
Employee Communication Tips in COVID-19
For business communication, our HR consultants recommend sharing:
➜ Often daily/weekly
➜ Financial status of the company is always a best practice but more important now where many businesses are in trouble
➜ Challenges and how you plan to meet them
➜ Tentative time-frames
➜ Honestly but with reassurance
➜ Safety protocols and crisis management plan
For employee care communication, our HR consultants recommend sharing:
➜ Your appreciation and that we are going to get through this together
➜ That you will do your best to provide advance notice of any changes, but don’t over promise
➜ We have no new updates and reiterate last update
➜ Performance regularly - what they are doing right, suggestions on how to improve and overcoming obstacles
Why it is important
➜ Anything an employee can imagine will be inaccurate at best and more likely a worst case scenario. Employees can have wild imaginations and with the absence of information, they will come up with their own conclusions.
➜ Frequent communication eases fears and stimulates employee loyalty. Less frequent communication can be perceived as withholding information.
➜ Fear abounds in this time for health, financial and safety
➜ Everyone is stressed and need reassurance
➜ Fear of job loss and they are looking for their job plan B as the amount of job loss has been something they likely have never seen before
➜ Providing information and resources will help staff to make the best decision. Consider offering financial and stress workshops and being a resource to your staff for information to point them in the right direction.
Need a step by step plan safety and protocol for COVID-19? Don’t go it alone, contact our HR consultants at Baker HR Services.