Without a doubt 2020 has felt pretty full on.  Both as individuals and as organisations, ‘life’ has been coming at us from all angles from pretty much the moment we’d put the Christmas wrapping paper in the recycling bin.

Here in the UK we were busy adjusting to our new Prime Minister and the prospect of delivering Brexit when suddenly we were under global attack by the invisible enemy of Covid-19.  Just a few weeks on, the world was reeling once again from shock at the death of George Floyd. 

Whilst we are all trying to make sense of the world as individuals, we also need to come together to support our organisations to respond to these events in an appropriate manner.  It can be very tricky as an individual to be sure you are saying and doing the right thing – so coming together in a corporate environment with many different perspectives to create an appropriate ‘corporate response’ seems even harder. 

The Black Lives Matter movement has proved particularly tricky for organisations; saying nothing feels wrong (especially when your colleagues and customers alike are expectant of you)  – but what to say that doesn’t smack of hollow lip-service?

For me, the answer has to lie with your internal brand – your ‘purpose’ or organisational values.  Gone are the days where organisations can exist in a little bubble – with no engagement in societal values.  If your organisation has struggled to respond to recent events, it might be time to reflect on your Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) programme, and your organisation’s commitment to social justice.  Enacting practices that embrace diversity and inclusion, and undertaking meaningful charitable work that tackles social injustices says more about your organisation than any twitter post.  In order for your responses to feel genuine and consistent with society, your brand needs to be backed by long-term initiatives such as these – so that you’re not simply responding to single events.

So as communicators, what is our role in this? I’m sure we’re all familiar with this scenario: 

• Significant project gets underway without the involvement of the comms team

• Project team realise they need to engage colleagues for successful implementation shortly before roll out

• Last minute emergency planning session with comms team who need to pull the rabbit out of the hat

Now is the right time to reconnect with your Corporate Responsibility (CR) and D&I teams, and take some time to understand where your organisation is and where it wants to be in terms of its approach to these important issues, and developing a successful and inclusive culture.  So that you’re not left wondering what to say the next time the world interrupts business as usual, here are some suggestions of things to try now:

• Take a fresh look at your brand, purpose and values – are they fit for purpose?

• Make sure D&I and CR are on the agenda with your senior leadership team.  With so much else to focus on currently it’s easy to let things slide.  There are lots of articles online about the business benefits of getting this right – so perhaps take some time to share them and reignite their enthusiasm

• Meet with your D&I and CR team and check where your overall approach and initiatives align with your brand, purpose and values – and where there are gaps

• Run some online focus groups or 1:1 interviews to understand what concerns colleagues have, how their personal values align with company values and what improvements they’d like to see made

• Review communications for the last 12 months and see how much focus has been placed on keeping colleagues informed about the importance your organisation places on these issues

• Create an ongoing conversation where colleagues feel they can ask questions and make suggestions around D&I and CR, using a range of strategies including social tools and champion networks.

Clearly some of these are more difficult to do than others – and in the middle of a global pandemic you could be forgiven for not having the appetite to relaunch your values.  But that doesn’t mean you can afford to take your eye of the ball.  Even simple things, like providing a facility for your employees to donate unused tablets for under privileged students, will go a long way. 

So now is the time to do what communicators do best: listen and respond.  With thought.  With care.  With equanimity.

Published by Nicky

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