Communicate Efficiently in Today's Environment of Immediacy
By Paul Sanchez, APR
"In 60 seconds we give you the World" - but where is
the meaning?
We are in one of those periods when we are forced to consider how
the immediacy and pervasiveness of communication touches our lives.
News and information is reported and distributed from anywhere around
the world so fast that it is difficult to understand and take the
longer-term meaning of events, or to put events in a historical
context that leads to balanced judgments. This is true for political,
economic, military and social issues.
Organizations cannot avoid, and indeed must embrace the reality
of this immediacy. Certainly multi-nationals know this in spades,
with events in other hemispheres dragging down or pushing up stock
prices in a heartbeat once the news is on the wire.
With the world's attention focused on the Middle East and Asia,
we are getting not only instant event communication, but also on-
the- scene analysis and interpretation. "Imbedded "is
the new term of art in news making. Impressions and opinions are
forming and then shifting with unprecedented speed.
Our collective attention span is shortening in direct proportion
to the volume of the information that washes over us. Information
comes to us from all directions in an astonishing array of electronic
devices, all dedicated to immediate information distribution-from
instant flashes sent automatically to visual displays on mobile
phones, to seven-story high LCD panel with news items flashed over
Times Square in New York, not to mention 24/7 web news and features,
available at the click of a mouse.
Communicator, Where are Thou?
Where is the professional communicator in all this? Holding on
for dear life, trying to catch his or her breath between waves?
War, terrorist acts, worldwide health threats and economic tumbles,
all require forward-looking planning on several levels. But today
the communicator is called not only to "transmit" in the
right medium, but also to help acknowledge the surrounding events
and apply something of context events in a context.
Corporate intranets and global Email systems give the communicator
powerful tools for distribution. But lurking behind mass Email is
the question, "What does this really mean?"
Crisis Communication
The first stop in dealing with the current array of communication
challenges is ensuring that a crisis communication plan is in place
to deal with events that touch our organization and us. These can
be everything from natural disasters, industrial accidents, to acts
of violence in the work place.
- Do you have your plan?
- Is it coordinated with and part of a larger organization disaster
plan?
- Have you established a dark website to use in emergencies?
- Has your organization communicated to employees what it expects
from them and what it will do for them in times of crisis?
Secondly, there are those events and situations that may create
a type of hypersensitivity in our organizations. They include large-scale
events that rivet the public consciousness and impact on the well
being of our national psyche.
Working in a Global Environment
Communicators are in positions to help their organization's to
create a sense of context for world and national events. Have you
ever been on an airplane, stopped on the runway beyond the normal
congestion clearance time, and have had no word from the captain?
It is frustrating and annoying not to feel in touch so as to understand
the larger picture.
We all want and need some word from "up-front" with
not only what is going on, but with a signpost to the meaning of
it all. It is like when that airline pilot says, "We are delayed
because of a hold on take-offs. Nothing to worry about. Air Traffic
Control has said we will be released in…." It is that
"nothing to worry about" part that we were listening for.
It is that search for that mediated meaning in a world of immediate
information distribution; and there it is, the challenge for today's
professional communicator.
Our employees are often like the passengers, wanting and needing
some context setting as news of the world inundates us. It is not
necessary nor advisable for companies to take positions on all issues,
but acknowledging events in such acute and intense information environments
helps employees remain assured that there is someone in the "cockpit"
in touch with world events and the potential impact, relevance (or
not) to customers, suppliers, shareholders, and other constituencies.
Communicators are called to action:
- Take the temperature of employees-focus groups, surveys, or
web-based sensing
- Consider the external issues relative to the expressed concerns
and interests of employees
- Act quickly when major events, like war, appear before our eyes
- Be willing to push the organization into acknowledging serious
events
- Look for ways to allow employees to gain a sense of response
and involvement, if such is appropriate (as many organizations
did after Sept 11th)
- Look for ways to allow employees to gain a sense of response
and involvement, if such is appropriate (as many organizations
did after Sept 11th)
Paul M. Sanchez, APR is practice leader of communication consulting
at Mercer Human Resource Consulting in the UK. He can be reached at
Paul.Sanchez@mercer.com.
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