If you are anything like me you are still trying to make sense of Boris Johnson’s communication on Sunday evening with regards to next steps in easing the lockdown here in the UK. ‘Clear as mud’ I found myself writing in various WhatsApp and text messages over the following 24 hours.
I confess I remain confused. However what his message did do was prompt me to revisit what constitutes best practice communication during a crisis. Below are some of the principles I have found make the biggest difference when it comes to communicating effectively with teams in a crisis.
1. Face time
No not the App but then again it might be helpful. In times of crisis people want to see their managers or team leaders more so than ever. Email and social media channels are useful as follow up, for clarifying or giving more detail but for difficult messages or key organisational updates, as much as possible we should aim for face-to-face. Whilst not the same as being there in person, platforms such as Zoom, MS teams and Skype offer a great route right now for doing this with remote teams.
2. Transparency
Being open and transparent is important. If you cannot share something because it is confidential or decisions have not yet been made (e.g. job security) then treat people like adults and tell them so. Otherwise in my experience the ‘ladder of inference’ will kick in and people will draw their own conclusions which may or may not be correct; leaving you with a bigger problem to tackle or a rampant rumour mill to contain.
3. Clarity of message
The old adage of ‘keep it simple stupid’ is incredibly important right now. Anxiety is high as people try to make sense of what this pandemic means for them and for their families, so bandwidth for complexity is low. A case in point is the confusion now arising in the change of slogan from ‘stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives’ to ‘stay alert, control the virus, save lives’ Just how many different interpretations of the latter have you read in the media or heard in your conversations already this week?
4. Relevance
Do the hard work for people. If you need them to take action, even if it is ‘remain at home’, then be specific and tell team members what your message means for them individually. Otherwise at best people will interpret or at worst, ignore your communication, put it in the too difficult box and carry on as they were before.
5. Empathy
Whilst we are all in this together, we are not all experiencing Covid-19 in the same way. For colleagues who are vulnerable or shielding they may well be in a heightened state of anxiety and concerned for their jobs, for those who are negotiating work alongside home-schooling the challenges will be different again. It’s important to bear this in mind when communicating. Remembering to factor in more time to listen and take questions rather than just broadcast, as well as get curious as to how everyone is doing is key. This will enable you to keep tabs on wellbeing and flag any potential concerns. As the saying goes sometimes it pays to go slow to go fast in the longer term.
In summary, the secret of great communication is not rocket science, but it does pay to plan upfront and crucially consider how your messages will be received by your various target audiences. In years to come I wonder how the Government’s current campaigns will be viewed when it comes to the pitfalls to avoid in crisis communication?
