OWC is already working on back-to-work communications and donating time and services to coronavirus-related communications for our clients. All businesses need to deliver extra value right now, and ours is insight. We provide writing that is clear and concise and gets directly to answering the questions with humility, intelligence and care. Communications to employees, customers, vendors, investors and the industry have never been more mission-critical, and we’re seeing the best ideas coming out of our clients.
Until now, the COVID-19 focus has been on employee health, working from home and short-term financial survival. It’s now time for businesses to shoulder the burden of the next phase. We are writing our playbook against the backdrop of confusing and conflicting information from governments, scientists, business leaders, economists and the various communities we live in. The questions we must answer:
- When can we return to the workplace safely?
- How can we assure employees and clients our decision is safe, and what are the standards employed (e.g., testing, quarantine, personal protective gear, etc.)?
- What policy changes are to be made in the office environment, such as distancing, communal kitchens, teleconferencing and face-to-face meetings?
- How will we communicate expectations of returns to work, further furloughs, payroll adjustments, bonuses, sick-day policy and vacation allotments?
- How will we inform customers and vendors of our return-to-work policies?
- How will we assure transparency in all our activities, and what commitments will we make to employees, customers/clients and vendors/partners?
Each of these issues requires a clear plan precisely communicated. Every brand or service requires its own voice in an environment of continuing uncertainty with inevitable fear, confusion and suspicion. The tone and actions adopted now will define us. It will reveal our character, our intention and our vision of the future. Companies for whom employee safety is a low priority will be exposed. Firms that seek a responsible role in the marketplace will be recognized.
A crisis reveals the true character of an enterprise first internally to employees, and only later externally to customers. As leaders, we are finding out who we are by testing all our assumptions and making decisions the world will soon notice and never forget. The challenge for us is to get it right. The stakes are high.
Be well.
