ICCO guidance and support to PR professionals and leaders working through Covid-19 in 2021
As a global network, we can lean on one another to share useful resources, guidance and information. Below are some top tips and useful links for PR and communications agencies and practitioners alike navigating these tough conditions.
- To join the global senior practitioners regular call contact support@iccopr.com
- Guidance on Vaccination Communication
Top Free Resources
- Covid-19 Crisis Communications – free webinar recording on best practice principles (one hour)
- PR Mental Health Toolkit – resources hub for employers and employees (PRCA)
- Effective Working From Home – Top Tips (Prospect)
- Edelman Trust Barometer: Covid-19 Special Report
- Recovery Planning For Brands guidance document (Sinclair Comms)
- Business Response to Covid-19 Crisis – free webinar (IPR)
- Brand E-Mail Strategy during Covid-19 – free study (IPR)
- Daily global PR focused covid-19 coverage from media partner PRovoke Media
- To contribute resources, guidance and case studies for the global PR community, please contact support@iccopr.com
Quick Top Tips
Supporting clients and customers
Sources used from PRovoke Media interviews with global PR leaders. Whilst these interview were conducted at the start of the pandemic, the wisdom of the tips are remain just as relevant in 2021:
- Be an information filter
There is an overload of information, so offering a digestible, relevant summary of what other organisations and institutions are doing will be invaluable.
- Don’t duplicate unnecessarily
Every organisation is keen to send out regular updates to be viewed as a leader, but customers do not need to receive repetitive information. Only communicate when you can offer a unique perspective and reach an audience for which the information will be new.
- Simplify plans and messages
Any plan written prior to the crisis could easily be too long, not relevant and out of date. Just be clear who to call, what to do and what to say before you need to. Leadership and direction must be clear and light.
Supporting employees
Sources used from the Institute of Internal Communication here
Applicable to organisational changes due to the pandemic as well as vaccination communication:
- Clearly identify internal communication sources
Leadership must have a direct line of sight to internal communicators throughout the organisation and should be represented on the leadership team or contingency management team. Similarly, all staff should be aware of where contingency management updates will come from.
- Be up to date with local government and public health advice as well as relevant international government and World Health Organisation advice
As with clients, be a filter of irrelevant and unconfirmed I information, resist the urge to engage in speculation, but always ensure you are suppling links to the latest official relevant institutional advice.
- Facilitate hearing of staff concerns and questions
With much uncertainty around how the situation will play out, your staff are likely to be concerned about potential impacts on health, earnings and even job security. Open dialogue will help ensure that frustrations and fears are limited.
4. Maintain a calm tone
Both via internal communication and in the office. It is essential to demonstrate that the leadership team or contingency management team are on top of things and retain as much normality as possible.