What We’ve Learned So Far: Communicating About COVID-19

By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications

For those of us who make a living helping clients communicate during crises, the last few weeks have been breathtaking as we’ve worked with organizations of all types to grapple with the arrival of COVID-19.  We’ve moved from developing plans that anticipate a possible positive test result to creating communications announcing confirmed positives, quarantines and shutdowns, and sadly, deaths. As the situation evolves and the impact of this contagion spreads, we are helping clients communicate about furloughs and layoffs, site closings, postponement of services, and other life-altering and business-altering decisions.  Among our roster of clients, we know of no organization that has not been fundamentally affected by the coronavirus.

It is probably safe to say communications regarding COVID-19 have taken all organizations outside their comfort zones.  We’re in new territory regarding personal privacy.  Everyday, we’re balancing the right-to-know with the need to avoid stoking panic and fear. We must find the way to keep critical employees motivated while they are truly working under life-and-death conditions. We must assure others that leadership is making sound decisions that will mean they have jobs to return to.

We are operating in a news environment that is all-consuming.  COVID-19 has pushed aside politics, the stock market and the start of the baseball season.  Newscasts and newspapers want human interest stories, tales of heroism and statistics.  That material comes from organizations that have employees, patients or residents, family members, customers and suppliers who are being directly affected. Having a message, having the ability to deliver it with clarity and empathy, and being able to convey a sense of control along with a commitment to values have never been more important.  Here are some of the other lessons our clients have learned as they navigate these uncharted waters:

• Be prepared to resist sharing details about COVID-19 positive individuals. Fellow employees, other staff members, other residents, family members, other shoppers and really, almost anyone who suspects they may have had contact with the person, will want to know who it is. Personal privacy guidance still prevails. You need to be able to communicate that while you understand the need-to-know, you also must respect privacy rights.

• If you decide not to communicate proactively, be prepared for social media to do it for you. Think now about the channels you’ve established and how you can use them to maintain control of the narrative. Also be prepared to address misinformation and speculation.

• Get out in front of a positive diagnosis by sharing in advance what you are doing to protect your stakeholders. This information will help you tell a stronger story when that diagnosis occurs.  Then, communicate regularly with your stakeholders, even if there are no new cases.  Most people aren’t expecting great revelations. They’re expecting you to stay in touch, as noted here.

• If there are diagnoses or other developments to share, think carefully about who needs to know and in what order. Think outward from staff to everyone else linked to your organization and the best way to reach each group.  Think about the role your website will play.

• Know the approach of your local health department. It’s varying from one community to another. Some provide detailed demographic data.  Some outline underlying health issues.  If possible and helpful, do joint press releases. Be prepared for some local officials to take a high-profile role as well.

• Context is key. When you’ve had a death and the stories begin, avoid getting trapped into continuing stories that just report the numbers. Break out of the narrative by talking about how you’re on the front lines of this battle and what you’re doing to control it.  Be prepared to answer questions about PPE supplies, testing and hand sanitizer availability, which are universal story lines for this crisis.

• If you have multiple sites, determine how you will handle communications. Are staff at individual facilities up to the task of managing this, or will your response be centralized?  Is a member of your COVID-19 task force overseeing communications throughout your organization?

• When an organization announces a first COVID death, it should decide how it will announce subsequent ones. Organizations want to avoid creating a sense of a body count or a sense of panic, but adhere to the level of transparency they want to set.

• Be prepared for the difficult task of telling employees that they are being laid off because of COVID. Losing one’s job is difficult enough under normal circumstances. With job losses at historic levels, this news can be devastating.  For a list of best practices on this subject, click here.

Although as of this writing there are some initial signs that the “flattening” everyone is hoping for is beginning to occur, we know it will be months, if not longer, before life returns to a semblance of normal.   Even when it does, it will be a phased, slow transition.  And, all of this will take place in a new workplace environment.  Colleagues may have been lost.  Employees will have gone above and beyond to keep the organization afloat.  There will be the need to memorialize those who are gone and thank those who persevered.

Just as there were numerous decisions organizations needed to make and share as the outbreak began to take hold, there will be just as many decisions regarding openings, call-backs, production ramp-ups and other “return to normal” operations stakeholders will need to know.  The messages will be different, but the need for straightforward, timely and accurate communications will continue.  Be prepared now to put the plans in place to achieve those goals in a way that reflects your organization’s values and your commitment to those who are important to your success.

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Nora Jacobs is senior vice president of Hennes Communications, one of the few firms in North America exclusively focused on crisis management and crisis communications.

With more than three decades of agency and corporate experience, she has counseled top executives at companies, associations, nonprofits and professional service firms throughout the country on issues and problems ranging from accidents, environmental concerns, product failures, criminal matters and activist attacks to reorganizations, management transitions and downsizings.  At Hennes, she specializes in conducting vulnerability audits, developing crisis communications plans and helping clients respond to crisis events and reputational challenges.

Previously, Jacobs served as executive vice president of Ohio-based Edward Howard, the nation’s oldest independent public relations firm. There, she was a member of its board of directors and executive committee, with management responsibility for its largest office, as well as staffing and training firm-wide. During her tenure with the firm, she managed some of Edward Howard’s largest accounts and led the firm’s healthcare practice. She began her career at BFGoodrich Chemical Group, a division of the then Fortune 500 BFGoodrich Company, where she oversaw the group’s advertising, public relations, community relations and issues management programs.

A five-time Silver Anvil winner, the highest award given by the public relations profession, Jacobs has received numerous other communications awards, including a Gold World Award from the International Public Relations Association. She has received the Distinguished Honors Alumni Award from Kent State’s Honors College, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kent’s College of Arts and Sciences. In 2009, she was presented with the Davis Young Award for Exceptional Mentors by the Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in recognition of the work she has done to help young professionals and others advance in the field.

About Hennes Communications

Hennes Communications is a crisis communications and crisis management consulting firm based in Cleveland. Serving corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, along with law firms and their clients, that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion, Hennes Communications also offers litigation communication support, media training, pre-crisis preparation and crisis drills to clients.

In 2009, Hennes Communications won the coveted “Best of Show” award from the Cleveland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for its work with another agency on the national peanut butter recall. Hennes Communications also won Gold “Rocks” awards in 2010 and 2011 for its work on behalf of The MetroHealth System and Saint Joseph Academy. In 2012, the firm won another Gold “Rocks” award for its Crisis Comm & Media Relations E-Newsletter. In 2013, the firm won PRSA’s Gold “Rock” award and the “Best of Show” award for its work on a ferry boat crash. In 2014, the firm won its 6th Gold “Rocks” award for a program it created and carried out for a forestry client in Australia. And in 2017, the firm received two Silver Anvil awards from the Public Relations Society of America for their work on behalf of the Cleveland Host Committee.

For more information:  www.crisiscommunications.com