Last updated on March 14, 2022
Has this fifth wave of COVID-19 hit your spirit or your organization’s harder than the previous ones? You are not alone. Most of the conversations I have with peers, clients and friends show that for many, the mood is somber, particularly if their business is negatively impacted by the pandemic. You may have to compose with a spending freeze, budget cuts, layoffs and project cancellations.
Such pauses or slow downs sometimes trigger insecurity where you may be questioning your value and contribution to your organization when in fact, this is a great time to take things to the next level!
There will be an end to the pandemic and it looks like it might happen sooner than later. Claim your trusted advisor status and work with your senior leadership team to start shaping the future today: What is your company’s plan for full reopening? What does “normal” look like for the organization? How have your business model and practices changed? After two years of a pandemic, do you know if and how your stakeholders’ needs have evolved? What do you have to catch up on to keep your business sustainable and how will you do it?
As the keeper of your company’s narrative, you play a key role in helping maintain its reputation and deepen relationships with stakeholders. Here are 5 actions you can take now to create and nurture more engagement:
- Work with your leadership team to identify how you will support your company’s post pandemic business strategy and plan. This includes corporate initiatives such as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, customer engagement, Health & Wellness (for employees and leaders), your Employer Value Proposition and change management needs to name a few. Your approach should take into account all of your internal and external stakeholders.
- Conduct an in-depth analysis of all your existing communications (audiences, reach, impact, distribution, creation process and resources, etc.) and of all your internal and external audiences: Are their expectations, needs and habits the same? Have their communication needs changed?
- Establish the type of information you will need to communicate to each audience and how you will reach them. Create plans when needed, identify the resources you will need, and update your protocols, tools and channels accordingly.
- Be sure to reach out to your HR colleagues who are facing significant challenges such as how to create and preserve a strong employee experience for remote workers or how to maintain engagement in a hybrid environment (check out my previous blogs for some tips). Your communications expertise will be of great value to them. The same goes with your sales and operations teams.
- The pandemic’s impact on the mental health of individuals, regardless of their status, is undeniable. In collaboration with your HR team, coach your leadership team to support employees and equip them with the skills required. Don’t forget that leaders could be going through tough times too from a mental health point of view and should be supported too.
Communicators are amongst the few in a company that have a full, in-depth view of all aspects of the business and organization. I can appreciate that each company’s culture is different. Hopefully, yours will welcome your proactive approach. If you’re not sure, why not give it a try? You might receive full support and have a chance to be part of designing a great future! Here is a link to an article published a year ago with lots of relevant tips to help you: Leadership strategies to prepare for post-pandemic recovery (fastcompany.com).
I wish you much success in your post pandemic recovery efforts!
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