Different companies, different reactions. Which one is best for your company, your teams and your operations? The first and most crucial priority of companies during this crisis should be strong coronavirus internal communications. Now, more than ever, it is on communication teams to provide accurate details, promote effective practices, and clearly explain your company’s policies and efforts to deal with the SARS-COV-2 outbreak.

Coronavirus Internal Communications: Five Critical Dimensions of Crisis Response

At the most basic, there are five dimensions that you need to balance out to ensure that your response to the SARS-COV-2 crisis is effective for both your company and your employees.

Communications

A lot of information can change hands pretty rapidly among co-workers—and not all of this will be entirely accurate. Businesses should take charge and ensure that policies, their company’s stance, and other key information is delivered in a clear and timely manner. Always have context for coronavirus internal communications—particularly changes in the way things are done to ensure that there is a clear understanding of what’s going on.

Employee Needs

The rapidly evolving situation around the virus spreading and any changes you have to your workplace practices will have a strong disruptive effect on the lives of employees. For example all non-essential employee travel may be banned, supplier visits may be canceled and town halls may be postponed. Companies need to not only have a clear set of procedures in place to account for these changes and they need to communicate these clearly to their employees.

Remote Work

In areas where SARS-COV-2 affects the population IBM has begun to allow workers to work remotely. The key to implementing this at a widespread level is being absolutely clear about the policies – specifically how to move from physical to virtual meetings, working hours, staying in touch with line managers and other key affected functions. Your coronavirus internal communications plans need to take these things into account.

Business Reporting

Any change in how a business is run or operates can cause stakeholder tension. This is why it is very critical that you pay special attention to stakeholder communication. Be more mindful and focused on key details that will put stakeholders at ease. Developing a cycle of rapid reporting will also allow you to identify key problem points that might arise down the line.

Cooperation

More than ever, your internal and external comms teams need to practice cooperation, especially with human resources to ensure that your company’s response is unified and decisive—while still being very conscious of the needs of your employees. On top of that, you need to cooperate and coordinate with efforts by your county or region’s responsible governmental body through whatever initiatives they implement to stem the spread of the virus.

Verify the Facts Before Releasing it via Your Coronavirus Internal Communications

While many companies will naturally provide updates on SARS-COV-2 to their employees, an issue that is key to consider is the source of the information they provide. In times of crisis, our connected world tends to be flooded with information. Whether it’s a result of panic or over-zealousness, there are a lot who—intentionally or not—propagate false information. When we ourselves are in a state of confusion, worry, or fear, it becomes easier to jump on the next compelling headline.

The SARS-COV-2 has thrown up its fair share of false news and false information. On social media, for example, there seem to be a thousand ‘cures’ and ‘prevention measures’ that have proven to be false. Companies—and their coronavirus internal communications efforts specifically—can’t afford to be careless. While a lot of this fake information is as harmless as it is useless, it doesn’t contribute anything meaningful either. At worst, communicating something that is untrue harms your credibility with your employees and could – ultimately – harm the colleagues themselves.

Rely on a primary source

The World Health Organization (WHO) is your best source for information on SARS-COV-2—including the best response measures that people can take. Apart from tips and even statistics regarding the spread of the virus, they provide comprehensive and very informative reports on their responses globally. You can even take short courses on SARS-COV-2 response practices for further information. Equally reliable are your governments’ disease response departments provided they also source their information from WHO.

Verify secondary sources

News outlets also make for great sources of regional information. The BBC, CNN, Washington Post, the New York Times, and others are very useful for companies that need information that is most relevant to them. Many of these even have sections dedicated to rolling updates on a regional and global level. It’s still however good practice for communication teams to verify the information before passing it on to your employees.

Carefully craft content

On a more practical note, it’s important when creating your content—be it an infographic, a blog post, or even a brief message—to be very accurate. Sources like the World Health Organization make all their content available under Creative Commons, meaning organizations are allowed to freely use the content. In fact this is encouraged to reduce the risk of misinformation. For other sources, it’s important to stay as close to the info you’re sharing and to have proper citations. This will allow your employees to fact check themselves if they want.

Preparedness & Planning in Coronavirus Internal Communications

Given how much the virus affects their workplace, this crisis goes beyond just informing employees, companies and their employees need to also be effectively-prepared. Employment search engine Indeed is a great example of preparedness. Though the Ireland office was based in a country with few cases so far, they preemptively ordered their employees to work from home. All of this after an employee in Singapore reported a potential third-degree exposure. In spite of all this, the company still reports effective continuance of its business without significant interruption.

