Coronavirus - How to master it communicatively...

The coronavirus is not a pleasant matter. But how do you deal with it in your company: ignore it? Business as usual? Downplay it? Or send the whole team home right away? Here are seven tips on how to do everything right: 1. Set up a crisis center immediately or a crisis team consisting of at least three people. It shows that you take the issue seriously. A crisis team provides security. Depending on the size of your company, include experts such as virologists, lawyers, your works council, among others. 2. Communicate regularly with your employees, once a day at a set time depending on the company. Via email, WhatsApp, or other social media. Regular information about confirmed cases, preventive measures, wordings for customers, production disruptions, supply chains, or any other incidents is important. 3. Be as open as possible. Share with employees anything that could be important. There should never be an impression that you are sugarcoating the situation. 4. Internal communication always takes precedence over external communication. Employees should never learn something new from the newspaper that you have kept from them. 5. Facts come before opinions: In crisis communication, opinions have no place. Stick strictly to the facts: What is known, what is speculation, what is unknown? Opinions on how terrible everything is or whether you think the public discussion is exaggerated are not relevant. 6. Be prepared for local, regional, or national press to contact you for a "situation report" and a statement. Involve your PR department or a PR consultant in advance so you are prepared. 7. Deaths due to COVID-19 among employees or close relatives/family members must be handled in close coordination with those affected. Data protection regulations must not be violated. By following these seven pieces of advice, you will already appear much more professional than if you were to just say "The boss will take care of it." It is important that even your employees at home can say: "Our company has this under control. It's really good how they inform us and react." Then you have already done many things right.