N'cho's research also resulted in 10 best practices for leaders pursuing trauma-informed services (he recommended that credit unions choose three from this list to focus on):

Lead with flexibility, because each employee brings a unique set of circumstances and needs.
Promote open, two-way communication.
Support "sense-making" – understanding how the crisis is impacting people – through efforts such as forming teams who can pool together and discuss related information.
Ensure employees who have experienced trauma do not become re-traumatized in the workplace.
Pay extra attention to staff from marginalized communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
Focus on equity when making RTO policies and lean on the advice of supervisors, who can see individual employees' needs up close.
Protect employees who have contracted COVID from being stigmatized.
Create a mental health infrastructure that includes resources for short- and long-term counseling.
Seek ways for remote employees to maintain a sense of camaraderie and connection.
Identify opportunities for "post-traumatic growth," or silver linings amid the crisis that could ultimately help the credit union increase its operational efficiency.

The bottom line of N'cho's research was that traumatic events impact emotional function, which in turn impacts job performance, therefore it doesn't work to go back to "business as usual" following a crisis. "You have to take a moment and process the emotional impact of these experiences, because it ultimately serves to impact [the organization's] efficiency," he said.

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