Whether or not your company is doing similar and offering work from home opportunities or you have your own custom response plan, the role of communications is to ensure that people understand exactly what they have to do and where they can go for support. Remember that you need to be as detailed as possible with your coronavirus internal communications—covering key information like how leaders will issue communication updates, how to keep in touch with colleagues, and even how things like meetings will work. Processes and procedures clear up the chaos.

Evaluate your channels

In times of crisis like this, communication is more important than ever. And one thing that you need to look more closely at is the channel mix you need to use. This is especially true if you opt for measures that take your employees away from the office for a longer period of time. Employee collaboration tools like Workplace from Facebook and Microsoft Teams are particularly useful given the amount of media that you can post as well as the expedience by which information can be delivered.

Julien Codorniou, VP Workplace from Facebook, recommends creating an open and default group to provide a single source for daily updates and safety recommendations and then ensure these high-signal updates reach everyone effectively by marking them as important on the platform. You should also ensure that chat and conferencing channels are being leveraged also. Rachel Miller of AllThingsIC has created a useful guide covering a variety of options including Teams, Yammer and Microsoft Stream.

Messaging apps like Skype and Slack are good options for quick notifications should you need to get information out quickly in your coronavirus internal communications. Ultimately, your channel mix will depend on what has worked for you in the past. Just make sure to constantly check if your setup is effective for the situation.

Consider timing and gravity

Timing is critical when you’re talking about updates regarding the SARS-COV-2 situation. While you want to be up to date as constantly as possible, you also want to avoid spreading panic. Consider the timing of updates – perhaps once or twice a week depending on how things are developing on a local and regional level. What should be more constant are communicating tips from organisations like the World Health Organization regarding best measures to take to deal with the crisis.

Coordinate with authorities

It’s especially helpful if you also coordinate with your local authorities to find out what measures they have in place for the crisis. Particularly important are the contact tracking efforts that are being conducted globally. These are efforts to identify people who potentially had contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with SARS-COV-2 to stem the spread of the virus. This will provide employees with comfort and reassurance amidst the very real fear of not knowing who is infected.

Compassion Above All is Key to Coronavirus Internal Communications

In times of crisis, what employees look for is genuine care and concern for their safety. It’s something that you can’t really fake—and genuineness will go far. Cisco Systems struggled badly to reach out and care for its employees during the 2011 tsunami in Japan. There wasn’t a plan in place and so tracking their employees’ whereabouts was extremely difficult. They did care a lot for their people, however, and did much to incorporate this into their planning. So, their response to the Brussels bombings in 2016 was swift and compassionate— with their employees quickly accounted for.

As the global spread of SARS-CoV-2 spreads and brings out more and more instances of the disease (COVID-19), it becomes increasingly important for companies to place compassion at the centre of their thinking. People are afraid and the propagation of inflammatory headlines on social media and some media outlets isn’t helping. Because they play a prominent role in their employees’ daily lives, companies who make compassion central to their crisis response have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact in this challenging situation.

Listen

When people are stressed, they like to talk things out. In a crisis like the one being brought about by SARS-CoV-2, employees will have a lot to fear and be stressed out about. The most common people they’ll turn to at work are fellow colleagues, whether it’s at a one-to-one level or on employee collaboration tools. There they will likely share their worries, apprehensions, and fears. Many are likely to even open up about potential exposure. This kind of information is critical and will benefit a company and its efforts against the pandemic.

It’s important that you set up a dedicated feedback channel early on an establish it as something that is open. You’ll want to build up trust in this channel by actively listening and responding in a meaningful way. This will ensure that you’ll be the recipient of any key information that you will need to act decisively and respond quickly on during the course of the crisis. Active listening of this kind is ultimately beneficial to both employers and employees.

Respond

As far as coronavirus internal communications go, effective leadership communication is critical during a crisis. They can be a bastion of strength and certainty given the ever-shifting nature of the global situation. It’s important to take advantage of many different mediums and channels available. Video over your company’s social media can be a powerful tool—especially when you can complement this with online town halls via Microsoft Teams, Workplace from Facebook or any other video conferencing software used within your organisation.

