Communication with External Stakeholders

Communication with External Stakeholders

An actual Pandemic is uncharted waters for many organizations. You can run as many simulation tests, tabletop exercises, and prepared as many Pandemic Preparedness plans as you want, but at the end of the day, there is only so much one can prepare for when faced with the real thing.

In the wake of COVID-19, many organizations across the globe are struggling to make sense of how to operate -and communicate- with their external stakeholders during this trying time.

In communicating with external stakeholders (whether they be creditors, the general public, an employee's Next-of-Kin, or a government entity), it is important to remember to adopt a set of best practices that will serve an organization well in any kind of interaction with external stakeholders:

Step up to make a statement

You may not have all the information at the start of the Pandemic outbreak, but it is important to assert that the organization has a stance on the matter. Do not wait for external stakeholders to reach out. Do not assume they are being rational or confident about the situation. Reach out to them first with an open, transparent message indicating the organization is doing everything in its power to uphold control measures, safeguard employees and customers alike in the Pandemic. Decisiveness, firm leadership, and openness are key qualities any spokesperson should be putting forward in their interactions with external stakeholders, and taking the initiative can aid in bolstering that image. 

Stakeholder interaction

Rather than one-way statements towards external stakeholders, it is important to gain actual feedback from external stakeholders. Understand what your external stakeholders are worried about, what are their concerns regarding the Pandemic? How can you as an organization provide them with the necessary measures to instil confidence in your continued services for the duration of the pandemic while ensuring as little physical interaction as possible? Set up media monitoring systems to capture the general concerns of the public in order to respond more effectively

Choose communication channels that suit each external stakeholder group

Communicate with Stakeholders in a manner that works best for each group. Whether email, platform, social media, phone, virtual conference - each stakeholder group requires a delicate touch, and the most suitable communication channel must be picked to ensure that touch is secured.

Keep a record of all stakeholder communications in a log

Messaging

Your Crisis Communication Team needs to be equipped with the proper and consistent messaging to be sent out to external stakeholders. Whatever information given to your spokesperson(s) needs to be truthful (as of relevant information), relevant, and in no way contradictory to the information given out to other stakeholder groups in alternate communication channels.

A Pandemic is a time of confusion, uncertainty, and unease, and no one wants a situation where each external stakeholders takes away a different, contradictory message from your communication.

Once external communication is managed, you may want to consider strengthening up the internal communication aspect of the organisation.

Source

McMullan, K., & Smith, J. (2020, March 17). How smart companies are communicating during COVID-19. Retrieved April 20, 2020, from

Communication Strategy for Stakeholder Engagement. (2019, March 13). Retrieved from https://www.sustainet.com/communication-strategy-for-stakeholder-engagement/

Spain, J. (n.d.). Effective Communications with Internal Stakeholders. Retrieved from https://www.fuentek.com/blog-post/effective-communications-with-internal/

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