Strong communication by managers and leaders is critical for a company to navigate a crisis. Our blog focuses on strategies and methods managers can utilize to communicate effectively with employees and other internal members of the organization. Employees during crisis often become stressed, so we want to explore ways in which communication can help ease employee tensions.

Sanders, K., Nguyen, P. T., Bouckenooghe, D., Rafferty, A., & Schwarz, G. (2020). Unraveling the What and How of Organizational Communication to Employees During COVID-19 Pandemic. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 56(3), 289-293.

The global pandemic has created a world change in the workplace. In times of uncertainty employees within an organization turn to leadership for information. This journal has analyzed an initial assessment of how leadership communicates with staff during COVID. One challenge they noted was the necessity to communicate a large amount of information and work with multiple different organizational functions to get a clear message across. The journal also examines how crisis communication messages are formed then received by employees. This will be useful for our blog in the context that it is a current source relating to COVID-19, rather than a different crisis.

Coombs, W. T. (2007). Crisis Management and Communication. Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 289-293.

This article by Coombs discusses the necessity of preparing for a crisis before it happens, and the necessary steps that must be taken during a crisis to sustain an organization and maintain good public relationships. This research paper examines how Crisis Management Plans can be crucial for management to navigate a crisis. The findings of this article are supported by extensive OB research conducted by Coombs and others.

Valackiene, A. (2010). Efficient Corporate Communication: Decisions in Crisis Management. Engineering Economics, 21(1), 99-110.

This paper demonstrates and researches the importance of efficient corporate communication during times of crisis planning. The goal of this paper is to answer the question of how to strategically manage crises in the business environment. Many businesses are unprepared for the event of crisis, even though a majority will at some point experience one. It’s important to have an effective strategy to deal with a crisis before it becomes a larger problem. The paper uses scientific studies to find how proper communication with employees and the public can be a key factor in managing a crisis.

Eldridge, C. C. (2020). Communication during crisis: The importance of leadership, messaging, and overcoming barriers. Nursing Management, 50-53.

During a crisis such as COVID-19 people can find an abundance of information that can seem overwhelming. It’s important to have consistent communication that is reliable, credible, factual, and timely. The article examines key communication principles, how people process information during crisis, and some obstacles people may face for effective communication. The best form of communication is when it sends a clear and consistent message. It’s also especially important for leaders to be able to effectively convey their communication. Having a plan for communicating with internal and external users is key.

Argenti, P. A. (2020, March 13). Communicating through the Coronavirus Crisis. Harvard Business Review.

During crisis leaders sometimes may not have all answers to the problem, but they still need to maintain early and consistent communication. Some effective methods the article suggests including setting up a crisis response team, preferably with members from all across the company functions. This will serve as the main communicator to members of the organization, it should give transparent and timely updates. It’s especially important to maintain strong communication with employees and keep their minds at ease

Mazzei, A., & Ravazzani, S. (2011). Manager-employee communication during a crisis: the missing link. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(3), 243-254.

This research article investigates the effectiveness of internal communication during crisis. Some of the research that we were able to use for the blog included misalignments of communication between management and employees. For example, some employees during crisis felt management failed to listen to their concerns, and their communication was mostly one sided. Ineffective communication is a problem in the sense that it can lead to low employee morale and poor work productivity.

Holtom, B., Edmondson, A. C., & Niu, D. (2020, July 09). 5 Tips for Communicating with Employees During Crisis. Harvard Business Review.

This article by the Harvard Business Review outlines some tips that managers my find useful when communicating with employees during crisis. Some of the tips that we found useful when researching our blog included the need to communicate frequently, providing options for employees to give feedback to management, and providing a plan for the future.

Steven Do, Jacob Spears, Tanner Stipic, Logan Gore, Tim Creason