While it is especially important for your leaders to be prompt in their response, there needs to be caution to avoid being inflammatory and contributing to the panic and chaos. Your leaders should, if possible, make a point of explaining any policy and practical changes that your company needs to undertake to manage through the crisis. This is especially true for more extreme shifts like remote working that can change the landscape of your company for the short, medium and even long term.

Prepare for the Future

If there’s one thing that’s certain when it comes to the coronavirus crisis, it’s that it’s going to be an unpredictable run. Now, rather than hope that things are going to blow over soon, it’s better to be prepared for any potential long-term situations. Google exemplifies this perfectly. What they’ve done is to use the coronavirus situation to test the company’s ability to have staff work remotely in the long term—in preparation, of course, for potential escalation of the virus.

You don’t necessarily have to mirror this move yourself if your particular line of business can’t really thrive by completely doing remote work. It’s food for thought, however, and is an opportunity to explore your options down the line. Perhaps you could try out a semi-remote work model with some days in-office. Or maybe you can even re-evaluate distribution of tasks. It really all specifically depends on your unique needs as a company.

Whatever you decide, however, you need to take to heart the key communication measures discussed here. As with all changes that can occur in a company, the key to successful implementation really lies in properly planned and timely coronavirus internal communications with your employees. Remember that in times of crisis like these, it falls upon communications teams to be the voice of truth, clarity, certainty, and even compassion.

The post Coronavirus Internal Communications: How Companies Should Respond in Times of Crisis appeared first on ICPlan.

The State of Wellbeing Internal Communications

The idea of wellbeing in the workplace is something that has risen in prominence in recent years. Many companies have implemented programs under the work-life balance banner. Some offer subsidised gym memberships or even have gyms in their building, others offer yoga classes—all focused on helping employees be fit and healthy.

What is often left in the backburner is mental health. In fact, a report by the PRCA found that over 57% of comms professionals are hesitant when it comes to mental health issues when crafting wellbeing internal communication plans and communications. It’s a troubling statistic when you consider a study by Bustle revealed that one out of every four Americans suffers from anxiety at work.

The Situation Today

While COVID-19 is a disease that affects physical health, the crisis surrounding it has uncovered a whole spate of mental health issues. Many are affected by what is being called the trauma response that COVID-19 has brought out. That is not even considering those who have pre-existing conditions. Apart from deep feelings of depression and anxiety, many have started to report what is essentially a trauma response that can be likened to PTSD, more commonly associated with wars or natural catastrophes.

A lot of this is due to the rapid shift that people have had to make in order to comply with government-mandated lockdowns and home quarantine measures. The isolation, need to be distant from other people, and inability to go beyond the confines of one’s home has been taking its toll. Many companies scrambled to set themselves up remotely, and now – many weeks and months into the crisis – some are now starting to roll out initiatives meant to address the mental health needs of their employees.

Cisco has been leading the way in this regard with a lot of its wellbeing internal communications efforts starting to recognise the mental health issues that COVID-19 is causing. Thus far, much of their work has revolved around improving the quality of the work from home experience—which can be anxiety-inducing given the variances in reliability when it comes to home connections, family situations and even available technologies.

Wellbeing Internal Communications and the Role of Human Resources

There used to be a clear distinction when it came to who led on employee mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Human Resource departments would design and implement the programs and initiatives, and comms would handle the internal communications.

With many now thrust in a remote setting, HR is now one step removed from employees. With the deeper experience and expertise of the technologies that enable communication and collaboration remotely, HR practitioners now – more than ever – need to work closely with comms to be effective.

The Challenges of Crisis and Wellbeing Internal Communications Response

It isn’t just the physical distance that’s a problem. Equally difficult is the lack of precedent given the scale and scope of the global reaction to the COVID-19 threat. All of the policies that previously supported a strong human resources culture within a company are being turned on its head. While most employees can apply for leave, receive benefits and support with a now-fully online system, how will they be able to effectively operate in the new world we are entering? This is why companies like Salesforce are launching new services to help companies safely open their doors and reinvent their day-to-day operational models as the workplace continues to react to the spread and containment of coronavirus.

Policies and Procedures Need Reimagining and Communicating

It isn’t just a lack of accessibility to physical forms and locations that is the problem. In fact, it’s merely a signal that policies need to change at a fundamental level—and the associated procedures along with it. For one thing, HR practitioners now need to take advantage of online collaboration platforms like Microsoft SharePoint for things like contact tracing that they may need to implement as a result of their company’s crisis response plan.

