In this article on PR Week, Nick Helsby argues that communication is one of the most important lifeblood for a corporate organization. Helsby continues to make a point that crises test a company’s ability to appreciate and recognize the imperatives of corporate communication taking place at the senior-level management that trickles down.
As COVID-19 comes to closure, the functions of corporate communication will go through a transformation that redefines its value and importance. The never-before-seen scale of this crisis is just one part of the gaps and shortcomings to occur and inevitably exposed. The other bigger part is due to corporate communications being still not established strongly at the c-suite level with the level and caliber of leadership that this entails.
Times of crisis is a time where companies are under extreme scrutiny and bound to be judged as well as a remembered response; this is why experienced and high-caliber communication executives are essential. During a crisis, empathetic, authentic, and appropriate communication to employees is very much vital and CEOs need guidance and it is good if the guidance comes from someone with the right weightage and command.
The immediate response to a crisis in the ambit of corporate communications is to devise an effective crisis communication plan that will help offset and minimize the negative outcomes and fallouts from the crisis. For this to be executed, the following actions are required:
- Crisis communication plan analysis so that an organization is on guard whence a crisis crops up
- Prevent full crisis development by responding to a crisis when it is in its early stages (para crisis)
- Identify plan improvement opportunities by evaluating the responses to a crisis
Introspection is crucial and communication directors can help make sound decisions that are also sensitive and timely. How decisions are articulated and positioned also determine how they land and playout; and whether they are in sync with the organization’s purposes and narratives.
When you enroll in eCornell’s Corporate Communication certificate program, your corporate communication skills will be upgraded; it will help you to establish a more efficient corporate communication system.
eCornell courses are approved by SkillsFuture Singapore for SkillsFuture Credit as well as by HRDF Malaysia under its SBL Scheme.