When the coronavirus pandemic hit, businesses and employees entered a sudden period of uncertainty. Whether this was due to not knowing where revenue might come from or what furlough meant – along with individual concerns over job security, finances and health – it was all underpinned by a sudden, and very apparent, precariousness. Yet, during this extended moment of uncertainty, HR played an increasingly visible and important role as a hub of information and communication as changing guidelines and business plans necessitated clear guidance.

Yet, despite the importance of good comms and anecdotal evidence of many HR teams operating as effective communicators during the pandemic – data from Workplace from Facebook painted a pretty stark picture around leadership and comms during the coronavirus crisis. For example, almost one-third (32%) of staff said that communications from their leadership team during the pandemic felt cold and impersonal. 31% also claimed that leaders showed a lack of empathy for people’s personal lives. With sperate 2016 data from Peninsula – cited by FreshBusinessThinking – finding that a lack of communication at work was the biggest reason why employees wanted to leave their roles, it is crucial that HR and employers think about how they can better deliver comms in a way that is effective for staff. This particularly rings true in times of uncertainty where businesses need staff to help weather the storm.

Communicating well during uncertain times

With Guthkelch demonstrating the importance of clear and regular communication, employers and HR should consider how they can deliver better comms for their workforce. For Guthkelch, there are several ‘best practice’ tips for communicating during periods of uncertainty. The first centres around giving everyone access to information and updates at the same time. She explained: “You can do that by prioritising online communication as the primary method for sharing updates across the organisation, so everyone (remote and in-person) are consistently using the same channels to access and share information.”

Guthkelch added that it’s also crucial that employers consider how they are communicating and connecting with their people. She said that thought should be given to how easily messages can be conveyed, as well as whether human connections can be built. “One of the silver linings from the 20 months is that leaders from all industries are connecting with people through video and not just video conferencing for meetings – they have been leaning into live broadcasting. People watch live video 10 to 20 times longer than on-demand content, making live streaming a powerful way to deliver important communications. 70% of our communication is non-verbal – gestures, tone, word emphasis, facial expressions – all work to convey meaning to people, it is not just what we say, it’s how we say it. Access to this digital body language improves the effectiveness of your message and creates the emotional connection with your audience,” Guthkelch added.

Aside from this, Guthkelch also encourages employers and HR to encourage a two-way dialogue in a way that employees can voice their concerns as opposed to solely being handed information. She continued: “Give people the space to ask questions during and in advance of live broadcasts. This enables your people to feel seen and heard, which in turn will foster a sense of trust.”