Coronavirus Pandemic Response Templates for Employers
Working Remotely
Last updated: March 17, 2020
With the coronavirus pandemic leaving companies around the world left to act swiftly, providing clear (and calm) communication has never been more important. In moments of uncertainty and fast-moving times, many leaders are facing questions they may not know how to answer or handle. According to Paul A. Argenti, professor of management & corporate communication, the key is to communicate early and often, with empathy, honesty, openness, empathy, and transparency.
So, what should be communicated during this time? And to whom should that be communicated?
We're trying to figure it our ourselves too! Like most of you, we've been learning as we go, but we wanted to share what we've been doing so far. You'll find below recommendations and working docs of resources we've been sharing internally. To make it easier for you, we've turned these into templates (via Google Docs) -- make a copy and customize these for your own team.
With the coronavirus pandemic leaving companies around the world left to act swiftly, providing clear (and calm) communication has never been more important. In moments of uncertainty and fast-moving times, many leaders are facing questions they may not know how to answer or handle. According to Paul A. Argenti, professor of management & corporate communication, the key is to communicate early and often, with empathy, honesty, openness, empathy, and transparency.
So, what should be communicated during this time? And to whom should that be communicated?
We're trying to figure it our ourselves too! Like most of you, we've been learning as we go, but we wanted to share what we've been doing so far. You'll find below recommendations and working docs of resources we've been sharing internally. To make it easier for you, we've turned these into templates (via Google Docs) -- make a copy and customize these for your own team.
First Things First, Assign a Designated Central Communications Team
These team members - likely HR or People Ops in tandem with Communications - will be the central peoples sending out notifications and answering questions. We also recommend assigning someone as the 'Pandemic Coordinator,' who will be coordinating the information on the employee-level.
Create a Pandemic Response Checklist
For: the leadership team
Purpose:
- This doc will be your course of action for the next couple of weeks or months until you return to normal business operations.
- It acts as an area for status updates, allowing you to document and track the progression of the infection in staff numbers, and how this affects your business.
Pandemic Response Checklist Template >>
Create Policies for Exposed Employees
For: the leadership team
Purpose:
- Communicates what to do when an employee is exposed.
- Outlines protocols for the Pandemic Coordinator.
- Provides an assessment tool that may be used as a screening tool to determine if employees should be excluded from work due to illness.
Send Out Notifications On The Pandemic Status As News Rolls In
For: team-wide
Purpose:
For: team-wide
Purpose:
- Informs your employees with up-to-date and relevant information.
- It's important that the information is centralized and coming from you so that your staff knows it's trusted and true and that they are looked after.
Notification to Employees - COVID 19 Pandemic Template >>
Send Out Notifications On Best Practices on Personal Hygiene and How to Stay Healthy During the Pandemic
For: team-wide
Purpose:
- Best practices for your employees to follow, reminding them that they can be proactive during this time - for example, hand-washing, social-distancing, working from home, etc.
Notification to Employees - Personal Hygiene & How to Stay Healthy During the Pandemic Template >>
See folder with all templates >>
If you have any questions, our team is here for you!
Email: [email protected]
Join our Slack community or remote workers, leaders, and freelancers: http://bit.ly/wwr_slack
See folder with all templates >>
If you have any questions, our team is here for you!
Email: [email protected]
Join our Slack community or remote workers, leaders, and freelancers: http://bit.ly/wwr_slack
← Back to Blog