With the current, global crisis of COVID-19, proper communication has never been more important. Employees need to be given consistent information and have to quickly find out about new policies and developments, while the leadership need ways to verify who has actually seen the information, and make sure that there is a direct line of communication that goes both ways.
If this is super-important for everyone right now, in this current situation, it’s even more so for organizations whose workforce has moved remotely. When it can be way, way more difficult to ensure that information reaches each and everyone, and that everyone knows and understands how to communicate when the old routines and structures have gone the way of the dodo. The question, then, is how you can make this happen, where Deloitte has some seriously good advice to give. Advice that were part of one of their latest guides to practical workforce planning, and that we’ve interpreted and outlined below:
Having a defined strategy
There needs to be a strategy for communicating throughout this crisis, and here transparency is alpha and omega. How said strategy looks may depend on various factors, but one thing’s for sure: right now, employees require and expect a practically unprecedented level of information that is both guiding and accurate. Something that should guide the strategy for how to communicate throughout this crisis.
And remember, the set strategy should be clearly visible and explained to managers across the organisation, who will probably face a great deal of hard questions and need to know what part they play in the strategy that’s been set.
Educating the workforce
COVID-19, and it’s quick and devastating spread across the world, is an urgent matter that needs to be talked about in an educational setting. I.e. employees need to know and understand the symptoms and how to prevent the spread of this virus. Guidelines should be set in regards to protecting individuals from the spread of this virus, and awareness need to be built across the entire organisation. It is important, here, that the guidelines and material that is available to employees is accurate and are founded on evidence – meaning that it is better to research more than less.
We should also not forget that this is all about caring for – and helping – the employees who work in your organisation. Which, for example, means that it’s a good idea to find the employees who are most at risk, and making sure they have the support they need and can continue to be safe and well.
Supporting the workforce
Communication should not be a one-way street, and so there need to be an outlet where employees can get in touch with managers and top leaders. Deloitte, for example, suggests a “hotline”where questions and inquires can be voiced, and that would allow leaders to see and understand what is going on in the lives and minds of employees.
Examples
Now that we have a solid foundation for how to think about communication in this crisis, let’s take a look at what other organisations are doing. Where Gallup recently collected policies and strategies from their CHRO Roundtable, which consists of 100 CHROs from some of the biggest companies in the world. Finding that these companies, for example, are “…testing technological (e.g., remote work) capabilities, emergency notification systems and updating employee contact information.”, when it comes to technological actions. They’re also devoting IT resources to help employees set up work spaces in their homes, encouraging video/audio meetings, and recommend collaborative endeavours online. Which, to us, suggests that leaders in many of these big companies have understood the weight of this crisis, and seen that tech and digital solutions will be the way to go. Something that is also underlined by their frequent communication with the organisation, the issuing of FAQs and relevant links, and the use of social media, emails, texts, and intranets for this purpose.
All in all, the key take away is that in a crisis such as the one we’re currently facing, communication is among the most important things that should be on organizations’ agendas. Where there should be a set strategy, education made available, support made visible and continuous updates from the top-down. While, of course keeping a channel open for any questions that arise from employees and upward.
For more detailed information and advice, please see the sources below that give an even more detailed view of what organisations are doing, and what you can do too.
Sources:
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/292334/covid-strategies-policies-world-largest-companies.aspx
