ConnectMinds Comment | Assessing our roles post-pandemic
Is your role the same as before COVID?
What - if anything - has changed for those managing internal / employee focused communications and channels?
By: Lau Hesselbæk Andreasen, Partner & Knowledge Broker at ConnectMinds
Setting the stage
Context, point of departure and core questions
Coming out of a turbulent and intense two years, we [ConnectMinds] ask what - if anything - has changed for those managing internal / employee focused communications and channels.
In early 2020 during just a few weeks, most large organisations saw their organisational diagrams and governance frameworks temporarily blown to pieces. New operating models had to be devised on the fly and workforces had to learn new and constantly changing ground rules, adapt to new setups and adjust their systems, patterns and routines as the world as we knew it kept changing around them.
Leaders were suddenly facing existential questions about how they could "keep the ship afloat, the engines running and the crew operational" despite the seismic changes and continuing and unpredictable disruption caused by lockdowns, restrictions, fear and radical behavioural changes in the surrounding society.
Leaders had to reassess the different ways their organisation was actually "held together"; management structures, reporting lines, departmental interdependencies; all the moving parts had to be stress tested and re-calibrated and the necessary changes and adjustments had to be clearly communicated to everyone affected.
It is not hard to see why those responsible for communications and the channels facilitating it rapidly became indispensable:
Constant, clear, instructive and coherent messaging throughout all layers of the organisation became essential simply to maintain a stable operation.
Transparent, balanced, supportive and reassuring communication to and with the workforce became crucial for stability and mental wellbeing among employees.
The joint efforts of "hybrid crisis teams" (typically internal / employee comms, IT and HR pulling together and collaborating with Health & Safety, Legal and other relevant stakeholders) have been vital to the coherence and ability to operate for a great many organisations. Many such teams rose to the challenge and did what had to be done.
Perhaps for the first time, leaders in many organisations realised the critical importance of effective and well coordinated communication flows inside the enterprise - particularly at a time of uncertainty and instability.
Bright leaders regained a sense of stability and steady leadership through clear, coordinated and coherent messaging; often impossible without the constant (as in 24/7) support and guidance of the communications specialists. They discovered the power and potential of this often under-appreciated function. Those leaders who failed to sharpen their messaging and strengthen their communication channels (and there are many such examples) ended up in a real mess.
The strategic importance of these activities were no longer questioned.
However, with what became a prolonged state of crisis and a workload that increased manifold, these often small teams were stretched to the limit. The constant strain of "keeping it all together and everyone informed" and no one to step in, cover and allow the team a breather is simply unsustainable in the long run.
So... What happens now?
Will the momentum and newly gained recognition, including at the highest level, translate into any lasting legacy and change?
Will leaders follow up and build on the experiences and discoveries made during the crisis by "adjusting the contract" and recognising the strategic importance of the area; not just in praising words, but through increased resource and mandate?
Is there anything we can do to ensure the enormous effort and increased recognition doesn't fade away with the end of the pandemic; that we maintain and build on the strategically important position we have achieved?
What should our prime role be as we map out the new and hybrid world of work?
Have expectations to how we communicate internally in the organisation changed during the pandemic? If so, how? And how should this inform our communications strategy henceforth?
How do we put our skills and insights to best use and create the most value for the organisation (and the most rewarding and satisfying jobs for ourselves)?
How do we present the case to our leaders and the organisation at large?
How do we demonstrate the impact of our efforts (including the "retrospective case" of showing what we did for the organisation during the crisis)?
These are all questions we will explore and collaborate to answer across the network over the coming months.