer Locations.

Within the first days of the struggle, your entire Ukrainian group acquired a relocation allowance.

Then, the a part of our group that arrived in Poland first helped others with transportation, lodging, authorized features, and so on.

Not A Single Particular person Was Laid Off. No Cuts Had been Made To Salaries.

Retaining the group financially secure grew to become the corporate’s first precedence.

After solely a number of weeks into the struggle, all bonus packages and private improvement coverages have been restored.

We Started Group Remedy Periods To Assist Us Course of What Was Taking place.

Though our SE Rating household was territorially divided and morally damaged, identical to 1000’s of different Ukrainian households, we supported one another.

We organized particular on-line conferences in order that the group might synchronize emotionally. We additionally invited an expert psychologist who helped us work via the traumas of the struggle.

We Started Showcasing Our Staff Members On Social Media & Sharing Their Tales.

After studying the way to modify to the brand new present actuality, we felt that the voices of our group needs to be heard throughout. We launched a sequence of posts the place our teammates talked about themselves and their experiences.

This motivated our employees and revealed SE Rating’s human facet.

Respecting and appreciating your staff is the important thing to their loyalty and, consequently, the important thing to any enterprise’s success.

This strategy to individuals has at all times saved SE Rating sturdy, no matter exterior circumstances.

Folks have been, are, and would be the biggest worth to us as a result of they’re those behind our product – a product that tons of of 1000’s of individuals worldwide love.

Lesson realized: Worth the individuals behind the product, they usually’ll reply to you in form.

2. Stick To Your Plans To The Finest Of Your Capacity.

The struggle turned our lives the wrong way up.

Lots of our plans have been ruined, and full uncertainty grew to become our “greatest” good friend. Each member of our group felt this.

All of us wanted some stability, and our job grew to become one thing like an “island” of certainty for us. We determined to not swap to vitality preservation mode, however to comply with our roadmap as a lot as we might.

And it labored!

Our exhausting work resulted in 4 model new AI and NLP-based instruments:

• On-Web page Web optimization Checker analyzes any net web page by checking it for 94 parameters that have an effect on search rankings.
• Content material Advertising Module helps you construct briefs and create Web optimization-friendly content material sooner with much less effort.
• SERP Analyzer reveals prime SERP gamers and measures their pages by checking them for 110+ on-page and off-page parameters.
• Backlink Hole Analyzer reveals domains and URLs linking out to your rivals however to not you.

We’ve gotten as near our unique plan as doable and even managed to hitch the brightonSEO convention for the primary time in October.

We don’t simply really feel like we’re shifting ahead. We are shifting ahead.

Lesson realized: Even while you really feel damaged and misplaced, do your job. It might change into your supply of reliability in a altering and scary world.

3. Keep True To Your Values – Regardless Of Brief-Time period Enterprise Dangers.

Integrity is one in all SE Rating’s prime values.

Regardless of how a lot we wish to say what individuals wish to hear, we keep on with the reality.

The reality is that the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, and we couldn’t maintain supporting shoppers from Russia as a result of it meant supporting companies that have been paying taxes and sponsoring their military.

Though Russia accounted for 15% of the entire variety of SE Rating shoppers, we ceased offering companies to them on the finish of February.

Since then, new Russian customers couldn’t and cannot register with SE Rating, and we don’t settle for funds from present Russian shoppers.

To beat the difficulties attributable to the withdrawal from such a big market, we needed to:

• Redirect our assets to draw new shoppers from different international locations.
• Evaluate deliberate actions and add new platform promotion channels.
• Barely change the pricing coverage.

We communicated our place to clients in an trustworthy approach, as we at all times do, and it resonated with them.

We could have misplaced 15% of our clients, however SE Rating attracted 20% extra since then; our firm stays worthwhile, and our revenues proceed to develop.

This yr, we hit 1,000 critiques on G2! We even have the highest-ranking Web optimization software program resolution available on the market. We couldn’t be extra grateful to our customers for supporting and inspiring us alongside the way in which.

Lesson realized: Whenever you keep true to your beliefs, it’s going to repay regardless of the preliminary losses.

