Most organisations understand the need to be crisis ready, and many have strategies to survive and thrive in turbulent times. Yet time after time, as they prepare to deal with their next disruptive or potentially devastating event, they relegate the most critical crisis stakeholders to the back of the plan.
Internal communication falls to a final few bullet points in otherwise weighty documents - a reminder to forward the press release or pin it to a noticeboard. Playbooks rarely define specific or flexible internal crisis communication objectives or strategies, and they rarely discuss how to understand and meet multiple complex employee and organisational needs as the situation evolves.
Yet employees are unique and powerful crisis stakeholders who often feel the impact differently and more personally than anyone else. Their roles, relationships, and experiences in the organisation give rise to distinct needs and expectations, and whether they’re directly harmed by the situation or working hard to fix it, they have questions and they want answers. What they see and hear affects what they say and do, and what they say and do can make or break the organisation’s reputation, resilience and ability to recover.
Poor communication inside the organisation doesn’t just fail to reduce harm, it can heighten trauma, intensify misunderstanding, and lower morale. If what’s said outside the company isn’t experienced inside, it creates an inability to confront the challenge and a failure of recovery from the inside out.
Carefully tailored communication
A handful of bullet points isn’t a plan, and a text or email isn’t enough to support employees through the most turbulent times they’ll face at work.
Communicators must better recognise their internal community as high power, high interest crisis stakeholders, and to be more intentional about meeting the different emotional, psychological, and practical requirements employees may have in challenging times.
Crisis success relies on carefully tailored communication that meets key employee needs and expectations first at the moment of impact, then consistently through the bumpy road back to a new normal.
Every situation is different, and less traumatic crises may allow quick progress through the early human needs, while painful and divisive events demand extended support and sensemaking before recovery can begin. Regardless, the best prepared organisations have thoughtful and well-rehearsed systems and processes in place to deal with different scenarios long before they ever need them.
Support throughout the crisis
Before a crisis, it’s important to use everyday communication to build trust and psychological safety. Establish a rhythm of regular two-way information sharing and engagement. Encourage people to speak up, surface risks, and understand what will be expected of them when a crisis comes.
When it does hit, move quickly to minimise harm. Make sure employees hear about the crisis from the company first. Prioritise safety, support and sensemaking needs before seeking to stabilise the situation and begin recovery. Say what is known, what is not known, what colleagues must do now, and when and how the next update will come. Listen and respond with compassion to colleagues’ questions and ideas.
Sustain employees beyond the initial adrenalin rush by recognising effort, sharing progress, implementing solutions, and (if appropriate) celebrating small wins. Acknowledge how the crisis feels and don’t assume everyone experiences it the same way or recovers at the same time. Use multiple channels and voices to listen widely and share stories that evidence learning, progress and change.
After it’s over, take time to reflect and recover. Acknowledge what happened and what’s needed to heal. Share learning and be inclusive of all views and experiences as you continue planning and build resilience for whatever comes next.
Alison Arnot is a consultant and trainer specialising in internal communication, crisis communication and internal crisis communication.