Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash

By Jeff Meerman, APR – Posted: May 5, 2020

While some provinces have begun to cautiously ease some COVID-19 restrictions, B.C. is expected to announce its reopening plans on Wednesday. This will without a doubt spark a lot of questions about what that means, especially for employees who may be going back to work. That’s why it’s essential for businesses to carefully consider what an opening plan looks like, and how to communicate that plan with employees.

All leaders need to be effective communicators these days and one thing is certain, communications and communications professionals are vital at this moment. These unprecedented times have further reinforced the importance of fostering effective, regular two-way communication with your teams.

Here are just a few questions you can anticipate from your employees prior to a reopening:

  • How will employees be protected on the job or in the office?
  • What will the “new normal” look like?
  • Can I continue to work remotely and if so, how will this work moving forward?
  • If I’m not ready or able to come back to work, what accommodations will be made?

I recently spoke to an employee of a health clinic that said she has been having regular virtual meetings with her employer, just as a check in. This business has stayed ahead by keeping employees informed and engaged, which will help when a gradual opening occurs. These meetings generated some great ideas from employees, including a suggestion that the manager take a Health Canada approved cleaning procedures course, to stay on top of the latest science.

Even if you haven’t been having these conversations with your employees, there’s still time. Here are some tips to help you prepare.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

It’s not enough to send an email memo and call it done. Employees need to have an opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback and be part of the solution. It should be an ongoing conversation with your teams, which helps build trust. We even have the technological tools to do that safely, from a distance. There may be details you’ve overlooked, so tapping into your biggest resource, your people, will help.

There are no bad questions, or wrong answers

In order to truly engage with teams, organizations need to make it safe to do so. Employees will not speak up if they feel it’s not tolerated. On the flipside, managers may feel vulnerable if they don’t have all the answers. It’s best to be open and honest and to let your people know you value their feedback and appreciate all questions, even tough ones. If you don’t know the answer, let people know. It’s okay, because this situation is new for all of us. If you’ve had trouble getting open feedback in the past, consider anonymous feedback options and again, technology can help.

Less is more

Keeping things simple when communicating with teams goes a long way. Some organizations are big and complex and need very thorough strategies to communicate to multiple employee groups and stakeholders. Most companies, however, may just want to start small and build from there. Looking at the big picture, we all care about the health and wellbeing of our employees, so that needs to be the main message. As Teddy Roosevelt once said, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”