In a crisis, it is important that you let people know what you don’t know. Over these past few weeks we have all learned all vulnerable we are and it is important for us, especially as leaders to let others know that we are all vulnerable. Accepting that, however, it is important to incorporate those vulnerabilities and what you do know into a strategic communications plan.
In learning what we do know from my previous post, THE NEW NORMAL & THE RETURN TO WORK: A GUIDE TO GET TO BACK TO WORK THROUGH STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS, What is your plan to get your team back to work?
Here’s mine ….
01. Communicate your preliminary opening plans now with key stakeholders. Here are some of the things you should consider:
Create a back-to-work committee that is cross-functional.
Prior to employees returning to the workplace, communications will need to address specific issues related to the logistics of the worksite.
Set up a specific email and telephone number for people to contact
Prepare posters, handbooks, or websites with the protocols and a Zoom meeting or message from leadership. This could include your personal update, an operational update, health of the workforce and a summary of key activities your team is working on to prepare the worksite.
Prepare for the first day back to a full or partial schedule and transition people back
Create a campaign or theme to help bridge their return – Think of something inspiring. Something similar to Onward together, Getting back to work, etc. This is a really good opportunity to give your team a sense of purpose.
02. Update policies and procedures. Your team should review your company’s employee handbook, internal policies and procedures, supplier agreements, customer communications, website content and scheduled social media posts to see if they are both appropriate given the current state of affairs and still relevant. If not, they should be updated and updated with items specific to the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.
03. Communicate detailed plans as soon as they are ready. Your staff should know what you know as soon as you know it. This includes phases and protocols for return and which teams will come in first. You should also begin to develop and plan training for all employees that they can do at home before they come into the job site and again at the job site given the training.
04. Be certain you post all these details to all your media for people to see and comment on. We need to be constantly reminded of social distancing, washing our hands and keeping our masks on. Not only that but you need to overcommunicate new policies and procedures you are putting in place, this includes relevant safety and operational information shared by local and state health departments, and by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Things change by the minute. In fact, I suggest creating an online depository of all your communications, such as SBAM’s site.
05 Solicit Feedback. Find out what matters to your employees by asking them. What are the issues that worry them? Is it getting sick? Or lack of childcare? How can you better support them? Discover what you need to do to make your employees feel safe to come back to work. Use HR surveys for input. And make sure to get diverse perspectives from people from different levels, departments, and backgrounds.
A company surveyed employees a month after they began returning to the workplace to ask how they felt about the level of safety, the return experience, and the organization’s success in mitigating risks and protecting employees. It also encouraged employees to share improvement ideas.
To do this leverage all of your communication channels — digital town halls, emails, Slack channels, blogs, vlogs, podcasts etc., — to communicate proactively and frequently with employees about return-to-workplace plans and the reasoning behind them. But also listen to employees. Create opportunities for manager-employee one-on-ones and other channels to allow employees to express concerns freely.
Be Ready to Answer Questions. In soliciting feedback, you can say thank we will take a close look at this and want to encourage you to give more suggestions. We also want you to be prepared to address what you know, what you don’t know, and what you are working on.
.06 Communicate Regularly. The news cycle today is minutes sometimes things change by the second. This requires more frequent communication. Find your rhythm in terms of the frequency and mediums you are communicating with your staff. For example, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday you will send text, email and post a newsletter with key updates at 8 AM. But in uncertain times, you need to supplement these communications to create more frequent dialogue, with email, text and social media links. Consider a CRM system like MailChimp so you can track who opens your email and what they are clicking on.
.07 Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Plan for a protracted period of disruption. In other words, be prepared to react and respond repeatedly as the situation continues to evolve. This could be that one of your employees comes down with COVID, or we experience the second wave and another shutdown. Regardless, it is important for you to be prepared and not caught off guard.
.08 Share stories. To maintain connections to people, renew relationships and start conversations and develop better relationships in this new work environment is important that we share stories that show the human side of this crisis, the opportunities people are seizing and the inspiration they are sharing. You should gather these stories and create a blog or incorporate them into your newsletter. If you have not done so already, start capturing stories about people working from home or start collecting and sharing stories about people returning to work.
.09 Be Visible. The human connection is vital, even in a social distant world. The CEO and top leadership should check-in daily and randomly with people, even those you may not have had regular contact with.
Show you employees that you hear them and they matter. You can hold daily 10-minute huddles with your team or mini-town halls with key staff, shift leaders and others. Regardless, make yourself available for office hours for people to check in and chat.