4. By no means Skimp On Safety. Points Can Value You Dearly.

Crises are downright unpredictable.

Worse but, not having the ability to guess what’s going to occur subsequent is among the largest explanation why crises are so harmful.

There are one million and one doable issues that may catch you unexpectedly and knock you out if you happen to don’t take preventative measures early on.

Your largest insurance coverage coverage is sorting via all of the doable dangers after which discovering methods to beat them.

SE Rating did simply that. We diversified all doable dangers from the beginning in order that our companies might stay in impact, even via a disaster.

How To Enhance Enterprise Safety

SE Rating carried out a number of ways to make sure that processes and knowledge keep secure, underneath any circumstance.

• Our servers originated in a number of safe areas: Germany, Finland, and the USA.
• We’ve constructed a dependable product infrastructure, and the system continues to work even when some crashes happen.
• Groups, not only one particular person, coordinate processes. Every group member can sort out issues after they come up. That’s why when a few of us couldn’t work (as a result of they needed to transfer to a safer place or conceal in a bomb shelter), different group gamers might cowl for them.
• All communication occurs in a single place. In our case, it’s Slack. We’ve separate channels for every undertaking, division, and even for promo campaigns. This manner, everyone seems to be on the identical web page and has entry to modifications and updates in seconds.
• We maintain our communication as clear as doable, from C-level administration to particular person group members. All pressing selections are carried out immediately and with restricted forms. Remaining clear braced us for the powerful occasions forward. Our companies continued working, even via the start of the struggle when plenty of modifications needed to be utilized instantly.
• We’ve operational guides for all departments in Confluence. We describe processes intimately so that every group member is aware of what to do when preparing for some process or exercise.

Lesson realized: Be diligent and ready for the worst-case state of affairs since you by no means know when a disaster will strike.

5. Don’t Be Afraid To Say What Should Be Stated.

From an operational viewpoint, we would have liked to verify our clients didn’t really feel the affect of the disaster on the corporate’s work and the product.

However on an ethical stage, we needed to deal with the elephant within the room – the struggle.

Regardless of the ocean of content material on the market concerning the invasion, we discovered our voice among the many digital advertising and marketing neighborhood and flew with it. We nonetheless couldn’t be extra grateful for the help that also comes from this neighborhood to today.

We additionally launched a sequence of posts and articles discussing alternative ways you may help: Ukraine, Ukrainian girls through the struggle, Ukrainian Web optimization specialists who grew to become volunteers, and our unimaginable group.

Later this yr, SE Rating was shortlisted for the World Content material Awards as the perfect Disaster Response Content material Marketing campaign for this sequence of publications.

We’re particularly grateful to Miranda Miller who was among the many first to help us as we voiced what wanted and nonetheless must be stated.

SE Rating additionally organized a Charity Web optimization Webinar with Aleyda Solis, Barry Schwartz, Barry Adams, And Kristina Azarenko, which was attended by greater than 1,100 individuals.

The occasion raised $4,000 for the Save the Kids basis, which offers safety to each youngster affected by the struggle in Ukraine.

With all this help, we have now been satisfied as soon as once more that the Web optimization neighborhood is an actual household that’s at all times there to face by and with you throughout probably the most difficult of occasions.

Lesson realized: Make your voice heard and your neighborhood will help you.

Be Safe. Be Honest. Be Sincere. Be Supportive. Be Robust.

The following tips solely work when paired with transparency and honesty.

We imagine that these virtues are foundational to each enterprise’s success. You have to be crystal clear about what your applied sciences and processes provide, and be totally open to the wants, opinions, and well-being of your employees and shoppers.

• Secure information must be constantly secure.
• Clear communications should at all times be – clear.
• When you provide full help, be totally supportive.

This strategy proved and nonetheless proves efficient for us and is unlikely ever to vary.

And keep in mind: crises increase distinctive challenges that require distinctive approaches. One-size-fits-all methods don’t have any place right here. So, use our ideas as benchmarks and adapt them to your corporation technique as you discover your personal solution to success.