Clear communication is the powerful strategy your business needs NOW
As COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the economy in 2020 there were countless tales of businesses laying off large numbers of their workforce, closing locations and changing their business models overnight. Now, months into the pandemic, we can see a distinction between companies who are weathering the storm with team morale and their company reputation intact, and those who have taken a beating. So what’s the difference?
When BIG things are happening, whether good or bad, there is ONE thing that effective leaders do every time to influence business success:
They communicate clearly.
You might be thinking that anyone could do that. You may ask yourself, “Why is that so special?” But simple is hard- and this concept is far from easy.
Our vision as a company is to see clear communication prioritized as a powerful business strategy, because it makes leaders, companies, teams and communities stronger.
So if you want to weather this storm well and strengthen your reputation, team, and client relationships, we want to show you how.
Keep reading! ⬇️
Here are three strategies you can put into action today to communicate more clearly and make your company stronger during this crisis and through all of your business decisions:
Communicate early
Earlier this year as the pandemic surged and companies were quickly making tough decisions, some chose to get in front of the message by sharing news with their workforce immediately and other companies made decisions behind closed doors and delayed announcing important news. Why is this bad?…In one example, a friend of ours received a message on Monday that layoffs were coming, but they wouldn’t learn who was being let go until Friday. That’s FIVE WHOLE DAYS of rumor mills and anxiety before learning their fate. As you can imagine, their opinion of the company and its leaders took a nosedive.
Communicating early helps maintain trust, even when the news is hard.
The earlier your audiences learn the news, the faster they can get on board with the new direction, and the more you can control how your story is told.
Tell the people most affected first, and do it personally
Companies and nonprofits often jump right to asking us “What should our statement be for social media?” And while that’s a good question to ask, it’s not the first one. The first one should be: Who will be affected by this the most? ← Tell those people first, in as personal of a manner as you can.
For example if you are closing one of your locations, your team is likely to be most affected. Communicating clearly would mean the CEO telling the team directly in an all-team meeting, followed by an email with details. That direct communication should happen before announcing it to the media or posting on social. When the most important people hear it directly from you, they feel like you respect them. And that’s huge for earning and keeping their trust and loyalty.
Be transparent- own the truth.
We recently received an email from one of Siren’s vendors – a software company – announcing that their rate was going up. The announcement said how much the increase was and when it would take effect, but it didn’t say WHY this was happening. Was the service model improving? Was this a cost-of-living increase? Was it due to unexpected COVID-related expenses? Any of these could have been acceptable answers, but we were left to wonder.
Now imagine taking that uncertainty and magnifying it to a major business change like an expansion, downsizing, or change in leadership.
When people don’t receive the information they need, they make up their own story.
It doesn’t take long for big, harmful rumors to start spinning, and for everyone’s trust in you to end up on shaky ground.
To the full extent that you can, tell everyone affected what is happening as soon as possible. Your team will feel that you trust them with the truth, and they’ll be more willing to support your decisions.
So what now? You now know the powerful business strategy that many leaders would rather avoid:
Clear communication.
And you know how to do it. You can start today! Click below to download our guide to clear communication and share it with your whole leadership team. We promise you’ll be happy you did.
Download our guide
