Crisis communication - what do employees expect?
In times of pandemic, companies are forced to rethink their emergency plans and measures. What do employees expect from their employer when it comes to crisis communication?
Access to up-to-date and trustworthy information is crucial for mobilizing people in a crisis situation. However, with the flood of misleading or inaccurate news being disseminated through social media channels, many people find it difficult to distinguish between myths and facts. This coronavirus "infodemic," as the WHO calls it, means that trustworthy sources and reliable information are lost in the shuffle, hindering the implementation of rescue plans and other measures in an emergency.
Seeing through the crisis
Everbridge, which specializes in critical event management (CEM), has published its "Seeing Through Crisis" study, for which employees in companies were asked how they perceive management around critical events: What kind of communication is there from employers and governments? What are the preferred methods of communication? What is the level of trust and reliability for each channel? What is the best way to implement or improve an organization's CEM plan? The study identified five issues that are important in critical incident management.
Topic number 1: Employees are more dispersed than ever before
Due to COVID-19, many employees sit in home offices. But even normally, 56% of the German employees surveyed now no longer work at traditional office locations. More than one-third (39%) stated in the study that they are either traveling or on-site with customers. This trend will continue. Effective communication with remote employees or employees with special needs must therefore be considered by companies when implementing a CEM plan and corresponding communication channels.
However, not even 21% of respondents in Germany believe that their employer does enough to alert them to critical events or disruptions. This figure was slightly higher for larger companies with over 1,000 employees, although here the introduction of tools and software to manage CEM plans has increased.
Topic number 2: Lack of communication channels
58% of respondents in Germany prefer to communicate via SMS as well as text messages via their cell phones in an emergency situation, 57% would like to receive an automatic call. Social media was rated worst in terms of both trust and reliability - far less than a third (29%) of German respondents consider social communication channels to be a reliable medium.
On the other hand, companies that have set up their own emergency and crisis management system use e-mail as their primary means of communication. However, only a good one in three employees (37%) trusts this medium. In addition, emergency communication via e-mail is dependent on a functioning IT infrastructure. In addition, phishing and ransomware attacks via e-mail are currently on the rise, as cybercriminals exploit unprotected home computers and devices for their own purposes.
In addition, when asked who should provide information during a crisis, the majority of respondents indicated local emergency services, including police, government and other organizations. However, a large proportion of employees would also like reliable information from their employer. For companies, therefore, producing consistent messages in a variety of formats should be a fundamental part of any communications plan.
Topic number 3: More information and more often
66% of all respondents in Germany would agree to constant, regular updates on multiple channels in any situation. 70% believe that alerts should be sent to everyone in the affected area, and 73% of respondents would like an "all clear" when the danger has passed. Ultimately, employees prefer more information than less, provided it is relevant, accurate and trustworthy.
On the other hand, many organizations activate their critical incident management plan within minutes. However, they face the major challenge of collecting, validating and sharing accurate information. Given the discrepancy between speed and accuracy, organizations must critically question how effective their emergency communications are.
Topic number 4: Targeted communication outweighs privacy and security concerns
Many employees would share their personal data to improve critical incident management. Just under half of respondents in Germany would provide their employer with private telephone numbers (49%) and private e-mail addresses (42%) to receive notifications. The figure was even higher for larger companies with more than 1,000 employees. Few have privacy or security concerns about tracking and alerting systems. Only 9% of respondents would not share personal data with their employer. In contrast, only 17% would be willing to disclose their social media accounts to facilitate an alert.
Topic number 5: Companies can become the central source of information
In terms of emergency communications, the majority consider local authorities and government agencies to be a reliable source. However, more than half of respondents (59%) also felt that their employer was a very good source of information, and were also more likely to have their phone and email "tracked" by their employer than by the government. This gives companies better access to these communication channels and the opportunity to improve government communications through proactive measures.
"The research highlights the important role companies play in managing critical incidents, while also highlighting the trust employees place in their employer to keep them informed during an emergency. Proactive, effective crisis communications have never been more important as we face the daunting challenges of the coronavirus outbreak," said Andreas Junck, Director of Sales DACH at Everbridge in Munich. "Companies should take a bi-directional, multi-channel approach to their CEM efforts to reach as many people as possible quickly and reliably to prevent worse from happening. In light of Corona, it's time to establish and implement critical incident management plans."
The Everbridge study reportedly surveyed more than 9,000 employees in 13 markets, including 1,000 in Germany. The report "Durchblick in der Krise" can be requested online: https://cem-europe.everbridge.com
