Humans are notoriously bad at anticipating how a catastrophe might affect them, particularly if they don’t have an existing benchmark to measure against, so lockdown has carried its own specific set of frustrations.

The speed at which our normal changed was so swift that if you blinked you might have missed it. Whilst workplaces may have supplied us with the right equipment to get us through a lockdown, socially we were much less prepared. We didn’t imagine it could happen to us or how it would impact us, and we couldn’t imagine what life would be like if we had to stay inside for a long time.

But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining and, whilst lockdown is tough, we’ve rallied and found new and inventive ways to come together and support each other from our living rooms (or bedrooms, bathrooms, gardens – wherever your housing set-up has dictated you must now spend the bulk of your days).

Phones calls are back

Who could’ve predicted it, particularly as the rise of the smartphone meant millennials and below were, frankly, afraid of the humble phone call, preferring texting to speaking. But lockdown changed all of that, and suddenly the real terror was not whether we would have enough bandwidth for video calls, it was actually whether our underused mobile networks could support us.

But support us they did (after some switched to Wi-Fi calling), and it seems that whether it’s connecting with a colleague, checking in on gran or speaking to a friend we haven’t seen for a while, we’re more ready than ever to communicate. And with video conferencing fatigue quickly becoming a thing we’ve realised that nothing is more reassuring than a human voice straight into your ear.

‘Pivoting’ is the latest buzzword

From global brands to small communities, we’ve become adept at pivoting quickly to meet each other’s needs. From luxury fashion brands switching production capabilities to make hand sanitiser in the wake of a national shortage to supermarkets changing their opening hours for medical workers and vulnerable people to small businesses finding ways to keep local communities supplied, there’s no shortage of examples of how we’ve quickly adapted what we’re capable of to meet new needs we hadn’t previously anticipated.

There’s a new hero in town

We used to hold celebrities and sports starts up as demigods and celebrate them as heroes of our time. Well, not anymore. Sorry ‘slebs but no one wants to hear from you at the moment (particularly if you’re going to serenade us with a version of ‘Imagine’ that would have John Lennon turning in his grave). Now we’re celebrating the real heroes – doctors, nurses, the people who keep our supply chains moving, cashiers in supermarkets, the delivery drivers that go out every day so we can still buy things on the internet.

Whether it’s cheering them from our balconies, making scrubs from our homes, waiving speeding tickets but supplying facemasks instead or even walking 100 laps of your garden before your 100^th birthday and raising a whopping £24 million for a crippled healthcare system, we’re coming together to celebrate and support our real heroes, and let them know we appreciate them.

It’s become even cooler to be kind

And there’s been a bit of a shift in the ways we communicate kindness. Whereas before we might have put our acts of kindness on social media for the world to see, now we’re being kind for kindness sake and not for the number of likes it will get us. Whether it’s checking on a friend who’s locked in with small children, forming online community chat groups to support the most vulnerable, waiving rent for out of work tenants or taking a voluntary pay cut so your staff won’t be furloughed, we’re becoming more altruistic — and altruism is really cool.

The scale and duration of the COVID-19 crisis has forced CEO communications into new territory, pushing the divides between professional and personal matters and looking more holistically at the needs of business and society. But, as the public lens shifts from crisis response to navigating the long-term strategy for social and economic recovery, CEOs and other leaders face a new challenge: to authentically set the tone for how we’ll emerge in a new normal.

New research from FleishmanHillard’s TRUE Global Intelligence practice shows the pandemic has drastically reshaped stakeholder expectations of our societal institutions. Recovery is not about returning to the pre-pandemic world. But, instead, uniting internal and external stakeholders – your employees, partners, regulators, customers, consumers and investors – in a new vision of success.

In the recovery period, visible and engaged leadership voices are critical to providing the meaning that creates a sense of normalcy, order and grounding that moves us forward. CEOs must convey how the crisis has created change, but also what continues to endure from the pre-crisis norms. They must strike a careful balance between pushing toward the opportunities that lie ahead, and ensuring the confidence and safety of employees, customers and communities in localized instances of COVID-19 resurgence.

Authentic internal and external communications need to be regular and relevant – a seemingly daunting task for reaching a wide array of audiences. Nevertheless, some core communication principles will prevail:

Start with empathy.

