Essay Example on COVID-19 Crisis: Maintaining Effective Communication in the Workforce

Concerns on how communication among the employees have been rising significantly with the declaration of COVID-19 outbreak by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic. It is, however, essential to consider readjusting the situation to suit the calm and assurance of an uneasy workforce. Maintaining effective communication across the employees is a central role of any organization in integrating the daily need of individual employees, especially during the entire period of crisis. The key expectation of the workers is to achieve effective communication from their employers. According to recent statistics, at least 42% of the employees acknowledge that their respective organizations maintain effective communication (Fontana, 2020). Organizations should, however, consider following certain guidelines and measures to maintain effective communication across their workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper focuses on investigating communication between employees and their respective organizations during the epidemic.

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At least 46% of the employees perceive active communication with their employers as being transparent and honest (Wong, 2020). When a company maintains open and honest communication, their respective employees are likely to become more engaged and active. There is a common perception by employees that their employees always under-inform them. Organizations need to maintain open and honest communication with the employees. Being transparent with employees plays a key role in uncertain times. It shows the organizational commitment towards making their personnel be at ease and prevent potential chaos, which may easily erupt later.

Companies and organizations should consider regular updates and always serve at the frontline in offering necessary information on the key happenings within their organizations. There is a large circulation of misinformation from different sources that can easily inundate employees. For effective communication during this crisis, employees should be reached where they are. Even though preparing for discussion during a crisis can be challenging, there are several best practices in communication that should be emphasized. Workers are encouraged to use channels such as emails, mobile phones, among others (Adams & Walls, 2020). The several Omni-channels makes sure the employees communicate regardless of their location.

During this pandemic, ensuring that there is a flow in communication and providing honest and real conversations concerning work becomes tough with every employee. To ensure that supportive conversations are enabled in any organization, the managers should be equipped with messaging resources to make communication easier (Adams & Walls, 2020). It is because if the managers are prepared and well-versed, there are high probabilities that they would handle any type of conversation. In return, the employees would feel secure and protected concerning their jobs throughout the pandemic. Also, organizations should identify the special circumstances that their employees are undergoing. Communication using a one-size-fits-all technique should not be employed by employers during this COVID-19 crisis (World Health Organization, 2020). All types of workers, both the hourly paid, expert employees, and the executive ones, should all be considered, especially the ones who use public transportation means to reach their working stations. It is important to consider people with compassion and show them additional guidance. Through this, they would feel supported.

Conclusion

With the current crisis, maintaining communications with the employees would help reduce the tensions that they are currently experiencing. The goal of efficient communication among the employees is to ensure that they get relevant information and calm their nerves. Therefore, ensuring that communication flows among the employees empowers them.

Reference

Fontana, E. (2020). Oncology clinical trials during the COVID-19 outbreak: lessons learned during the crisis and future opportunities. Cancer Treatment Reviews, 102047. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305737220300852

Wong, J. (2020). Preparing for a COVID-19 pandemic: a review of operating room outbreak response measures in a large tertiary hospital in Singapore. Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal Canadien d'anesthésie, 1-14. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12630-020-01620-9

Adams, J. G., & Walls, R. M. (2020). Supporting the health care workforce during the COVID-19 global epidemic. Jama, 323(15), 1439-1440. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2763136

World Health Organization. (2020). Risk communication and community engagement readiness and response to coronavirus disease (COVID-19): interim guidance, 19 March 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/RCCE/2020.2). World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331513/WHO-2019-nCoV-RCCE-2020.2-eng.pdf