This is going to be a challenge for us all over the coming weeks and will undoubtedly become increasingly difficult as the Government announce news measures on how to combat the spread of the disease.

Communication with your employees throughout this process is vital to ensure that they are fully aware of the impact that this situation and, any decisions you make as a business, has on them.

The good news is that this doesn’t have to be overly complicated and we should all take a common sense approach. Ideally you should be communicating with employees on a daily basis (think along the lines of the Government updates although they don’t need to be this long or as formal) 

Regardless of if your employees are still onsite or working remotely you should schedule daily calls to ensure that you are updating them on key changes and to ensure that they are not left feeling isolated. This doesn’t mean that you single handedly need to call each and every employee. Line managers can ensure that they are contacting their own team members and then you can have a regular call where everybody in the business joins. This will also help to keep spirits up .

When communicating to employees re-assure them that as a business you are confident that the approach that you have taken to keep them safe and to ensure that the business survives is the most sensible. 

During any updates you should: 

Provide an overview of key clients, contracts and work volume and the impact of the government guidelines on the business.

Tell employees how and when you will communicate with your clients, partners and service providers so that they understand the key messages of your business.

Provide updates on ways of working (for example remote working where possible or where this is not possible how you will adapt to ensure employees are protected).

Update employees on key IT changes or infrastructure that you have/will put in place to help them to work more effectively when working remotely.

Provide guidance on GDPR compliance and any data security issues which you may face as a business as you adapt to remote working (where these are not already in place)

Provide guidance on what to do if employees do display symptoms of the virus or if anybody in their household shows symptoms.

Tell employees what is happening in any other locations that you operate from so that they understand how the spread of the virus is impacting their colleagues.

Re-assure employees that you are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to follow government guidelines.

Suggest that employees keep in close contact with their line manager throughout any periods of home-working.

Tell them employees who to contact in the business is they have any concerns (for example about their wellbeing)

Most importantly be upfront and honest at all times! The situation is changing by the hour and, although there will be some business decisions that you cannot share, you should be transparent when communicating with your teams about the impact that the pandemic will have on the business and on them.

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