By now, most of us are settled in this new “not so” normal phase, where all our worlds have merged into one space and all we have is a window of talking heads on a screen as our communication to reach the outside world and our different spheres of life.
We all need to chart out a sustainable approach to keep our body, mind, team, and business healthy during this time. As I am in the second phase of Singapore’s circuit breaker –de facto lockdown– I never thought I would become a whiteboard colour-coded timetable kind of working mum scheduler, who allocates “office hours” to her kids to ask me anything while I get through my tasks for the day.
But extreme times call for extreme measures. The saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” never held truer, especially for communications.
The four main areas for a leader to consider as a CEO or founder during times of crisis are empathy, transparency, your purpose, and leadership style.
Empathy
This unprecedented situation has everyone in it, so acknowledge and be aware of the hurdles and difficulties everyone is going through as you are going through it yourself and understand the depth of it.
Also Read: 3 essential crisis communication strategies every entrepreneur should know
The health, well-being and sanity of the person on the other end is the most important thing right now before talking about deliverables and KPIs. Relate on a personal level first, and then focus on work.
Start with “you” instead of “me” at the centre and talk about their state and well-being as being part of “us” and a team vs the company or business. This can be hard for some leaders and I have seen some pretty cold, uninspiring and robotic messaging from companies since this begun. The tone you want to take is a community-oriented one where your communication should give your team members advice on how to survive this.
Connect with individual team members and reach out for regular “pulse checks” and block out time on the calendar to do this. At Antler, we have increased the number of town halls we have and people share their states of mind, along with the week’s highlights and low points.
A lucky member of the team will get called to share a joke and everyone needs to be prepared because you never know who is going to be asked. As a frame of reference for tone, think “We are here for you; We understand; We care.”
Transparency
This is especially important when communicating with customers, clients, and stakeholders. Living in an age of information overload, don’t be afraid to directly address your customer in relation to your business.
For example, for Antler, our first line of contact outside the team would be founders from the program- we wanted them to know we are there for them, have their backs, and share advice and help in any way possible. This might not be easy for everyone, but the situation is universal.
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Likewise, for a business to support customers, first reach out to them and then track and document intel across your customer base. To strengthen relationships and build trust, keep the focus off yourself and explore how you can truly help your customers. Cash flow and job security is on everyone’s mind.
You could propose payment schedules to ease their liquidity crunch or offer pro bono or in-kind provision of services. Keep in mind who you are talking to in terms of the personas of your consumer.
When we talk about personas, think about what demographic your customers or clients are? Are they millennials, millennials with young families, Generation Z singles living alone or with their parents, Generation X with families, Baby Boomers or singles with older parents?
Bear in mind not everyone will have the facilities and environment to work from home or cook from home regularly– so when you communicate, contextualise the communication by referring to these specific real-life situations everyone is dealing with and don’t be afraid to over-communicate online.
This can be implemented in many ways via e-mails, increasing the frequency of newsletters or going all out on specific social media channels you know your customers live on. Internally, be as transparent as you can be about your company’s fortunes, the challenges that lie ahead, and how you plan to make it through these tough times.
Also Read: Why silence is not golden
Your purpose
If you couldn’t really answer or justify the reason for your company’s existence before the pandemic, now might be the best time to do some business soul searching and consider pivoting. However, if you did know your why, now is a good time to re-evaluate it or make your product or service better for your customer, while adapting to the current situation and truly being helpful to your customer.
Collect and amplify positive messages, successes, acts of kindness, obstacles that have been overcome to show you care on a more collective level. This could be a great time to partner with communities that complement your business and expand your customer base. For example, if you are an F&B outlet that already relies largely on takeaways, tap into communities of healthcare or migrant workers or go directly to hospitals and offer them free or discounted meals.
Many companies are tied to a noble purpose such as saving lives, manufacturing medical equipment, helping markets function more efficiently, or simply, providing joy through experience. Ask yourself, what’s the effect of what has happened in relation to your business?
Then link it to your brand and product. It’s not just about being adaptable but there has to be a mindset shift in how you approach your consumer. This would entail being creative, having some humility, and thinking hard about how you are going to manage the next six to 12 months on various levels.
As a business, showing a dedication to your customers as well as your people take a long-term and thoughtful approach in your actions and the way you strategise action and communications around it. The obvious examples are brick and mortar stores or restaurants that didn’t previously deliver, digitising and getting online.
The not so obvious ones are how much more mental health support people are going to need to get through this and how to get it to them in their own language, market and context. Due to all the screen time children are getting, there has also been a resurgence of craft making and tangible, tactile toys as parents want to ensure they get other experiences.
Also Read: A founder’s guide to successfully working from home
And let’s not forget the making of hundreds of master chefs globally- so many people I know are now home bakers and chefs with fancy appliances for various cuisines and diets. Businesses have taken some interesting pivots and you need to look at the larger picture and think ahead as this pandemic period unfolds.
Communication leadership style
Though there isn’t usually just one type, this once-in-a-lifetime situation brings out some distinct leadership characteristics in people. I am sure you can relate to these personas based on some of my observations during COVID-19.
The Speed Runner
This is the one who preempts and implements before anyone else and is the CEO who communicates quickly and efficiently, but not necessarily with a long term or well-thought-out plan. She is adapting and moving fast to catch up with the continuous changes so the frequency of communication is high, but not often detailed.
The Frozen One
This leader is living in another world and wants to hold onto the past or keep a Business-as-Usual (BAU) mindset. She thinks this is temporary and all else will return to normal after it’s over.
The Fighter
This leader is completely focused on dealing with only the most important issues at hand and is relentless at prioritising. She will not focus on starting new things or thinking too much out of the box and handle only one mountain at a time.
The here and now
This leader is aware and mindful of the COVID-19 tsunami and is laser-focused on how to mitigate the negative effect on the business and getting her company out of this tough phase, no matter what it takes.
Also Read: 5 ways to improve your productivity by working from home
The optimistic realist
This is the one that looks ahead and plans ahead while being very real about the current situation and relating that message to employees on a personal level. Think of someone who is a visionary looking forward and is also able to acknowledge as well as take into account the current situation in a balanced way.
Which one are you?
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