And yet, Bastian stuck with a commitment made by Delta before the trade wars to give employees a 4% pay hike, the fourth consecutive increase since 2022.
“You don’t see a lot of companies leaning in in the face of uncertainty,” says Bastian, sharing his thoughts during a live webinar conversation hosted by Fortune. Bastian says that the percentage of the increase was less important to employees than “the fact that we were putting fuel in their tank to get through these challenging times, as we’ve done many, many times in the past.”
Within just a week of launching the tariff education initiatives, Accenture was already working to assess how it had reacted and if the programs launched were being well received.
“I think it’s super important to remember that people need communication,” says Sweet. “They need action. And as a company, being able to invest in being fast really matters to your employees as they’re going through these different times.”
“It allows us to get back to the frontlines of our people, to listen to them,” says Bastian. “There’s a lot of people that want to tell us what we should be doing. The most important people to listen to are your own.”
Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, says he’s attended Delta’s frontline worker events and has witnessed the enthusiastic response to Bastian’s presence. “You can be a real person, you can be a caring person, you can be a developing, vulnerable person, and do great in business,” says Bush.
At 100 years old, Delta has experienced plenty of choppy macroeconomic conditions, including when travel restrictions during the pandemic led to a halt on almost all travel demand. Bastian says in challenging times, he encourages his team to take care of themselves and also customers.
“Some leaders, when they’re hit suddenly, I think there’s a natural pause, and people pull back,” says Bastian. “I think true leaders step into it.”
External challenges also give leaders an opportunity to rethink their business approach. With all the geopolitical strife arising from trade wars between the U.S. and China, Sweet says, Accenture spends a lot of time talking to clients not just about planning scenarios, but also addressing new questions about which markets to invest in and where to hunt for growth.
“Some of it’s about operational and financial resilience, but a lot of it is about what does this mean for growth,” says Sweet. “It’s not about the tariffs, it’s also about the broader implications that will have significant opportunities and challenges for businesses.”
