As much as business owners and leaders are stressed and
concerned during the Covid-19 pandemic, employees are probably more
stressed. Some may be living paycheck to paycheck, others may have family
to take care. Others may have general anxiety about the pandemic.
So it’s important to communicate with your employees about what your company or
organization is doing in response, and what you are doing to protect your
employees’ health and livelihood. Here are a few things that you should
include in your communication.
- Positivity and
Confidence – Your employees feed off of your attitude. As my 3rd
grade teacher used to tell me, “Your attitude is contagious, is yours
worth catching?”. So inject some positivity and confidence into your
communications by letting your team know that you have a plan and you’re
working it. - Praise – Your employees
are literally putting their lives on the line by coming into the office
and visiting clients. Let them know you appreciate their efforts and
sacrifices to help your company and your clients. - Information – Give them
the latest information about the pandemic, especially about how it impacts
your business, your office, and your people. - Policy changes – As
emergency laws are put into place to protect your employees, let your
employees know that you are updating your policies to reflect these
changes. - Your Business Plan –
Letting your employees know that you have a business plan to get through
these trying times is probably the most important part of your
communication. If you have upcoming layoffs or furloughs, that might
be tough information to deliver, but it’s better to deliver it sooner than
later. If you’re confident that you can survive the next few months,
communicating that can breath new energy into your company. - Safety First – Let your
employees know that their safety comes first. Let them know about
your policies for Working from Home. Ask them if they have family
members in healthcare or if they care for elderly family members.
The answers to these questions can help you protect those at-risk family
members. - Remote Work Policies –
It’s a good idea to communicate these often, highlighting changes or
critical parts of your policy. - In-Office Work Policies
– Remind your team that if they are coming into the office, to follow CDC
recommendations. If you’re offering any relaxed rules such as
relaxed dress code or offering free lunch for employees coming into the
office, include that information in your communication.
See our President’s recent communication to our team, below, as an example of how to communicate with your team.
See our Coronavirus Status Updates page for more information on current support status and other important communication from The Fulcrum Group.