The social and economic impact of the coronavirus is complex and continuing to evolve. It’s not safe to assume all stakeholders share the same experiences and changing values. When communicating your business’ re-opening or return to work plan, consider how the messages appear to internal and external stakeholder audiences. Don’t assume that because communities are open for business, stakeholders will support profits replacing people.

Stand with customers and employees.

Reopening will come with conditions and operational inconveniences to help ensure safety. Model the safe and positive behaviors you’re asking of employees and customers. If masks are required, or working from home is encouraged, lean into opportunities where you can participate and champion change through leadership behavior.

Share what grounds you. 

In times of uncertainty, it’s important CEOs remain focused on where they can have the most impact. Some stakeholders won’t know how to articulate their needs and will seek clarity. Leaders are positioned to ground their organizations for success by balancing the comfort that some things can endure, with the recognition that other structures can be transformed – sometimes for the better – because of the way our society has changed.

Bravely look forward.

No one can predict the future, but leaders will be required to provide a sense of direction, punctuated by action. How will your company, industry or region build toward success in a changed operating environment and still deliver on its purpose? Lend certainty by articulating a vision for near-term success and the characteristics, roles and tasks needed to lead out of crisis.

Provide evidence that change is tangible and impactful.

Even in an era of individual uncertainty, rapidly shifting business developments and quick news cycles, some themes will remain timeless. Look to these questions when providing evidence that supports positive progress and drives reputation in the “new normal” narrative:

• Innovation: The restricted environment has given rise to new challenges and compelled change. How has this change led to new product and service innovations? What new customer challenges arose out of the COVID-19 response that your business was uniquely qualified to serve? How can these innovations contribute to economic recovery?
• Workplace culture: Social distancing and technology have spurred new workplace practices but the need for employee engagement remains the same. What workplace cultural tenets have spurred new practices, better ways of problem-solving and collaboration and support for the workers?
• Living legacy: In a crisis, purpose-driven organizations unite and rise to the challenge. What corporate changes are emblematic of who you are and your track record of doing good? What structural changes have you made to improve crisis management? Where have you broken down sacred silos to do what needed to be done?
• Greater good: COVID-19 brought businesses, governments and NGOs together to create solutions for public health; as the response shifts to economic recovery, the greater good will remain a central point in the narrative. How has this experience formed alliances with unlikely collaborators to do good? How are you balancing community need with core business needs? How are contributing to the economic recovery?

It’s work Jim, but not as we know it.

As governments around the world begin easing restrictions, a return to the workplace is top of mind for communicators. This phase requires active management of employee expectations and providing clarity and direction when they return to work – addressing organizational, health and safety, and emotional challenges during the process.

There is no precedent or playbook for how this will look. What we do know is the process must be carefully choreographed. Returning to work will be non-linear, phased, and will vary by region, city-by-city, business sector and employee health risk profiles.

Most importantly, organizations need to start communicating now and align messaging to ensure a successful, seamless and safe return to work.

What do we need to do now?

While there is no playbook, the good news is the fundamentals of crisis communications are still effective and relevant.

• Listen to and create opportunities for dialogue with employees
• Clearly define what the company is doing to manage the crisis today, and set expectations for the future
• Plan scenarios that anticipate employee concerns and issues at each phase of the crisis
• Fully understand employee sentiment through research and follow-up with regular Pulse Surveys
• Provide the right information to employees at the right time

At the beginning of the crisis, employees needed to know about new operational guidelines regarding such things as working from home, paid time off and benefits. As the situation evolved, organizations focused on employee health and wellness, and maintaining morale and productivity.

What do employees want now?

As we prepare for a return to the workplace and the reopening of facilities, many organizations will rely on the government and the media to lead the way. That’s a mistake. A recent briefing document from McKinsey revealed 63% of employees consider their employer as the most credible source of information on COVID-19, while 58% trust government, and only 51% trust the media.

Employees are looking for leaders to provide them with:

• Clear, simple messages consistently communicated by all senior leaders
• The facts – not sugar coating or vague “inspirational” speeches
• A dialogue with leadership and subject matter experts on a regular basis and through different channels
• Empathy and knowing that leadership is sharing their pain

Before communicating around a return to the workspace, it’s critical to know what employees are currently thinking. Savvy communicators have set up weekly Pulse Surveys to track employee sentiment and gauge how ready their employees are, what their concerns are and what they want to hear from employers.

