During any crisis, communication from a CEO drives perception of the company and serves as a source of guidance for multiple stakeholder groups. Done well, the content and delivery may impact how quickly an organization emerges. With the global pandemic an ongoing reality, and the added impact of a volatile economy, it’s a crucial time to think about the audiences who need to hear from you as conditions continue to evolve, as well as how and when you’ll communicate with them to achieve your desired outcome.
I recently spoke with my colleague, Stef Tschida of Tschida Communications, who lent me her expertise for this article. Stef advocates for a “no stakeholder left behind” approach based on best practices honed from years in corporate communications. By looking holistically at a company’s stakeholder audiences and crafting messages specific to each, a CEO and leadership team can manage issues, deepen relationships, and inspire growth even in a trying environment. Here are a few best practices CEOs can employ today:
- Be intentional about how you communicate with stakeholders. Map out all the groups who might need to hear your news—internal and external. To do this, think about every possible group that can impact your company’s success. While not all audiences require the same amount of communication, be sure you’re at least thinking about every possible group. It’s also important to cascade messages to audiences in the right order. For example, don’t put out a press release about a major business change without telling your employees first. Lastly, ensure your entire leadership team is in lockstep on communication – this is not the time for mixed messages to be heard from your organization.
- Be timely – Don’t delay your messaging just because you don’t have a perfect answer – tell your stakeholders what you know, when you know it. Your stakeholders need to hear from you during a crisis – and regularly. Establish that cadence, allow for flexibility, and you will emerge as an agile and fluent communicator.
- As you begin to invite employees back to an office or manufacturing facility, messaging can be tricky. Consider their concerns and expectations, and how they might differ from yours. How might you address them prior to the shift back to the workplace? Many employees are your front line to your customers, and to perform well, they must first feel safe and secure. If they don’t, your customers will pick up on that. This is a real issue, given only 36% of employee are engaged in their jobs, and a whopping 14% are actively disengaged*. Don’t underestimate the power of clear, compassionate communication to make a real difference in how your employees feel about working for your organization.
- Demonstrate empathy. You don’t need to be an extraverted communicator to show others you are listening to them and that you care. The words you choose are core to this practice and it’s helpful to have a trusted partner to edit your messages. Speak simply and stay on point.
- Don’t forget digital channels of communication as well as other marketing channels. You need your customers to remain loyal and confident in your product or service. Your website and marketing communications should always be consistent, but any crisis-based messaging must be as well. This is easy to overlook when the business is disrupted. A customer will be much more forgiving if they hear directly from your team that their order will be delayed by a week, vs. waiting and wondering why it hasn’t arrived.
CEOs should remember that, now more than ever, it’s time to listen first, ask questions to ensure understanding, and then take action to address their stakeholders’ needs. It takes at least seven times for stakeholders to remember your message—and that’s during normal times! Plan for more repetition and varied delivery during a crisis or pandemic. Visuals go a long way to help stakeholders quickly grasp your message and meaning – so use them.
While much remains uncertain about the future, your ultimate communication goals remain the same—to build and strengthen relationships with the stakeholders that contribute to your success. Happy communicating!
*Gallup: Historic Drop in Employee Engagement Follows Record Rise
About our Authors
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Stef Tschida spent 15 years working in all aspects of corporate communications before starting her own communications consultancy. She helps companies with every aspect of clearly communicating with their key stakeholders to accomplish business goals. Stef has a master's degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Minnesota. She can be reached at stef@tschidacommunications.com.