How the Ragan community is boosting culture and morale among their workforces
Brush up on insights from last week’s Twitter chat—and join us again every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
Last Tuesday, members of the Ragan community virtually came together to discuss how they’re maintaining both culture and morale as they and their workforces shelter in place.
Along with sharing zoom backgrounds and pondering the irony of communicators reaching out more through tech and social media platforms, participants shared many insights for keeping spirits high.
Consider these five key takeaways:
1. Give employees tools and resources to succeed remotely.
Work-from-home life is a far cry from office routines, so make sure you and your employees have the technology and guidance to remain productive, connect and collaborate with colleagues, and meet deadlines.
A1: for example, we've learned a lot from one another (spirited ideal – learning never ceases) some of our fit team members offer virtual workout Wednesdays. It has kept everyone bonded and extremely collaborative. #raganchat
— Blair Broussard (@BlairAB) April 14, 2020
A1: Our office let us take our second monitors home to use, which was amazing. We also create a few new Slack channels and organizational procedures to try and keep people communicating between one another. #RaganChat https://t.co/O7NJlcGN8Q
— Robert Fischer (@_imPRessive_) April 14, 2020
A1: We have actually ramped up our departmental employee communications from monthly to weekly—sharing all of the resources coming out regularly. So much content creation!!! #RaganChat
— Rene Dupont (@RealReneDupont) April 14, 2020
We added "Remote Engagement" & "Fun Stuff" channels on Teams. We're also connecting on a more human level – some coworkers started a group text offline. I've been forwarding life hack articles to coworkers if I think the content is relevant #RaganChat
— Liz Kamper (@LizKamperPR) April 14, 2020
We've offered LinkedIn Learning to our whole staff and created custom training tracks. We also brought in 2 high-level speakers to do all-staff training via video. Great time for professional development! #RaganChat📚🖥️👩🎓
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
2. Use content to humanize your brand.
Whether you’re highlighting community efforts or sharing light-hearted and engaging content to uplift employees and consumers, use what you create as a way to strengthen relationships. That means understanding what your audience wants—and what they loathe.
I'm helping re-write our content to make it as SHORT and bulleted as possible, reminding people we don't need to re-hash CDC hand washing guidelines in every communication but instead add value and provide unique content to staff, partners, public. #WIIFM #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/R6YJeQdawl
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
A5: Silly and relatable content are gold right now. It seems like TikTok videos are being consumer more now and share across other platforms faster. If your brand is trying to jump on the train, remember what we all kept saying before crisis: "Humanize your brand." #RaganChat https://t.co/cM1Tu7cALa
— Robert Fischer (@_imPRessive_) April 14, 2020
I'm definitely a #millennial, and yet I don't love phone calls, and task email blasts overwhelm me. I need face-to-face, and if we can't have that, I definitely need #videoconferencing. #RaganChat
— Alison (Allie) Carville (@AlisonCarville) April 14, 2020
So important to know your audience… A reliable stand in for your average reader/viewer is a great asset. #RaganChat
— Ted Kitterman (@tedkitkat) April 14, 2020
3. Connect employees with executives to build trust.
Along with regular and transparent updates, leave room for flexibility as your employees adjust to the new normal.
On a local level, our leadership holds a virtual town hall every Monday afternoon to provide insights & updates. They also encourage utilizing a local suggestion box where employees can voice concerns & questions #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/XJSmoTv814
— Liz Kamper (@LizKamperPR) April 14, 2020
What I love most is our organization is allowing ultimate flexibility — take your sick leave bank negative, work whatever hours work for you, flex your day to home school your kids, just make it through this time and we'll do it together. #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/ULEyWvjVyl
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
A6: We are a small company, so we've all developed a bond between each other already. I think our leadership did a great job disseminating information to us about what they planned to do for this health crisis. In short, frequent, short communications did wonders. #RaganChat https://t.co/zk0BkPXRIq
— Robert Fischer (@_imPRessive_) April 14, 2020
Agree. During tough times like this it's more important than ever to value your communications experts — communicate honestly, authentically, transparently. Be real, be a human being. People are hurting out there. #RaganChat https://t.co/bCe8k1CY4P
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
4. Now is the time to take your seat at the table.
More than ever before, it’s crucial to become a business professional who communicates expertly, rather than a communicator who knows a little about business. You’ll probably have to step out of your comfort zone, but taking up the torch and leading the way through the current crisis can help you for years to come.
A7: Communicators are adaptable & can learn new info and skills quickly and should be well equipped to transform into this new era #RaganChat
— Beth Perell (@bcperell) April 14, 2020
A7: Show don't tell. Show your value as a communicator and professional in whatever communication vehicle works best for you. #RaganChat
— The PR Loop (@ThePRLoop) April 14, 2020
Comms needs to be consulted constantly during a crisis – we see things others don't, adjust messages to match audiences, simplify, ID angles, etc. Ex: Instead of canceling a cause marketing opportunity, I got media coverage for it by tweaking the angle. #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/ZUSPGwlWdI
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
A7: Learn as much as you can about business continuity. People with data and answers are people who will be listened to. And subscribe to our Crisis Daily newsletter! #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/9opIT2IWay
— Ted Kitterman (@tedkitkat) April 14, 2020
5. If you’re out of ideas, turn to pets.
When all else fails, ask employees and social media followers to share photos of their pets or ask them about the lighter aspects of their routines (for example, ask for favorite work playlists). Doing so can build rapport.
My beautiful fur babies!! #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/pwdnbP7zG9
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
#ShowUsYourPets #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/brOM8YP0e5
— Rene Dupont (@RealReneDupont) April 14, 2020
Here’s my (big) little guy being nosey about what I’m doing at my desk. 😂 #RaganChat #ShowUsYourPets pic.twitter.com/nhA5YW52NO
— Robert Fischer (@_imPRessive_) April 14, 2020
Our "This hamster will only live 1-2 years" hamster from Petsmart celebrated his 3rd year with us this past Easter Sunday. Lucky me. (Petsmart to me later, "Well, they can live a lot longer if you take really good care of them…) #RaganChat pic.twitter.com/SL1GjJ92my
— Amanda P. (@LivingUnited) April 14, 2020
This is our youngster…. looks cute scares the S*** out of the whole family…. Three years you say…. #raganchat #showusyourpets pic.twitter.com/HkLEFDJCFD
— Annsi Krol (@annsikrol) April 14, 2020
Missed last week’s chat? Join us every Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time as we share insights and answer questions about the topics that affect communicators most throughout COVID-19.
You can also read the entire April 14 #RaganChat transcript here.
