Internal communications can be difficult. Knowing what to say to employees during challenging times is a longstanding conundrum for leaders, and Brexit is just the latest challenge. Business is in an impossible position. There are no definitive answers on what Brexit means for business, and business is unable to reassure employees about that uncertainty.
But waiting until you have all the answers before talking to your people is not protecting them. No news can be just as stressful as bad news.
In fact chronic uncertainty is bad for your health – according to a recent study that “documents these effects under real-world conditions” (Bloomberg).
Whether a listed company with reporting requirements or a private organisation focused on delivering for new investors, whatever the reason is to hold off speaking to your people, needs to be boldly pushed aside and leaders encouraged to step back out into the limelight and talk to and listen to their people.
Communicating can come directly from the CEO or CFO. The Chairman can take a turn. The other Exec members should stand up too. Colleagues’ forums and leadership conferences are all well and good, but communicating directly and frequently to all your people is the game changer. Use video messaging, regular blog posts on the intranet and even good old fashioned newsletters.
Communicating during uncertainty may take confidence, but figuring out what to talk about is pretty straightforward.
Here are four ideas to get started with:
- Every organisation has a Mission statement, or better yet a Purpose statement, that sets out what they are working towards. This does not change when a business is under the cosh. Go back to basics and talk about why you do what you do. Share examples of the Purpose in action, or inspire with thoughts of what the future will look like when your Purpose is in action.
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- Use your Values to remind colleagues about the behaviours the business desires. If the culture of the organisation has veered wildly out of line with the original company Values, use it as an opportunity to readjust. No need to talk investment. Talk honestly. Ask questions of your people, listen to what they have to say and then act on what was said as soon as possible.
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- Besides your Purpose and Values, you can also turn to your sustainability strategy. Sustainability strategies are long term focused, backed up by metrics and often have third-party endorsements in the form of partnerships. This does not require sending your leaders to the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership to get the business comfortable talking about sustainability - although I would highly encourage you to consider it at some point! All too often sustainability is not well understood by employees but if you take the time to explain your plan and show what the business is doing environmentally or socially, it can help to increase engagement levels amongst staff. Between the Sustainability, Communications and HR teams, take the time to break it down into bite size chunks. Find stories from across the business, and share them widely.
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- And finally, don’t forget to listen to what your people have say.