Communicating with employees during the COVID 19 pandemic

Internal communications should always be given as much focus and investment as your biggest and most important marketing campaigns. During a crisis, such as the current COVID 19 pandemic, it needs even greater consideration. Clarity and information is as valuable as soap and medical support.

Listen to the experts – both internal and external

Be exceptionally careful about sharing misinformation, which can spread as quickly and dangerously as the virus. Rely on trusted sources, such as the Government of Canada and the Centre for Disease Control. Remind employees of places where they can go for accurate information and share articles that debunk misinformation.

This is also the time to turn to your business continuity plan and internal experts. This is the event you’ve been preparing for. Don’t dismiss your plan or your experts because they are calling for making difficult decisions. If you don’t have a plan, pay attention to what other organizations are doing.

Have the courage to make tough decisions and communicate clearly

Employees need clear direction on what they should and should not be doing. They will need to know about policies for sick leave, working from home, hosting visitors, and travel to other offices or vacations. It will require making difficult decisions on policies and how you expect employees to react. Don’t leave it up to the discretion of managers. Make the decisions, inform employees, and make it clear and easy for people leaders at every level to reinforce your decisions.

When there’s breaking news, your first priority should be to get the word out quickly. In addition to regular information sources, such as your intranet site, email and internal social sharing sites, be sure to arm people leaders with speaking points and FAQs. Don’t waste time with multiple reviews and approval by committee.

Anticipate questions and be prepared. While it’s acceptable to answer, “We don’t know yet” to difficult questions, you should respond by making decisions and providing answers to those questions. While you won’t know everything, there are elements that are under your control. You may not know if a conference organizer will shut down an event, but you can make the decision for your organization.

Most importantly, make sure your leaders are visible and participating in the communication efforts.

Update information regularly

We are all being bombarded with information about the virus 24/7. You don’t want to overload employees, but you do want to make sure you are providing updates, sharing useful information and links to reputable sources. Be sure to keep those links up to date and add new ones as information becomes available. Some basic information to share includes:

• Hand washing techniques
• Information on where to find office cleaning supplies
• Tips for friendly social distancing
• Updates provided by reputable sources
• Reminders about relevant company policies
• Advice to help identify and stop the spread of misinformation online

Communicate compassion

Individuals need to know if they have been exposed to the virus. They also need to be encouraged to treat each other with respect and compassion.

Our lizard brains are programmed to protect ourselves. There’s nothing like a pandemic to make that obvious. Situations can escalate quickly, and people who become ill – whether from the virus or a common cold – may be treated with cruelty and disrespect. We are already seeing overt examples of xenophobia and racism as humans look to lay blame. While the virus will hopefully come under control, discrimination and stigma will linger.

Part of your strategy for fighting the virus and building a healthy workplace should be to create a plan for spreading compassion:

• Lead by example. If you’re not sure what it takes to be a compassionate leader, invest time and money to get coaching and support. Compassionate leaders have employees who are more engaged and passionate about their work and workplace.

• Be deliberate about the words you use and the tone you adopt. Your tone can speak volumes, and employees will notice.

• Spread awareness and shut down bad behaviour. People will make what they think is a harmless joke about a cough or a sneeze. Someone who hears that same joke over and over will begin to feel like a pariah. Encourage everyone to be mindful of how they are treating their colleagues. Remind people leaders to quickly and compassionately shut down that behaviour.

After the dust settles

In a few months when (fingers crossed) this crisis has passed, sit down and review how things went.

• What went well and where is there room for improvement?
• What feedback did you receive?
• How would you do thing differently?

Document the information and refer back to it often. Many of the steps you take to communicate during a crisis can be applied to improve your internal communication.