What COVID-19 has taught us about effective employee communication
Abstract
Effective communication with internal and external stakeholders is an indispensable component of a successful response to crises both brief and long-lasting. Employee communication must increase in volume and frequency, and effectively inform, educate and empower employees. The development, testing and delivery of clear and easy-to-understand messages must be prioritised along with the enablement of continuous employee feedback. Drawing on industry best practice, personal experience and an extensive review of the literature, this paper concludes that the systematic planning, implementation and evaluation of a company’s employee communication must be conducted on an ongoing, company-wide basis so that management can rely on it to minimise crisis-related damage, seize the opportunities a crisis may present, and convert the resulting organisational change into competitive advantages.
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Author's Biography
Oliver S. Schmidt is the President and Chief Executive Officer of C4CS, LLC. He has more than 25 years of consulting, training and executive coaching experience in the areas of strategic communication, crisis management and organisational leadership. Oliver routinely advises business leaders, including CEOs and board members, on high-stakes business issues. On the consulting side, his focus is on working with domestic and international clients in the areas of crisis and risk communication, employee and change communication, issue and stakeholder management, as well as reputation and crisis management. In confidential executive coaching sessions, Oliver helps senior managers improve their crisis management, communication and leadership expertise. His holistic coaching approach is geared toward enhancing important leadership skills, including public speaking, effective decision making in times of crisis, winning over stakeholders, and becoming a more confident and effective leader. Oliver has addressed professional audiences in numerous countries on topics ranging from crisis and risk communication to issue and crisis management and leadership skills. While he often speaks at conferences that focus on corporate communication or crisis management, Oliver is also regularly invited to address corporate boards and senior management teams in the areas of strategic communication, crisis management and organisational leadership. Oliver has contributed to such trade and peerreviewed publications as Bulldog Reporter, The Business Communicator, Communication World, Continuity Insights, Disaster Resource Guide, Risk and Resilience HUB and Smart Business Magazine.
Citation
Schmidt, Oliver S. (2023, February 1). What COVID-19 has taught us about effective employee communication. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 16, Issue 3. https://doi.org/10.69554/XITD1158.
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