This is also where internal communications efforts around wellbeing come in. It is a given that everything affected employees receive needs to be comprehensive and clear in terms of directions. This should be transmitted across as many channels as required to ensure all employees the communication is targeted towards actually receive it.

Internal Communications Channels for Wellbeing

Assessment of viable channels is already a critical component of effective communication planning. When it comes to wellbeing internal communications, it takes on a whole new level of importance. The first consideration you must make is in regard to understanding the accessibility of channels for your employees.

While you should have a primary channel of communication that’s feature-packed to cover collaboration, conferencing, and rich communication, it’s also equally critical to have a lower tech backup just in case. An example of this is how some companies have gone back to SMS notifications for truly critical comms from particular key departments like HR.

Identify Key Issues Requiring Wellbeing Internal Communications

The World Economic Forum has rightly tagged the current COVID-19 crisis as ‘the world’s biggest psychological experiment’. Although this has mainly manifested in often humorous social media posts as the weeks of isolation set in, there are deeper issues that need to be uncovered. Anxiety and depression are two of the biggest mental health concerns here. The symptoms of those two conditions are heavily exacerbated by the necessary strictures of global lockdowns.

On top of that, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention have also identified several stress responses that employees potentially face. These include difficulty in sleeping or focusing, changes in eating and sleeping patterns, excessive worrying, and even insecurity when it comes to work and life. Knowing which ones effect your people over time is key to coming up with an effective, coordinated response.

In the 1990s, France led the way in providing for accessible psychological care in crisis situations by fielding the Cellule d’Urgence Médico-Psychologique (CUMPS) to provide counselling in high-stress situations. This is something that many companies should consider setting up on a smaller scale. Such a team within a company can then send out regular pulse surveys through wellbeing internal communications channels to get a gauge of specific conditions afflicting workers. 

Consider a Mental Health Response Plan

There are several things that a company can do to aid their employees during the course of the COVID-19 crisis when it comes to mental health. Perhaps one of the simplest is to provide guidance on the direction and measures the company is taking. As much as possible colleagues are looking for companies to be honest and upfront about what is being discussed and decided at a company level.

Another equally effective measure is to provide counselling—or at least connections to reputable counsellors—that your employees can actively reach out to. This can then be complemented by regular ‘check-ups’ via your comms channels. Some companies planning for the return to work post COVID-19 are restructuring work schedules to allow for more mental health breaks to avoid burnout. Whatever the response plan is, wellbeing internal communications will play a key factor in its effectiveness within the enterprise.

Carefully Plan and Execute Wellbeing Internal Communications

This is where comms really comes into its own. Provided a well designed HR plan, the responsibility next falls on IC to come up with the strategy of how to effectively communicate the plan. A platform like ICPlan is extremely useful in this regard because it is specifically built to do just that. The calendar is central to ICPlan and allows you to carefully plot out wellbeing internal communications with heatmap functionality giving you insights into what days you may have too many communications going to a particular audience.

It’s always important to make sure you are not over-communicating and helping give people the ability to absorb information in a useful and meaningful way.

Ensure you have regular check ins with human resources scheduled to ensure that you are both on the same page. More than ever, it’s equally important to track readership and understanding. Given how important mental health considerations are in the current crisis, it also helps to cycle out the same information—including any updates—as the weeks progress.

A Duty of Care

There isn’t one thing that makes for a perfect wellbeing internal communications plan—or a crisis response plan for that matter. There are many factors to consider that include how both your business and each individual employee is affected. What can be considered ‘best’ are those responses that come from a place of empathy and duty of care.

When it comes to internal communications for wellbeing, this is complemented by a clear plan for informing and ensuring that the communications are understood and actioned. With the remote set up many companies are having to implement, it’s critical that departments work more closely together for the common good given their specific remits and relevant expertise.

The post Wellbeing Internal Communications: The Vital Connection between HR and Employees appeared first on ICPlan.

Despite the unprecedented circumstances companies around the world are in, much has and continues to be expected of business leaders around the world.

One company that has had both a strong and effective COVID-19 response as well as a clear plan for the post-COVID-19 world is Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Much of this stems from Tim Höttges who has been very visible and vocal in his role as leader of one of the biggest telecom giants in the world.

