Of all the institutions providing you with information about coronavirus, which is the most credible?
A survey of 10,000 respondents across 11 countries, polled by global consulting firm Edelman from March 6-10, generated a response that may surprise you. Not governments, not public health experts, not the media, but this: “My employer”.
In fact, the finding aligns with the results of Edelman’s Trust Barometer survey over the last 20 years. The annual poll has revealed fast growing distrust in government and mass media in western democracies, and faltering confidence in ‘experts’ and non-government organisations, while demand for business leaders to lead change on social, economic and environmental issues has consistently grown.
But if the modest discipline of internal communications is yielding the most credible coronavirus information available to thousands of people, is it time to reconsider internal communications; to radically expand the scope of what leaders talk about when they talk to their staff?
Consider the panic buying in supermarkets across the country the past two weeks ago. If CEOs everywhere had felt comfortable to talk down scarcity anxiety among their own people, reassure them about Australia’s food security and call for the kind of civility, out there in the COVID-19 world, that we expect in the workplace, might mass behaviour have been different?
Now, with too many Australians shrugging off the need for physical distancing, could the CEO voice be the one to credibly explain this policy is about protecting not you, but the approximately three people you will infect if you contract the virus?
It may be that CEOs and other leaders are reluctant to move into such territory because they don’t want to intrude, offend, or overstep the mark. Or, noting that many readers of this newsletter lead health services dealing with unimaginable pressure, just don’t have time.
But with months ahead of pandemic, and even more of economic meltdown, uncertainty is now our normal and further periods of panic likely. If ‘my employer’ is the most credible source of information in this context, then the crisis is an unprecedented opportunity for leaders to build internal cohesion and community – whether the workforce is a physical or a virtual collective – and to help maintain calm.
And it’s more than that. We live in a leadership vacuum that is hurting our nation. We all need the heads of businesses, for-profit and for-purpose, to fill the void. The messages and themes you promote inside your organisation are the modest starting point to what could be a powerful, necessary shift.
As you contemplate your next all-staff or team email or video message, think about going deeper and broader than the obvious reminders to “be kind to each other”, “look after yourselves” and “take care”. The ‘internal’ in internal communications should define the audience, not the subject matter. A bigger conversation is exactly what your people want and need from you. Unlike the government, the morning news and health officials, you have their ear. And they trust you.