And while it might seem employees are getting too much information, and may be in danger of communications fatigue, the same McKinsey briefing document showed 63% of employees want daily updates from their company with 20% wanting updates 2-3 times a day.

Employees will also want organizations to address the psychological implications. Aside from health and safety and logistical issues, employees will struggle with debilitating psychological disorders and survivor guilt – seriously impeding an organization’s ability to bounce back. According to one study, mental well-being issues can lead to a 25% drop in performance.

The need for ongoing therapy for employees will be essential and internal communicators will need to support HR and corporate to understand the need to both memorialize employees who have passed, and provide opportunities to grieve and heal.

What do employees want next?

Post crisis, employees will want leadership to help make sense of what just happened, lay out a new vision for the company, and to reconnect with employees and rebuild culture based on a new understanding of shared values, behavior and purpose.

Smart leaders will recognize the importance of involving every employee in shaping the new narrative, helping them to heal and readjust, and reimagine a new shared culture and values.

Leaders can shape a meaningful story for the organization, invoking common culture and values as touchstones for healing. In their messaging, they need to underscore a shared sense of purpose, rally the organization and chart new paths to the future.

Societal values are also radically changing as a result of the pandemic. Global research from FleishmanHillard’s TRUE Global Intelligence group, reveals 73% of consumers say the pandemic has changed how they see the world. Strategy and operations will surely continue to be a competitive advantage, but in a post-pandemic world, there is an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine the organization to reflect this shift in values and expectations.

At present those changes are being led by senior leadership. Often through necessity. The biggest challenge facing internal communicators is enabling employees to be a part of the debate on the future of the workplace and the organization itself. It will be critical to provide them with a voice in the discussion. Without this dialogue, organizations will find it difficult to implement changes without employee buy-in and ownership.

Additional Considerations

Implications for the Office Workspace

Clearly having everyone come back to the office on day one is not realistic. As with our experience in Hong Kong and China, the return will be a gradual phased process.

Businesses are implementing A and B teams working different days, so everyone doesn’t return at once. This also takes some of the pressure off the need to completely redesign office floor plans and furniture. Employees fill out daily health-check surveys online before work and enter through a single entrance. Temperature checks are becoming routine.

Most employees wear their masks when walking the floor and in public spaces, with hand sanitizers everywhere. Elevator buttons are covered in plastic and disinfected once an hour, and offices are deep disinfected once a week.

Ironically, the whole point of modern open plan offices and kinetic furniture was to bring people together. Now the emphasis is to keep people apart. The post-pandemic office will look radically different. A conference room intended for 12 might be repurposed as a meeting room for six. Desks and chairs on casters will allow people to roll a safe distance from colleagues. New technology will provide access to rooms and elevators without employees having to touch a handle or press a button. We’ll see signs everywhere reminding people to wash their hands and far more daily communications on adopting healthy habits.

The move to “hot-desking” may be put on pause – it might not be wise to have people switching desks every day. There will be understandable reluctance to use a phone used by someone else the day before. Instead we may see more lounges, cafes and other gathering spaces to make collaborative work easier as employees do more work from home and commute in for meetings. Even when people do come back to the office, meetings will be limited and large gatherings a thing of the past.

Implications for the Factory Workspace

U.S. health and safety guidelines for factory floor workers are broad and unclear, leaving many companies to set up their own internal safety procedures. Many never closed down their manufacturing facilities and introduced measures piecemeal, while others planning to reopen factories are looking to completely revamp operations.

