A Rapid Response Approach to Effective and Inclusive Communications During Social Crises

How does your organization respond to local and global events that affect employees? As humans and workers, we are all inundated with a world (and news cycle) filled with stressors that may impact us, our loved ones, and our communities.

"It’s important that leaders have a rapid response approach to effectively engage and reassure team members to not fall into hopelessness or despair when tragic events disrupt employees ability to focus and perform." - Milka Milliance, MBA

💡 Below we share a rapid response framework to help leaders quickly assess when and how to respond to traumatic events.

The dizzying 24/7 news cycle with seemingly endless violence and tragic events, captures the collective imagination while raising our stress levels and anxiety. We stay glued to our social media feeds or cable news, inundated with reminders of how unsafe we all are. As we get ourselves ready for work, some of us contemplate the latest crisis — did it impact anyone in my community, the people I care about? Whether it is a climate catastrophe, a terrorist attack, mass shootings at establishments frequented by Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, ethnic or religious communities — some of us who feel an affinity to those affected often find ourselves mobilizing our resources, such as time and finances, as well as networks to support a GoFundMe campaign or some other effort we hope will help.

It’s important for leaders to be mindful of the impact of tragic events on their team’s mental health as they design their DEI strategies.

These stressors are some of the additional challenges your employees, especially those from marginalized and underserved communities, often face at work when there is a crisis that impacts their communities. The collective trauma can impact them for years. According to the World Health Organization, depression and anxiety went up by more than 25% in the first year of the pandemic. Moreover, mental health diagnoses are up. The UN indicates nearly 1 billion people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15–29 year olds globally. Additionally, social media’s influence, our addiction to it and its uncanny ability to manipulate our perceptions, emotions and behavior has changed social interactions in all facets of our lives.

Empathetic leadership practices build trust during times of crisis.

It is important that leaders not only understand the prevailing social forces impacting how people are showing up in their own lives — fearful, highly stressed, anxious, depressed, hyper-vigilant, and at times physically unsafe. Showing up to work, while coping with these larger-scale crises is emotionally taxing. It is unrealistic of a manager to expect folks who are already struggling to shut out the chaos all around them to be productive and efficient when the chaos is also within.

What can leaders do to alleviate distress for groups affected by social upheaval?

There are a number of practical things leaders can do to alleviate distress among team members like acknowledging the traumatic event, its impact on team members and even encouraging people to take a mental health day if needed. By far, the most impactful approach is having a rapid response framework to quickly and accurately assess when an event directly impacts the wellbeing and safety of staff. While some topics will be considered politically charged (Roe v. Wade, gay marriage, policing in black and brown communities, etc.), and will require the company to be thoughtful around if and when a strong stance should be taken as well as how support can be offered up to staff, other instances like humanitarian aid will be less divisive.

A rapid response framework helps leaders quickly assess when and how to respond to traumatic events.

Three key steps to effectively respond to social upheaval:

1. Start with a multi-pronged communication approach to ensure staff always feel seen and supported through thoughtful communications from leadership, their direct managers, and their team members, along with concrete, proactive support mechanisms and follow-up actions.

2. Then, develop a decision making framework that identifies if a social issue is values neutral (no clear alignment) or values directive (aligns to business areas of concern) and assesses if the issue falls under an organization’s areas of concern. This allows the organization in partnership with a standing DEI committee to follow a decision tree, with clear pathways that determine a direction forward to address if they can offer an informed response to an issue or not If not, then it should be monitored appropriately.

3. Lastly, work closely with a standing DEI Communication Committee, a key partner that can draft communications and provide guidance to leadership around follow-up actions and support measures the organization can provide to team members and other stakeholders in their ecosystem.

It’s important that leaders have a rapid response approach to effectively engage and reassure team members to not fall into hopelessness or despair when tragic events disrupt employees ability to focus and perform.

As Dr. Maya Angelou said

“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”

As a leader, the legacy you leave behind is far greater than the business unit you stood up, the yearly revenue target that you achieved, or even the successful IPO you led; it is the direct impact your behavior and actions had on those who you interacted with daily.

How will you be remembered by others?

Reach out today to get support from a long term strategic partner.