Communications During the COVID-19 Crisis

The current COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly one of the worst in living memory for most people. The suddenness and the rapid spread of the virus across the world have caught many companies (and governments) by surprise. The reactions of many of business leaders and heads of government have ranged from shell-shocked silence to impressive displays of leadership.

Understandably, many business leaders today are grappling with the need to balance between safety of their employees, current financial sustainability and the long-term viability of their companies. And the opportunity to remain relevant and to demonstrate care and leadership, is to ramp up communications to stakeholders – both internal and external.

The pandemic is not going away anytime soon and like it or not, businesses have to start preparing themselves now to deal with the new normal post-COVID-19 because the way we work and live, transact businesses and communicate would be dramatically changed. This means that they have to start rethinking about business operations, messaging, communications strategies and tactics in a new world where the old playbook has been rewritten. For some visionary leaders, this period might also be the most opportune time to reinvent and reposition their businesses.

Indeed, this is the time for all business leaders to start sharing their plans to mitigate the current challenging situation (if they have yet to do so) and outline their vision for the future, while ensuring that they are also doing what they can to help their employees, customers, and other key stakeholders during this time. Constant communications now, coupled with solid evidence of care for their communities and clarity of future plans, will go a long way to build a stronger foundation for businesses to successfully ease into the new ‘normal’ world, however it may look like.