Crisis Management

Next in our series of interviews with senior communicators we speak with Julie O’Donnell, who last month was named EVP/global head of digital at health communications and PR firm Evoke. We asked her what she sees communicators doing well or badly in this moment with their digital communications.

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rise, your organization likely will need to respond to media about an employee(s) testing positive. This is not a time to panic. To help you respond, we offer guidance from the law firm of Goldberg Segalla. Key points include communicating calm, being transparent and offering accurate information about the employee and your coronavirus procedures.

Communications during COVID-19 is fraught with challenges. From communicating to employees about the potential for pay cuts, furloughs or even layoffs, to determining how to notify people of exposure to the virus, communicators have their work cut out for them. Since health care arguably is at the center of most of our lives at the moment, communications in and out of hospitals is in the spotlight.

You know things are bad when a chief communications officer longs for a ‘normal’ crisis. That’s the case for City of Toronto’s CCO Brad Ross as he works to communicate vital messages during coronavirus. At least crises during pre-COVID-19 had a timeline, Ross writes. “Give us a fighting chance. COVID-19 is otherworldly,” Ross laments.

As news fatigue sets in, communicators are left with an uphill battle. The situation changes daily, with deaths and infections ever-increasing and new policies and information about how individuals can stay safe being updated constantly. People still need information, the challenge for PR is to make sure they get it.

You’ve created your coronavirus messaging plan and advised executives to communicate authentically, transparently and from the heart. Your job is far from over, though. Perhaps the most important thing a communicator can do at this time is to be available and make plans for the day when the coronavirus ebbs.

The pandemic has thrown many of us into a frenzy. Now is the time for PR leaders to proceed with calm and rely on principles and tactics that have served you well throughout the years. Moving forward, creativity, transparency and management skills will be in demand.

With economic activity drastically reduced, businesses are laying off, furloughing or cutting salaries of workers. We’ve assembled a collection of tips and tactics to help communicate these actions during this especially difficult and uncertain time.

In just days, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to shifts in the way communications is practiced across all industries and sectors, including not just traditional brand messaging, but how employers are disbursing important information to staff and governments to constituencies. Senior comms professionals gathered virtually on March 25 to discuss PR in these unprecedented times during a PRNEWS webinar, Communicating about COVID-19 — Navigating a New and Uncertain Crisis. 

Resources PRNEWS put together a list of resources for easy access, along with links to all of our COVID-19 coverage. Helpful Links AP Style Guide for Coronavirus LinkedIn Group: Communicating about Coronavirus The Page Info… Continued