15 discussion questions as teams map out how communications will need to be re-imagined moving forward
- What part of your customer / donor base is ready, or will first be ready for engagement as operations resume? How are you listening to them and how quickly are you able to re-engage them?
- How are you collecting feedback and ideas on what your stakeholders want to do better or differently in the post-COVID?
- How will your organization contribute to your customer’s resumption of work and lifestyle? How can you adapt or re-imagine your programs, services or marketing to the new normal?
- What shifts in consumer behaviour or sentiment create new opportunities for your organization?
- How has the articulation of your purpose been impacted by the pandemic? How will you communicate your next steps on building towards success, while delivering on your company’s purpose?
- What actions can you provide of evidence of your organization ‘living your values’ and alternatively where might you be open to criticism (fair or not) by opposing interests?
- How will you communicate what new challenges have arisen and what changes have impacted your organization? What new challenges arose out of the COVID response that your organization was uniquely qualified to serve? How can these innovations continue to contribute to economic recovery or community impact?
- How often should you be communicating what you are doing to secure / resume operations? How will you share milestones with stakeholders to give them more “reasons to believe” and remain engaged in your response efforts?
- How often should you be updating stakeholders with your current financial situation? Do you need to communicate with funders about your policies around using reserve funds? Many funders historically criticized charitable organizations for having large reserve funds but this thinking has certainly changed.
- Which voices are most influential on your stakeholders and how does your messaging align to their agenda?
- What tangible actions can front-line employees take to help the business recover and better prepare themselves for future threats? What must every employee know and believe?
- How are you involving stakeholders to identify, create and drive new innovations or ideas to make your organization more resilient?
- Did COVID uncover any vulnerabilities in your supply chain? If so, how is the team working to build better supply chain redundancy and resiliency in the future? How have any impacts on stakeholders been communicated?
- If you announced layoffs and furloughs how may this have impacted your organizations brand image? How will you communicate changes are operations resume? Give employees more confidence in the stability of their jobs moving forward? Is there a potential competitive advantage in doing so?
- Have you taken other actions to strengthen the business, empower employees, or show leadership in the industry/community you should be including in your communications?