5 Ways HR Can Effectively Communicate With Workers During Uncertain Times

A worker’s most reliable source of information during a crisis is usually their employer. As a result, the words and deeds of a leader can have far-reaching effects on the lives of those under their charge. A leader’s actions and words have the power to keep their followers safe, aid in emotional adjustment and coping, and provide a framework for understanding the world around them.

Fortunately, time has not rendered obsolete the most basic methods of making one’s voice heard. Establish and emphasise long-term objectives, focus on learning about the many parties involved, and open up channels of communication. Get out there and do stuff. Still, you shouldn’t stop there. All five of the following ideas are hallmarks of excellent crisis communicators.

Use The Right Tools

When you need to communicate to your employees and team during times of crisis, it’s of paramount importance that you have the right tools to do so. Utilising unified communications is the ideal option, and you can find out more in this beginners’ guide to unified communications, which will be highly beneficial.

The term “unified communications” refers to a system that integrates many business communications platforms into a single interface. This includes voice over internet protocol (VoIP), instant messaging, video conferencing, and the traditional business phone. In today’s always-connected smartphone era, a unified communications system is ideal for businesses that want to help their employees better communicate and work together, make better use of data, and stay constantly connected.

Communicate Clearly

The initial days of a crisis can hinder people’s ability to take in new information. Keep communications clear, concise, and focused on the specific next steps for employees to take to implement the information being sent.

Positively worded information is more likely to be read and retained, while negative details can cause readers to lose faith. Instead of focusing on what people should not do or debunking falsehoods, frame instructions as “dos” (best practices and advantages).

Show Resilience

Health crises can lead to economic ones, therefore it’s important to keep people’s spirits up by having them hear inspiring stories and participating in uplifting activities.

As an additional step in restoring trust, strengthening community ties is essential. If you want to feel better and have less stress in your life, a good place to start is by helping other people. Recreating a shared social identity and a sense of belonging on the basis of common values, norms, and practises is also crucial.

Establish A Goal

Have a firm grasp early on of the goals your business intends to accomplish during this time of crisis. Create a guiding principle that will serve as an inspiration for everyone involved in the organisation. Investigate potential avenues for making employees feel like the disturbance they’re experiencing is part of a larger whole.

Use Data

Despite your best efforts, you suspect that your project team isn’t on board with the new approach. But you can’t come up with a plan to fix the problem without supporting qualitative data.

You can easily get the information you need by just talking to your coworkers. Quantify the qualitative input you receive by keeping tabs on relevant terms.