We don’t have to explain it here, because it would amount to preaching for your own parish: informing, involving and hearing from your employees is of great importance for your organization. That was and always is the case, but the exceptional situation we are currently in presents new challenges.
Undoubtedly, everyone who deals with internal communication is imbued with this and is working just as hard to cope with the corona crisis. But precisely because so much is coming to them, we are happy to give you some tips below that may help you further.
1. Zorg voor een voice from the top
In the aftermath of 9/11, Paul Argenti, professor of management and corporate communications at the Tuck School of Management, conducted research on how different organizations handled crisis communications immediately after the attack. One of the results of his research was that the voice of the leader was of great importance to the employees of an organization. He describes in an article , for example, how the ceo of the New York Times on september 9, 2011 used the office building’s broadcasting system to exhibit calm, because that behavior is copied.
At this time, the broadcasting system has a very low reach in many organizations, but since 2001, fortunately, many alternative channels have become available: social intranets, tools such as Slack and video tools give the opportunity to spread messages quickly and easily.
That this makes sense is shown, for example, by the video message that Prime Minister Rutte gave yesterday. Without announcing new measures, he managed to garner much praise by calmly explaining the challenge we face as a country and the choices that are being made.
2. Make the process visible
That last point is also important: Rutte explained whichscenarios are available, which scenario is preferred and why. At a completely different level, it is important that this also happens within the organization. Explain what decisions have been made in terms of working from home, work-related travel, available facilities, protecting your own employees and more. Not everyone will agree with every choice, but the transparency of the process makes choices more understandable and inspires confidence.
3. Ensure regular updates
No news is only good news in good times. Now the advice is to provide news updates on a regular basis. Even if there are no decisions to mention, it is good for employees to know what is being worked hard behind the computer screens and what is being worked on. Until calm has returned somewhat, it is therefore wise to give updates at regular intervals.
4. Make news and policy visible and discoverable
We hear from many organizations that the findability of information on the intranet leaves something to be desired. News is distributed, but if employees want to consult it later, it takes a lot of effort.
Therefore, make sure that all the news you share within your organization regarding the coronavirus is clearly visible and discoverable. Depending on the possibilities that your social intranet offers, you do this, among other things, by:
- al het nieuws prominent op de homepage weer te geven;
- alle nieuwsberichten te taggen, waardoor eenvoudig een ‘corona-dossier’ opgebouwd wordt en gerelateerde nieuwsberichten getoond kunnen worden;
- bij nieuwsberichten over dit onderwerp de hoofdafbeeldingen herkenbaar te maken; dit kan door telkens dezelfde afbeelding te gebruiken, door een ‘virtuele sticker’ op elke afbeelding te gebruiken, etc;
- een aparte ‘tijdlijn’ op de homepage op te nemen met nieuwsupdates over het onderwerp;
- tijdelijk beleid ook op te nemen in het Weten & Regelen-deel of de kennisbank van je intranet, bijvoorbeeld in een speciaal onderdeel ervan, aangezien deze onderdelen vaak goed doorzoekbaar zijn;
- de belangrijkste informatie te bundelen in een document dat op basis van de titel (bijv. “Ons beleid ten aanzien van corona (COVID-19)”) goed vindbaar is;
- in de zoekresultaten voor belangrijke pagina’s over dit onderwerp ‘promoted results‘ aan te maken.
5. Give space to the conversation
These are confusing times, in which many employees of your organizations will have questions. By facilitating these questions, you get valuable input about employee sentiment, the challenges that arise, and other new insights.
That’s why it can be valuable to create an online group, community or channel within your social intranet or tools like Yammer and Slack to provide space. It also gives you the ability to manage the discussion by answering questions, turning off polls, starting discussions, and more. This can further contribute to transparency in organisational policy.
6. Let employees think along
It can be interesting to use the creative ability of employees in these turbulent times. For example, set up groups or channels in which they can think about:
- Processen. Hoe kan je organisatie zo veel mogelijk ‘normaal’ blijven functioneren? Welke uitdagingen zijn er en welke ideeën zijn er om die het hoofd te bieden?
- Dienstverlening. Welke mogelijkheden zijn er om de dienstverlening op peil te houden? Welke nieuwe tools zijn er nodig? Welke werkafspraken kunnen er gemaakt worden?
- Innovatie. Is er behoefte in de markt aan nieuwe diensten of producten? Kunnen die geleverd worden en zo ja, hoe?
7. Do not keep it (only) business
Realize that with the current uncertainty and in situations where employees mostly work remotely, digital channels provide the most important infrastructure for interconnectedness. And as with the coffee machine and in the smoking breaks, that connection arises not only on the basis of work-related conversations, but also from shared interests that have nothing to do with work.
Online groups and channels are the best alternatives for many organizations and employees in the current situation. Many of these digital outlets will emerge on WhatsApp and similar media, but you can also facilitate and possibly stimulate them from within the organization.
For example, you can set up groups in which employeesshare photos or descriptions of their work-from-home situation, share tips for useful tools and advice on how to help your children with online schooling and with the Netflix/Disney+ – free passage of time.
8. But keep it fun
Uncertainty causes unrest in people. A natural reaction is to look for guidance, for information that offers clarity. However, not all information that removes uncertainty is equally reliable. This is evident on media such as Twitter and Facebook these days.
Therefore, it makes sense to point out to employees that conversations about certain topics are not valued; for example, speculations about the causes of the emergence of the corona virus, the solutions imposed by the government, the consequences for public health and more. It makes sense to actively monitor compliance in the (larger) public groups and channels within the organization to prevent unnecessary unrest.
Good luck with all (online) communication within your organization in the coming period. And if you have tips that you want to share with colleagues, Please let us know below!