Organizations are taking steps to reassure workers the facility is safe, including:

• Highlighting regular, often daily, deep cleaning of workspaces, the restriction of visitors, nurses on site and the wide availability of hand sanitizers and protective clothing
• Daily health screenings before entering the facility, requiring employees to line up single file at a single entrance. Some companies are building testing capacity so employees can test themselves before they come to work
• Reducing personal interaction between shifts by either staggering shifts or using separate exits to keep departing workers away from others coming on shift
• Restructuring assembly lines to find ways to ensure workers can operate at safe distances without slowing lines and maintaining productivity
• Establishing workspaces to be 6 feet apart with one-way walkways to keep employees from brushing past each other
• Closing cafeterias and break rooms and providing boxed lunches and vending machines, or restricting the number of employees in a cafeteria at any one time
• Actively monitoring social distancing, with some companies experimenting with wearable devices that alert employees if they come within six feet of each other
• Procedure changes at factories including workers no longer passing materials to each other by hand, setting them down instead
• Taking actions when a worker tests positive, from shutting down an entire plant or warehouse to interviewing sick workers, identifying where they worked recently and targeting those areas for deep cleaning

As global markets scramble to adjust to the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19, quarterly earnings season is charging forward. Many companies have already withdrawn their outlooks and moved to shore up capital, cut executive pay and bonuses, suspend share buybacks and forgo dividends. But investors want to hear more. In fact, the April 8th statement from the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance made it clear that they expect companies to be more forthcoming about the impact of COVID-19, as well as about actions taken in response and future plans. Investors are also waiting to hear updates and action plans as outcomes are announced. However, at this time management teams are being asked to provide these insights at a moment of maximum uncertainty.

Given the uncharted waters we’re in, many clients we counsel are having a hard time creating that narrative when they report their quarterly earnings. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but we would suggest a few key things to keep in mind as companies prepare to tell their stories to anxious investors.

Transparency is key to preserving your company’s reputation.

More than ever, transparency is critical to keeping investor trust during this difficult time. If the global pandemic has severely altered your operations, address those impacts head-on. Researchers from McKinsey cite behavioral science that suggests an increased human desire for transparency, guidance, and clarity from leadership during crises.

Clearly, investors will want to know what you’re doing with the money you’re bringing in. Is that cash going toward payroll? R&D? Working capital? They want to see a forecast that lays out exactly where the money is going and why. Even if you suspend earnings guidance, as many companies have, the discussion of protecting margins and making the best choices to maximize EPS will still be the center of the discussion. This is a real opportunity to prove to investors not only that you are responsibly navigating the business through these unprecedented times, but showing them the choices in some detail, so they understand the conflicting priorities that your team is addressing.

Investors will also want to know what decisions the company has made about human capital. This is an opportunity for management to discuss how it is living up to its purpose in the way it treats employees and other stakeholders. Did you need to layoff or furlough staff? Are you extending any compensation or health benefits, are you participating in any federal programs to provide employee assistance? A discussion of how you’re helping to protect customers, suppliers and the communities in which you operate is important as well.

Don’t spend too much time looking back at the quarter.

We’re not going back to business as usual for a while, so don’t dwell on the quarter’s performance. Frankly, that’s not investors’ top concern at the moment. Instead, talk about what you’re doing to inspire their confidence that your business will come out the other side of this stronger than before. Investors want more than ever to feel secure in their decision to keep their stake in your company. If your business went into this crisis with strong performance and solid fundamentals, by all means, remind them of that.  If the two months before the pandemic struck are good indicators of the strengths you will bring forward into recovery, use the data you have from that period to make the case. But, in general, a plan of action will resonate more than numbers right now. Investors need a glimpse into what business is going to look like over the next few quarters, and insight into management’s expectations for the economic context you expect, the capabilities and the strengths you believe will matter most in the recovery, rather than a recap of your pre-pandemic performance.

Be more forward-looking than usual.  

When dealing with any crisis, it’s all too easy to let a fixation on the present take control of our thinking. As hard as it may be, we suggest that you take a couple steps back and a hard look forward. Talk about the lens you’re looking at the world through today. Speak to the principles that guide your decision-making. Discuss what you’re doing to help. Describe the ways you are protecting your economic value chain and taking care of partnerships, customer relationships, and preserving the spark that will get your business under way as soon as possible. Point to the greater purpose of your operations and how you’re staying true to your mission and values. If you have refocused on government as a customer, or used the pandemic pause to redefine the focus for your return to the best portion of your future market, describe that too. All of these things can help define the unique story you can use to frame your short-term financials, and build business momentum again when that is possible.

Leave more time for Q&A with investors.

