It’s an imperative time to be sensitive and nimble with your internal employee communications plan.
Are you responsible for employee communications during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here are 3 things you should consider.
Create a Plan, Including a Back to Work Strategy
With social distancing at play, it’s important to quickly communicate the steps your company is taking to protect the health and safety of employees. Develop a strategy and convey your plan and next steps to your team. You may include in your communication:
- Work from home policies
- Protocols for if/when an employee is sick and procedures for time off
- Hygiene practices and etiquette in the workplace
- Best practices for communication between staff members
- Resources to keep employees informed on COVID-19 developments
- Workplace health benefits and safety protocols
You should also consider how your team will adjust after weeks of social distancing. Will your company return to work fulltime or adopt a new schedule? Communication is the cornerstone of any business and in these unprecedented times, your employees should know what the next course of action will be.
Remain Employee Centric
Of course, plans will change and evolve throughout a crisis, but what does not change in business is demonstrating that you are employee-centric. During this time, employees may be concerned about the implications of COVID-19 on the business and their job security. Consistent, transparent and open communication is critical to restoring their confidence.
Ask yourself, what does your team need from you right now? What are you doing to demonstrate your commitment to the health, safety and security of employees? In such precarious times, you want to be sensitive about concerns they may have. Build a protective and positive work culture by communicating the company’s mission, vision and commitment to the well-being of employees. Show you care by being honest and making resources available for employees who may be negatively impacted by the crisis. Transparent and ongoing communication is vital during this time to build trust with employees and ensure they feel supported by the company, no matter what.
Get Virtual By Leveraging Online Communication Tools
Consider integrating online tools to connect, stay informed, and communicate virtually with your team. Zoom is a fantastic conference tool to accomplish client meetings for small businesses and large corporations. You can also use the application for daily check-ins with employees or to carry out online town halls and team meetings. Virtual technologies are an easy, reliable and secure method to support a remote workforce.
Being as transparent as possible is the key right now to garner employee trust and comfort; this will generate goodwill towards your brand.
If you need support to reframe your employee communications plan, please reach out to the Marigold team. We would be happy to jump on a free introductory call to discuss your goals and objectives.
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