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Businesses and organizations of every kind continue to face the ongoing challenges of communicating effectively, appropriately and consistently amidst the constantly evolving COVID-19 pandemic in Ohio.  As many prepare to respond to strict Responsible Restart Ohio guidelines, it’s vital for each organization to develop and implement updated policies and procedures, and prepare to issue communications with honesty, empathy and transparency.  

5 Step Communication Roadmap

1.  Identify your audiences.
Your audiences may be numerous and may include internal teams and employees of varying roles. Be as exhaustive as you can in identifying each of your employee audience groups and subgroups. Audiences may also include vendors, service providers, consumers, community partners, investors or donors, board members or key advisors, legal counsel and others. identify all of your constituents and stakeholders first.

2.  Consider the needs of each audience when crafting the message.
Create a sense of community. Craft messages that are honest, empathetic, and convey your values. Underscore your commitment to cooperation with official orders and guidelines as part of your commitment to public safety. Give extra consideration to the tone of the message. Remember emotions are running high.

Take the time to acknowledge the concerns and challenges each audience now faces, and thoughtfully address the ways in which you are working to address them. Be clear about your objective. Clarify what you want people to know, and what you want them to do. Be prepared to reference official announcements, explain what will be happening when and why, and be sure to clarify anything that may be subject to change.

Do your best to outline everything each audience will need and expect to hear from you. How you communicate with employees will differ from how you communicate with investors, for example. Address needs with respect, concern, honesty and transparency. And, edit for length where possible. Message fatigue is real.

3.  Select the right communication channels.
Even if you’ve done it, do it again. Audience needs are rapidly evolving. Choose communication channels accordingly.

Start with your website and other owned media. Whether issuing communications via email, social channels, or a press release, be sure to offer easy access to appropriate supporting information and resources via your website or other online or intranet portal. Include a method to contact you. Provide access to guides or videos, or other branded resources you’ve developed to support your message.

4.  Prioritize timing.
Some audiences are going to need to hear from you sooner than others. For example, employees and other internal audience members will receive updates first because their need-to-know level is highest. Prioritize timing for each audience accordingly.

5.  Assign roles and responsibilities.
Designate a company spokesperson, as well as someone to be responsive to monitor and respond to concerns and feedback from each audience. This may mean assigning a response role to several team members depending upon their organizational role and expertise.

For example, your public relations pro should be prepared to meet the needs of media, and employees should be given open-door access to your HR manager and/or other member of the leadership team. 

What to Avoid

1.  Avoid using the word “safe.”
The overuse of the word “safe” abounds, and it’s confusing. Peter M. Sandman, crisis communications expert, said this: “If you have decent evidence, you can sometimes claim that X is safer than Y…But not “safe”…In other words, if we follow the experts’ advice, and if the experts’ advice turns out (to be) sound, COVID-19 will become a slow-moving pandemic instead of a fast-moving pandemic. That’s a big improvement, but it’s nothing like “safe.” (Read more here.)

2.  Avoid sugar coating the message.
It’s crucial to address issues truthfully and transparently. Attempts to soften official language or to share personal opinion is at best not helpful, and at worst legitimately dangerous. Remain sober about the facts and continue to address them. Acknowledge what we know and what we don’t know.  

3.   Avoid pretending to know the answer if you don’t.
Sometimes this means you go in asking instead of telling. Now might be a good time to survey your audience to confirm information and learn more. If you’re asked a question and don’t know the answer, say so. Be willing to say, “That’s a great question. I don’t know the answer, but I’ll do my best to find out and I will get back to you.” And, then follow through.  

Remember, we are all doing our best to navigate through extraordinary circumstances that are constantly changing. Be calm, honest, ethical and compassionate. We’re all in this together.

Copyright April 2020, Tracy L. Teuscher, APR

Responsible Restart Ohio Resources and References

Peter M. Sandman’s must-read letter to Bloomberg News here.

Governor DeWine Announces Details of Responsible Restart Ohio Plan here.

Ohio Responsible Restart Protocols here.

Ohio Responsible Restart Protocols download here.

Ohio Continued Closures as of 4/28/20 here.

Ohio Department of Health video resources here.

Ohio Public Health Orders here.

Updated Stay Healthy + Stay at Home Order here.