Usually, when organizations face with a crisis they focus on external communication, on the rehabilitation of reputation, if it has suffered damages, and let on a second plan the internal communication, the one with the employees. Regardless of the size of the organization or its activities, communicating with employees during a crisis is vital because the staff’s retention, productivity, and consistency depend on it.
Difficult Decisions – Employees should be informed from inside
When there is a crisis in the company, the management is the one who must take difficult decisions. These decisions may cover a large number of people within the company, employees that would be better to be prepared in time for what will follow. Therefore, the first step for an efficient communication with employees during a crisis is the development and presentation of a general plan regarding the direction the company will follow and the decisions that might directly or indirectly affect them.
Whatever the nature of the organizational crisis, it is preferred things to be found out from inside and not from outside. It is more unpleasant and discouraging for employees to find out from outside about a difficult situation in which the company where they work is involved. Such a thing can create uncertainty and could lead many of them to choose the path of another job. Employees should be among the first to be informed about an ongoing crisis through all internal communication channels.
How to eliminate uncertainty among employees
Underestimating the importance that communication with employees has during an internal crisis can result in major financial losses, due, among other things, to the lack of confidence in the organization’s management, low morale inside teams the loss of well-trained people with experience in company . This is why it is necessary to eliminate the uncertainties created by the lack of consistent information and to answer the questions that anguish employees, in the context in which their professional future is in the middle.
Accordingly, it is vital to anticipate employee concerns and create a communication plan based on them. Equally, there must be consistency and coherence in the messages, and they must follow a predetermined line, and to offer them the opportunity to come up with feedback, like questions or sharing opinions. Last but not least, it would be preferable to involve the top management of the organization in the crisis communication process in order to generate more confidence among employees.
BIA HR TEAM