When you report your earnings, leave more time to answer questions and concerns from investors. This time around, they’re sure to have more probing and pressing questions than normal. Give them the platform to raise what’s on their minds and hear straightforward feedback from leadership about how their concerns will be addressed in the coming months. Use their pre-earnings questions, and their comments on other companies that report sooner than you, as markers for topics to emphasize and questions to prepare for. Ask others in your company who may not always participate in earnings preparation to “red team” or role play in an extended rehearsal for the question and answer period of your earnings call.

It’s OK to admit you don’t have all the answers.

Transparency is important, but it naturally leads to questions, many of which you will not be able to answer yet. As difficult as it is to say “I don’t know” when it comes to what the future of business will look like, that’s OK. You’re not alone. The pervasive theme throughout the business community right now is a significant level of uncertainty – especially about where we go from here. We’re only a couple of months into the effects of this pandemic. We don’t fully know what the fallout will be or how long it will last. If a company claims to have everything figured out right now, it’s more grounds for alarm than reassurance.

Try to remember that building sustainable shareholder value is a long-term process. Over the course of time there will be broader market events that create uncertainty. What really matters now is clearly communicating to your investors what you are doing with the resources and relationships you have – and what you plan to do – to lead your business to recovery in the months to come. And from our experience, the companies best positioned to do that successfully are those that, in good times as well as times of crisis, tell their stories with transparency and authenticity.

A few months ago, I would have bet on Earth Day 2020 being D-day for brands to prove their sustainability creds. The consumer mindset well and truly shifted to ‘green’ in 2019, with many changing lifestyle and consumption habits to reduce their personal impact on the climate.

Businesses had been put on notice: Either step up and address consumer sustainability demands on products and operations or risk being blacklisted.

But 2020 has taken a turn none of us could have predicted, not even on the night we said goodbye to 2019. In the days, weeks and months that have followed – life as we know it, in most countries around the world, has been turned on its head.

And so, this April 22 – the 50^th Earth Day – is likely to be a novel one.

The climate crisis still exists of course, as does the passion and drive many around the world hold to protect this planet and the environment. But sustainability progress from businesses, and likewise demand from consumers, have largely been put on hold – replaced, for now, by the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fears of both individuals and businesses have justly narrowed. Most corporations are focused entirely on staying afloat during this time, as operations sharply decline or reach a standstill. Some are adapting, offering new products and services that meet the evolving needs of a world on lockdown. Others, who perhaps have more wriggle room in their bottom line, are announcing steps to support those wearing an unequal burden in this pandemic.

Consumers too have pivoted, with hygiene and health now taking precedence above all else to protect loved ones and the wider community.

A journalist at one of the U.K.’s national newspapers admitted to our team that sustainability has taken a back seat on its agenda over the past month, but clarified its ongoing significance. Sustainability remains second only to COVID-19 – and he knows it will once again take top priority once this crisis eases.

So for now we may continue to take each day as it comes. Marking Earth Day this time around a little differently perhaps, united across the world as we face a common enemy. Where it’s feasible for a brand, this calendar moment can still be leveraged – so long as it’s genuinely done for the environment. It’s not the time to push sales. But reiterating sustainability commitments or achievements, making new pledges or supporting relevant causes or organisations, even on a small scale, could help cement a brands position as a driver of positive change.

Because once the health of individuals is no longer threatened on such a scale, the health of our planet will take priority again amongst consumers. Businesses must be prepared for that next hurdle. When we emerge into a post-COVID-19 world, consumers will be significantly more conscious than before. Images of the environment thriving with less human interruption still fresh in their minds. Even if the positive environmental effects of lockdowns are only short-lived, that green consumer mindset will be back. Reduced consumption will have become the norm, and so too will reduced emissions and pollution albeit largely unintentionally. Reduced spending power will be a reality too, with many suffering losses to income.

Consumerism will change, likely for good. And brands will be facing a new fight for market share. Those built upon purpose, integrity and authenticity will thrive – and sustainability has a big role to play in each of those pillars. They’ll be held to simpler and yet higher expectations; we’ll remember and reward those who do good for the communities and world around them. Those who do good, not only with their product or service, but with their power.

So businesses are still very much on notice, in fact the stakes are now higher than ever before. Another new normal to adapt to – but an opportunity for brands, and all of us in the industry, to bring things back to what really matters. Bring brands back to Earth.