Organizations that take too long to talk to employees about the pandemic will be playing 'communications catch-up'
If you are wondering if now is the time to begin communicating your company’s plan to stay in business during an avian flu pandemic to employees, consider this: When the first case of human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus hits the newsstands, people will react viscerally and will be filtering information through a cloud of anxiety.
If at that moment the company’s messages are reaching them for the first time, they may speculate about whether their employer is prepared to deal with a crisis that could, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, see 10 million Canadians too sick to work and 58,000 deaths across the country.
Organizations caught flat-footed will be playing communications catch-up at a time when they can least afford to do so.
Is the board of directors thinking about it? They face a slew of governance and liability issues in meeting their duty of care to employees, customers, suppliers and business partners. Assuming the company has an adequate business continuity plan, has it taken appropriate steps to communicate it to stakeholders at the right time? Are employee policies under the plan consistent with employment laws or with the pre-emptive powers public health authorities will assume during a pandemic?
Communications will be the tie that binds the business continuity plan. During a prolonged pandemic that will fundamentally alter the nature of work by forcing people to keep a safe distance from one another, communications will be as important to the company’s operations as it is to troops in a battle zone.
The magnitude of communications issues alone has many companies asking themselves where to begin. Here are three strategic considerations to get the ball rolling: the timing, scope and tone of communications regarding the business continuity plan.
•Timing: No matter where the company is on the planning spectrum, it can still let stakeholders know it has embraced the need for a plan and has begun work on it. But when is the right time to communicate this? Do it too soon and it runs the risk of generating unnecessary alarm. Wait too long and stakeholders may judge the organization as disconnected from reality. The timing of communications could seriously impact reputation, stock price and customer retention.
The best approach is to remove the guesswork from the timing decision by selecting external triggers for communications and the entire business continuity plan. One obvious source is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) alert phases, which are on a six-point scale. According to the WHO: “The world is presently in phase three: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans.”
Keep in mind that the communications environment won’t neatly divide into pre-, during- and post-pandemic, nor should the business continuity plan. When the WHO issues a pre-pandemic phase five alert, which is “evidence of significant human-to-human transmission,” most organizations will activate their business continuity plans and be in full pandemic communications mode.
In the meantime, the most important audience the organization needs to reach is its employees, because they are the ones who will implement the plan. They need time to absorb information that is strange and frightening and to test the plan through simulations.
•Scope: An employee wants to know if it will be safe to take public transit to work during a pandemic. Who will she turn to and trust for the answer: the city’s public health officer or the HR department? The greater the health threat, the more likely people will look to government for news, guidelines and risk assessments. To ensure their messages are credible and well-received, employers should focus on what they know best and leave the rest to public health officials.
•Tone: With employees, keep in mind the “three Cs” — candour, compassion and concern. Rely on the fact that individuals will put personal and family health and safety first and the job second. Employers must recognize and validate this perspective by demonstrating they will never ask employees to put work first. The challenge will be to provide employees the tools to mitigate on-the-job risks for themselves and others, and to give them ownership of the business continuity plan.
With customers who rely on the organization for essential goods and services, or suppliers, business partners and shareholders who are financially at risk if the plan fails, the emphasis is on assuring them it is well-prepared. This may be accomplished by sharing with them, at the appropriate time, the aspects of the business continuity plan that specifically involves them.
Companies need time to adapt to this new threat looming over business and the world community. Their audiences need time to process new information about living and working in a pandemic environment, and assurance that the company they work for or deal with is prepared, to the fullest extent possible, to stay in business while protecting their health, safety and financial security.
John Crean is the managing partner of National Public Relations in Toronto. He can be reached at (416) 586-0180.
If at that moment the company’s messages are reaching them for the first time, they may speculate about whether their employer is prepared to deal with a crisis that could, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, see 10 million Canadians too sick to work and 58,000 deaths across the country.
Organizations caught flat-footed will be playing communications catch-up at a time when they can least afford to do so.
Is the board of directors thinking about it? They face a slew of governance and liability issues in meeting their duty of care to employees, customers, suppliers and business partners. Assuming the company has an adequate business continuity plan, has it taken appropriate steps to communicate it to stakeholders at the right time? Are employee policies under the plan consistent with employment laws or with the pre-emptive powers public health authorities will assume during a pandemic?
Communications will be the tie that binds the business continuity plan. During a prolonged pandemic that will fundamentally alter the nature of work by forcing people to keep a safe distance from one another, communications will be as important to the company’s operations as it is to troops in a battle zone.
The magnitude of communications issues alone has many companies asking themselves where to begin. Here are three strategic considerations to get the ball rolling: the timing, scope and tone of communications regarding the business continuity plan.
•Timing: No matter where the company is on the planning spectrum, it can still let stakeholders know it has embraced the need for a plan and has begun work on it. But when is the right time to communicate this? Do it too soon and it runs the risk of generating unnecessary alarm. Wait too long and stakeholders may judge the organization as disconnected from reality. The timing of communications could seriously impact reputation, stock price and customer retention.
The best approach is to remove the guesswork from the timing decision by selecting external triggers for communications and the entire business continuity plan. One obvious source is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) alert phases, which are on a six-point scale. According to the WHO: “The world is presently in phase three: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans.”
Keep in mind that the communications environment won’t neatly divide into pre-, during- and post-pandemic, nor should the business continuity plan. When the WHO issues a pre-pandemic phase five alert, which is “evidence of significant human-to-human transmission,” most organizations will activate their business continuity plans and be in full pandemic communications mode.
In the meantime, the most important audience the organization needs to reach is its employees, because they are the ones who will implement the plan. They need time to absorb information that is strange and frightening and to test the plan through simulations.
•Scope: An employee wants to know if it will be safe to take public transit to work during a pandemic. Who will she turn to and trust for the answer: the city’s public health officer or the HR department? The greater the health threat, the more likely people will look to government for news, guidelines and risk assessments. To ensure their messages are credible and well-received, employers should focus on what they know best and leave the rest to public health officials.
•Tone: With employees, keep in mind the “three Cs” — candour, compassion and concern. Rely on the fact that individuals will put personal and family health and safety first and the job second. Employers must recognize and validate this perspective by demonstrating they will never ask employees to put work first. The challenge will be to provide employees the tools to mitigate on-the-job risks for themselves and others, and to give them ownership of the business continuity plan.
With customers who rely on the organization for essential goods and services, or suppliers, business partners and shareholders who are financially at risk if the plan fails, the emphasis is on assuring them it is well-prepared. This may be accomplished by sharing with them, at the appropriate time, the aspects of the business continuity plan that specifically involves them.
Companies need time to adapt to this new threat looming over business and the world community. Their audiences need time to process new information about living and working in a pandemic environment, and assurance that the company they work for or deal with is prepared, to the fullest extent possible, to stay in business while protecting their health, safety and financial security.
John Crean is the managing partner of National Public Relations in Toronto. He can be reached at (416) 586-0180.