An Overview of Deutsche Telekom

Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, Deutsche Telekom has been in operation since 1995. It holds stakes in other telecom companies globally—stretching its span of operation east to west—from the United States all the way to Russia and Japan, including well-known brands such as T-Mobile, T-Systems and – as of May 2020 – Sprint in the US. As of 2020, it boasts a workforce of over 216,000 employees around the world. 

The Power of CEO Presence in Crisis

Tim Höttges, its current CEO has spent a significant portion of his career at Deutsche Telekom, joining the company in 2000. He was was appointed to the board of directors in 2006, eventually becoming its CEO in 2014. What has stood out since his appointment is the strong emphasis placed on great communications—particularly through the efforts of Tim himself. As well as consistently posting on his LinkedIn page he also regularly engages those that comment. 

As the COVID-19 crisis runs its course, Höttges has been very visible both internally and externally. As Deutsche Telekom’s employees, along with everyone else, deals with the fallout from the unprecedented world events, Tim has maintained the engagement and communication efforts—striking a reassuring tone with employees and clearly outlining the course Deutsche Telekom will take in the days, weeks and months ahead.

Let’s take a closer look at what he and Deutsche Telekom have done for an effective COVID-19 response.

Effective COVID-19 Response is Easier When it’s Institutional

Many companies struggled to push out an effective COVID-19 response when lockdowns started to go in place around the world—Germany included. Everything was turned on its head: restrictions were placed on travel and movement, businesses were shuttered down, people were asked to stay at home, and mass gatherings were discouraged. That’s why Tim Höttges almost immediately made the decision to forgo Deutsche Telekom’s participation at Mobile World Congress.

While the annual industry trade fair eventually did get cancelled, Deutsche Telekom initially came under fire for the withdrawal. Detractors insisted that, rather than cancel participation, Deutsche Telekom should instead establish a digital presence. Tim Höttges was adamant that the safety of not just employees but also attendees was their top priority. That distinction in his LinkedIn statement is reflective of the deeper institutional duty of care to everyone in the company’s sphere of influence from customers to employees.

Compassion and Decisiveness

A few days after the entirety of Germany went on lockdown, Tim Höttges took to LinkedIn to post a very comprehensive video that detailed his and Deutsche Telekom’s take on the evolving conditions brought about by COVID-19 as well as what their employees and customers could realistically expect. This honest, transparent and – in places – optimistic commentary on the situation, is something that has been a stand out component of leadership communications at this time of crisis.

A consistent theme in Tim Höttges communications around COVID-19 can be boiled down to three key elements:

• Transparency – The fact that internal communications are being proactively shared externally and also the messages are realistic in tone underlines the transparency that Höttges and Deutsche Telekom as a whole are currently operating
• The role of the company – A consistent theme in all of Höttges communications is the role that Deutsche Telekom plays at a societal level during this time, and the importance of service continuance for customers
• Charting the course – The third element that has been present in communications from Höttges has been looking forward to what the next steps are. Whether it’s to the positive changes that can come to ways of working or more practical steps when it comes to returning to offices, the Deutsche Telekom CEO has consistently presented a forward outlook in his communications

Deutsche Telekom Supports its Workforce and Customers

Many companies were forced into remote work situation when lockdowns prevented people from leaving their home to report for work. For Deutsche Telekom, it wasn’t as difficult a transition for a large portion of the workforce due to the company already having flexible working options in place.

An extensive communication exercise was rolled out to ensure that their employees were well-prepared and well-informed to handle changes to ways of working. This led to noteworthy measures like the shifting of over 12,000 contact centre agents in the US to a work-from-home setup in less than two weeks.

But what about those that are unable to work from home? Tim Höttges acknowledged early that many jobs in Deutsche Telekom could not be done “from home.” Those jobs included line technicians and those in service departments—those in the field who essentially keep things actually running. For those affected employees, new measures and protocols for working were rapidly rolled out to ensure safety and continuance of services for customers.

Deutsche Telekom Gives Back to the World

Apart from the continuance of service that is at the heart of Deutsche Telekom’s effective COVID-19 response, they rolled out additional data at no extra charge for their customers. They also partnered with SK Telecom of South Korea to provide stronger conferencing and communications solutions to help other companies in keeping touch with their employees.

It didn’t end there, however. Deutsche Telekom was also tapped by the German government to assist in the development of a contact tracing app. This is a critical technology that enables health services to find out who a particular person has interacted with in order to follow the lines of infection of COVID-19, helping Germany’s efforts to contain the virus’ spread within its borders.  

