When the unexpected happens, your gut reaction as a leader is often to focus on immediate communication with customers. This drive comes from both the positive desire to always\u00a0be customer-centric and the fear of lost business and long-term impacts.<\/span><\/p>\n Quick communication is<\/em><\/strong> essential, but the success of these efforts will depend on the consistency of your \u201cofficial\u201d external messages with what your employees have to say and how they say it both on the job and off.<\/p>\n Developing a strong internal employee communication plan is the foundation for a positive company culture, exceptional customer experience, and a favorable impression in your community.<\/strong><\/p>\n Ideally, you\u2019ll be able to plan your emergency communication strategy ahead using hypothetical scenarios. In quiet times, develop a Business Continuity Plan<\/a> that includes employee communication guidelines. Whether you imagine a hurricane, fire, flood or pandemic, you can outline the basics.<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, the plan might include the following example process:<\/p>\n Make sure your plan defines who<\/em> should be included from the leadership team to develop a communication plan and describes how<\/em> you will communicate \u2013 is email, a conference call, a Microsoft Teams organization-wide message, or an in-person meeting best? You may decide this on a case-by-case basis, and it might end up being a combination of all options. If you include criteria for which you use for different needs, it will help you move quickly in the heat of the moment.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you define your process, you\u2019re ready to move to the next step.<\/p>\n Before jumping in with a spontaneous crisis response, pause. Take a moment to:<\/strong><\/p>\n But don\u2019t pause for too long.<\/p>\n Leaders sometimes feel it is best not to say anything until complete answers are available. This approach is a mistake. Employees need to feel confident that you are considering solutions, even if you\u2019re not ready to share all the details. Timing is critical\u2013 know employees will begin to worry immediately about both their concerns stemming from the business impact and about appearing competent in front of customers.<\/strong><\/p>\n Without rapid crisis communication from leadership, it is difficult for employees to provide great customer service. They will face customer questions immediately. As soon as possible, provide tools like talking point documents, scripts or email templates to make answers to likely customer questions easily accessible. For example, a distribution company would include information about changes to normal delivery schedules (Will they change or stay the same? If you\u2019re taking it day by day, share that, too.)<\/p>\n Tone also matters \u2013 don\u2019t fall into the trap of trying to be overly casual. Employees need to know you take their concerns seriously, and they will follow your lead in how they communicate outside the company. Remember, the general public and media representatives may contact your employees directly.<\/strong> Do you have guidelines for how these contacts route through your company and are all of your employees aware of how you want media queries handled?<\/p>\n As the situation evolves, sharing regular updates will be important. Ongoing communication may be something as simple as a weekly employee email with updates on business continuity efforts. Consider setting up a simple intranet page to have a go-to location for employees to check for communication templates, relevant news or revised business processes.<\/p>\n Also, think about how employees will work and communicate with each other during the crisis if the situation requires working off-site.<\/strong> The value of good collaboration tools for daily work becomes even more evident during a disaster. Small offices may use file share services or video chat already. But these don\u2019t support day-to-day operations and communication very well\u2014even a simple \u201cWho is working today?\u201d This type of visibility is a benefit to using a true collaboration platform. For example, status indicators in Microsoft Teams effectively allow coworkers to look over and see if someone is \u201cat their desk\u201d if they have a question.<\/p>\nEmergency Communication Planning: Start With the Basics<\/h2>\n
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Prepare Your Emergency Response Messages<\/h2>\n
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Maintain Communication Throughout an Emergency Situation<\/h2>\n