Back to school 2020 style
For communicators, September has traditionally felt both an invigorating and challenging time. Planning for the final quarter of the calendar year has often involved a range of activities including pushing some refreshed business priorities, budgeting for both the rest of the year and the next, reviewing the communications plan and seeing what activities need to be prioritised and planning for the year ahead. For some businesses, particularly retail and hospitality, this is often a critical time and there are decreasing windows when communication activity can actually occur.
2020 and it’s all change. A number of people are now returning to their traditional work environments and in some cases, people are anxious about doing so. Some organisations will have people coming off furlough and some people are facing uncertain futures with potential reorganisations and redundancies. Many of our clients are heavily focused on business recovery and there’s a sense of urgency about reverting to business as usual. Corporate programmes to enthuse and motivate are being put on the back burner as organisations are focused on the here and now. With much external focus about the changing nature of the workplace (balance between traditional working and working from home); a potential ‘second wave of the pandemic’; mental health and with a number of us having children going back to school, often for the first time in six months, the challenges for communicators have never been greater.
So, with the start of term beckoning for many, what should be on the hit list for communicators? From talking to our clients who range from global to local, public to private, plus a sprinkling from the not-for-profit area here are my top six priorities for communicators for the autumn term (I’ve left off getting your uniform washed and buying new stationery even though we all like a new notebook!):
Check and then recheck your priorities. What do your leadership really want you to focus on? Are you sure your priorities are fully aligned with your organisation’s priorities? And if you’re not absolutely certain - have the conversations now.
Less is more. People’s heads are swimming with messages from the media and government. Is it safe to go back to work? What happens if there’s a second wave? Am I putting my work before my family if I go back to the office? What do I do if my child’s school closes again? So whatever priorities you have agreed with your leaders, look at them again through the lens of what is practical in this period. What are the areas/items I can leave for the moment?
Start with your data. Do you know how your messages and channels are landing? If you haven’t already got a research strategy think of a pulse survey or IC review to demonstrate message penetration, channel effectiveness and any gaps in your communication infrastructure. One client mentioned to us that the IC review they’d conducted before the lockdown really helped them focus their messaging and channels and demonstrate to the leadership what they were achieving.
Team first. In many organisations we’ve seen communicators viewed in a totally different light due to their contribution during the pandemic. As a result, some are understandably pretty tired and burnt out. So, work with your team to refresh their development needs; what’s worked well during this period and what could be done better. Consider tailored training and coaching.
Leaders. All of the above applies to your leadership (at all levels of leadership too). Review where they are focused on communication activities. What can leaders do to share the load of often time-poor CEOs. Is there more your people managers can do? What support can you provide? Is there an opportunity to better collaborate with your HR colleagues on focused online development for them? We’ve developed leadership communication programmes for clients for a wide range of organisations and would be happy to share experiences.
Skills and resources gaps. Given many of us are being asked to do ever more with less, review the skills and capability of your team. As well as looking at team development, what’s on the radar that could potentially hit communications? Have you the skills to manage the next big thing? A spare pair of hands, (interim or fixed term) might be able to get you over the hump when IT decide to roll out another programme or HR launch a consultation programme for another reorganisation.
Breathe! Think of yourself. How are you feeling about working in comms in this new world? Where do you get support from? Who can you talk to? There are a lot of great networks out there; we’re happy to signpost some of our favourites and we’d also love to have a conversation any time about what we’re seeing. But remember whilst it might feel lonely heading up IC at the moment, you’re not alone. And from what we’re seeing, Internal Comms professionals are being appreciated and recognised like never before.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Let me know your thoughts about ‘going back to school’ and if you care your priorities for this autumn term!
Published by James