Effective COVID-19 Response Cares for Wellbeing

While many companies have – out of necessity – focused on the operational and economic aspects by COVID-19, at its core it is first and foremost a health crisis. As part of Deutsche Telekom’s effective COVID-19 response, they opted to meet one of the most critical components that is coming to define the new normal: face masks.

Often the last lines of personal defense against the COVID-19 strain, face masks have become increasingly scarce in the pandemic. Deutsche Telekom’s response was simple: create cloth masks from old, unused, but nonetheless clean fabrics. In a video posted on his own LinkedIn page, CEO Tim Höttges himself is seen creating one with a Singer sewing machine. These were then sent off to their employees all over Germany.

Working Towards the New Normal

As much of the world prepares to move to what everyone’s calling “the New Normal”, it’s unsurprising that Deutsche Telekom is well-prepared for what’s to come. As well as the distribution of face masks—which are to be mandatory for those working on company premises—they’ve also adopted additional measures in-office to protect their employees from the threat of a second wave of outbreaks.

To start only 20% of their workforce is preparing to return. Secondly, within offices, workstations that don’t conform to the principles of social distancing have been physically cordoned off with adequate spacing maintained for those working in-office. Finally, as Tim Höttges himself puts it, there is a stronger push towards allowing for some home working setups to continue—with stronger support for better digitalization.

What We Can Learn from Deutsche Telekom

There are several things that can be learnt from Deutsche Telekom’s effective COVID-19 response. These lessons aren’t just applicable for a crisis—in fact, they can be carried over into the daily operations of any business and company.

Internal Comms Matter

The COVID-19 crisis has underlined that internal comms is critical in keeping the company together in a crisis. What Deutsche Telekom did right was to keep its comms momentum from the moment that the crisis hit and never slowed down. They made it clear what the situation of their company was and what their employees could expect. This assurance, in turn, helped maintain business continuity when customers were relying on the company.

There are signs that internal comms should, once beyond an effective COVID-19 response, will acquire a greater importance in companies. This will in turn feed the need for proper planning, budgeting, and resources with personnel who not only have the skills, but are also empowered within their role. This delivers on multiple levels, for example, not only in terms of an organisations crisis preparation, but also in building a strong base of engagement and dialogue within the company. All of these are critical as the world emerges into a truly changed world.

Visible Leaders are Impactful

Much of Deutsche Telekom’s effective COVID-19 response features its leader, Tim Höttges, front and centre. His vocal, personable and compassionate style shines through. This, coupled with his position within the company, means his reassuring and consistent messages resonate. This is reflected in the comments from employees to his many LinkedIn posts.

Agility is Key

A final lesson that can be taken from the Deutsche Telekom example is that agility matters when it comes to business success. Companies that have seemed to navigate the the COVID-19 crisis successfully are those who responded quickly at the outset of the pandemic. Quick and decisive action is what makes Deutsche Telekom’s response stand out among others.

The crisis has underlined that agility and decisiveness is something that companies need to make central components of their philosophy and thinking.

The New Normal

As restrictions start to be lifted around the world, one thing is apparent: things will be far from normal for a long time to come. While the COVID-19 crisis has put the world into a very tough situation, there is much that can be learned that will be taken into the future. Deutsche Telekom is a great example of things done right. Its transparency, strong leadership, and consistent communications have allowed them to remain in control despite the prevailing conditions, with an agile internal communication strategy and leveraging CEO visibility and presence.

The post Deutsche Telekom Gets it Right With Its COVID-19 Response appeared first on ICPlan.

Remote Work Setups Demand Better Communications

If there’s one good thing to come out of this pandemic, it’s that many companies are actually capable of thriving in a remote work setup. For some companies, like Zillow, it has compelled them to extend the option for their employees until the end of the year. For a few others, like Twitter, it has gotten them to recognize remote work as a viable, permanent model. It’s looking like many companies are going to sit between these two extremes for the foreseeable future.

Post-crisis internal communications is going to be the glue keeping things together—as it has been doing through the darkest days of the crisis. With social distancing measures also likely to continue for those companies that do reinstate their in-office work, we’re likely going to see many activities like conferences, meetings, and one-on-ones done online and over the same internal communications channels that have been utilized effectively through the lockdown.

