Command Center

Hours after the terrorist attacks occurred, senior executives at Franklin Templeton's headquarters in San Mateo, California, set up a command center to coordinate logistical support, facilitate the search for missing employees and establish critical communication links. These actions allowed Fiduciary and Franklin Templeton management teams to work together, primarily by telephone, until senior Fiduciary executives who were traveling could return to New York and begin to work at the disaster recovery site and, later, in the Short Hills offices of Mutual Series, another Franklin Templeton company. (Franklin Templeton acquired Fiduciary Trust in April 2001).

Fiduciary Trust lost all physical records in the attacks, presenting an immediate challenge to the need to contacting employees and their families. Fortunately, the company's payroll system had been integrated with Franklin Templeton's in the months prior to 9-11. As a result, Franklin Templeton's Human Resources department was able to provide the Command Center team with a spreadsheet containing contact details for Fiduciary employees, including telephone numbers that might otherwise have taken days to track down individually.

24-Hour Hotline

The commitment and generosity of Franklin Templeton's employees were central to Fiduciary Trust's outreach to its own employees, victims' families and clients. Hundreds of employees in Franklin Templeton's San Mateo, California, headquarters volunteered for continuous four-hour phone shifts to assist Fiduciary in reaching out to employees and families. Their conversations were often difficult, especially in the days immediately following the disaster when details were still unfolding.

One volunteer recalls, "The wife of a Fiduciary employee called me on September 11 to ask if we had heard from her husband. Two days later, after he had been confirmed missing, she sent me a letter thanking me for being there to help her. With everything she must have been going through, I'll never forget that kindness."

Recorded Hotline and Conference Calls

In addition to the 24-hour hotline, Fiduciary Trust established a voice mailbox to provide regular updates to employees, families and clients on missing employees and the status of disaster recovery efforts. Recorded telephone messages from Chairman and CEO Anne Tatlock were posted regularly to the mailbox and on the Fiduciary website to apprise employees and families of the latest news.

Fiduciary's regional offices helped coordinate the outreach, providing another point of contact when New York employees could not be reached. To address concerns and questions directly, the company also conducted a series of conference calls with employees, families and clients in the days after the attacks.

Web Communications/Message Board

Rebuilding Fiduciary's Website
The server that supported Fiduciary's website was also destroyed in the World Trade Center attacks. Within a few hours after the attacks, however, the company successfully redirected Fiduciary's website traffic to Franklin Templeton's main website, where technicians began posting company information and news about missing employees. Franklin Templeton's eBusiness team rebuilt Fiduciary's site within a matter of days, working through the first night to create a close replica of our Fiduciary's site. The rebuilt site reinforced the company's personal outreach to families and employees, creating a sense of virtual community at a time when Fiduciary lacked a common office space where everyone could be together.