For many people today marks a change in the crisis that we have all being living through. Some are able to return to work for the first time, some are making the most of the outdoor activities that they can access, and for some they will be visiting shops that had been closed for two months. The nature of the crisis has changed, but we should not rush to think that things are over.
The changes that are happening this week are developments within the management of the crisis. We have experienced the initial phase where the key was to save lives and we were given strict instructions on what we needed to do. Now as we are in the eighth week of the crisis this is changing. There is now a complex message that is required to explain to people what is happening and what they need to do. I am not going to comment any more on the Government messaging. We need to recognise the huge challenge they face.
My concern is that people may mistake this next phase of the crisis with a move to recovery. Be clear – it is not recovery. I put together a Recovery Communication Readiness Assessment to help businesses and organisation work out where they were with communication. A free copy of the guide to this assessment is available by contacting me (amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk). There are a number of questions we need to ask and answer positively before we can confidently say we are ready to move to recovery communication.
One of the critical elements is whether there are more people being affected and with the continued death toll this would indicate recovery is some way off. Another element is whether the public mood is that the crisis has past which it is not as discussions are showing. We may not be moving immediately to recovery but now is the time to start looking at developing a recovery communication plan, looking at the businesses recovery strategy and doing some scenario planning.
I have said many times in the last eight weeks that this is a marathon and not a sprint. The challenge is that we will be living with Covid-19 for some time, or possibly indefinitely, but this marathon allows us time to think things through and develop plans. We will be living with this crisis for some time and that requires a specific kind of communication plan.
If you have any recovery communication questions or would like a copy of the Recovery Communication Readiness Assessment Guide contact me amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
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