Post-Crisis Internal Communications Needs to Be On-Guard

The COVID-19 pandemic also revealed just how vulnerable many employees were in a crisis. For some, it was as simple as not being able to safely commute to work. For others, it could be the lack of a home infrastructure to make remote working sustainable. On the health front, the pandemic also revealed people’s greater care needs—and how dependent they are on strong, decisive stands from their leaders whether in the government or at work.

Post-crisis internal communications will have to continue to create open dialogue and bridges between employers and their people. We don’t know yet whether or not a cure is approaching, but we do know already that employees need help—financially, psychologically, or otherwise. It fell upon internal comms to ensure that these are delivered effectively to people far afield. In the “New Normal”, this function needs to be reinforced and enhanced—as well as prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

Post-Crisis Internal Communications Can Take Cues from Parenthood

Dealing with people in a sensitive and conscientious manner is something many companies learned through the challenges that the COVID-19 lockdowns brought. After all, these are extraordinary times with very little precedent—and many people are reporting trauma responses to the circumstances they find themselves in. This has left post-crisis internal communications in an interesting situation where the hard truth alone won’t suffice—nor even be acceptable.

To that, communicators can take cues from parenthood—that is, to blend truth, compassion, and creativity in crafting their messages. The combination affords a great deal of respect not just for your employees but their current situations as well. Equally important to post-crisis internal communications is to veer away from a one-way informing model to one that gives greater choice and fluidity—as well as dialogue. This affords your employees’ greater sense of freedom in a world that’s already very tightly locked down and controlled.

Post-Crisis Internal Communications Need Greater Inclusivity

It isn’t just during crises that a certain degree of sensitivity and inclusivity needs to be applied. Post-crisis internal communications would benefit a great deal from it as well. If you take the example of Airbnb’s Brian Chesky’s statement when that company had to retrench, it’s a perfect example of sensitivity and inclusivity. In those examples, a lot of it has to do with word choice. Throughout the discourse, Brian Chesky refers to his employees as “teammates” implying a closer connection.

While that word choice is critical in creating inclusivity, what hammers the point home is the manner in which those who are due to be let go are ultimately treated. Apart from a hefty severance pay, which includes being able to take home their Apple laptops, Airbnb’s teammates are given full career support and guidance. It’s important this example is taken forward for post-crisis internal communications especially as it’s looking more like it won’t just magically disappear.

Post-Crisis Internal Communications Should Provide Accurate but Considerate Information

A lot of the panic in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis came from conflicting information. Some sources claimed that the virus would just go away, while medical experts said otherwise. Some companies—like the aforementioned Airbnb handled difficulties with honesty and grace—while others caused crises within their own companies with vague responses and unclear policies. It’s going to be especially important that, from here on in, post-crisis internal communications always stay honest and accurate.

That being said, it’s also important to be considerate of the people being communicated to. These are very tough times. For many employees—especially those who need to return to the workplace to earn a living—it can be very scary as well. While it’s not to say that accuracy should ever be sacrificed for the sake of being considerate, there is much to be said about carefully wording post-crisis internal communications. Additionally, communicators would do well to coordinate with decision makers more closely to ensure that responses also provide answers that employees might seek.

Post-Crisis Internal Communications Needs to Take Charge

Finally, post-crisis internal communications should take charge when it comes to enforcing and maintaining key communications policies that ensure that none of them are breached. For instance, cramped meeting rooms and conference halls are a thing of the past. As evidenced by experiences with work from home setups in these lockdowns, virtual conferences are the way to go to ensure that social distancing is maintained without compromising the need to actually meet.

A lot of this has to do with careful management of available communication channels as well as setting up procedures that other departments need to follow through the implementation. Some great practices include making meetings briefer and more direct to the point. This does away with the tendency for virtual meetings to drag on for too long.

Learn the Worthwhile Lessons

As undoubtedly difficult as the COVID-19 crisis has been for everyone, we’ve come to learn a lot from the experience. For one thing, we’ve proven that remote work operations are feasible. With the right internal communications setups and the right channels, business proceeds as normal as can be had. It’s clear that the effects of this crisis will be far reaching—there’s a new and different normal to be expected that will carry on some of the practices that the crisis itself has forced us to follow.

In order for companies to flourish, it’s important that their post-crisis internal communications stick to the valuable lessons from the crisis. For one, that remote work is a viable option for business continuance provided there’s a strong comms setup. For another, that companies can manage to be both honest yet still caring for their employees. Finally, that agility and expedience is necessary in comms to keep it ahead of the curve.

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