Internal Communication

Since it was nearing tax time, we wanted to interview a communicator in the tax industry. Then the pandemic arrived, and April 15 became just another day. Jesse Hamlin, who runs communications for Avalara, tells us that it’s almost always tax time somewhere in the world. She discusses how her team is monitoring its employees’ needs during this difficult moment.

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.

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. 

We don’t emotionally trust facts; we trust people – or we don’t.  As we process facts emotionally, we trust leaders who move beyond facts to speak in a voice that echoes how we feel, right now. At a time when the public is worried, communicating with the heart can help. Facts alone will not drive people to action, writes Gil Bashe, managing partner, global health, Finn Partners.

As employees adhere to a new world of work during the coronavirus outbreak, they look to employers to provide clear and consistent messaging regarding not only the day-to-day, but what’s coming next. This gives a great responsibility to company leadership and internal communications officers, who balance on a very tense tightrope of trust during these challenging days.

One silver lining during the COVID-19 period is that some brands, organizations and individuals are attempting to offset the difficulties with acts of kindness. In an article published March 13, 2020, PRNEWS editor Seth Arenstein described and listed early examples of this. Since that time, PRNEWS decided to extend the list periodically with additional examples of noteworthy activities.

Here’s a brief guide to what communicators should be doing and thinking about as the virus begins to make its way across the country.

Inspired by Glassdoor’s Top CEOs of 2019 list, we decided to review the top CEOs at the largest PR agencies across the world. Utilizing the PRovoke 2019 Agency Rankings, as well as Glassdoor’s CEO and employee approval ratings, we found a dynamic list of communications leaders, working with some of the world’s top projects and talent.