At September’s professional development meeting, Amelia Bell, APR, CPRC, communications manager at RTI Surgical, discussed strategies for communicating with employees when the world is upside down – starting with RTI’s Surgical Holdings sale of OEM business and separation of the company into OEM and Pure Play Spine all while COVID forced furlough of 70% of employees (including, for a few weeks, her own).
The 5 takeaways from her presentation, “Communicating with employees through the looking glass”:
- Never make assumptions and ask endless questions. Then re-ask questions to identify not only what employees want to know but also what they need to know, and what communication channels will be most effective.
- Communicate often even if there’s nothing to communicate. It’s all about reassurance and consistency.
- Set expectations and be transparent.
- Adaptability is key. You need to be nimble enough to pivot at a moment’s notice. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. And don’t be afraid to ask for, and accept, help.
- Focus on the future. That means having a communications plan in place that supports the company’s new focus, and considers if current processes will work moving forward.