10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 2: Your Message

As I wrote in Key Messages, key messages are phrases that represent the main idea an organization wants to express to its audience. You can develop them with a simple Talking Points Memo, or work more complex situations with a Message Map. No matter which method you use, it is critical to understand who your Key Stakeholders are for an H1N1 message.

photo credit: mscaprikell

Speak to the Big Three

Any message you create for your organization will be relevant to three groups: employees, suppliers, and customers, in that order.

• Employees because they are the life-blood of your organization
• Suppliers because they provide key components that keep your organization running
• Customers because they pay the bills, and they need to trust you

Internal Website for Employees

If your company or organization is large enough to have an Intranet, consider setting up an internal website to distribute information to employees. You can link this from your Human Resources Page or develop your own influenza site; the choice is up to you.

Regardless of the route you take, your site should include the following information:

• Links to the Centers for Disease Control
• A discussion of company policy concerning sick leave, paid time off, etc.
• What you want employees to do if they are sick
• What you want employees to do if a family member is sick
• Phone numbers to company benefits representatives, HR staff, etc.

While this is list is not exhaustive, it should provide you with a starting point.

Today’s To-Do: Build A Communication Toolkit

A communication toolbox is nothing more than a collection of work you can prepare ahead of time in the event of a crisis. From the perspective of H1N1, your toolbox should include these items:

Template E-Mails for Employees, Suppliers, Customers

Much like the Internal Website for Employees, an E-Mail for employees, suppliers, and customers should outline your policies, plans and expectations during a period of higher than normal absenteeism.

Write a Press Release that Confirming Cases

The smaller your business or organization, the more impact absenteeism can have on your daily operations. Releasing information, while not noteworthy to a newspaper or television station, will still be important to your customers, suppliers, and employees.

Link: Communication Tools About Flu for Businesses

Here are other articles I have written on this topic:

• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 1: Influenza Update
• Writing a Strategic Communications Plan: Evaluation
• Why You Should Be Proactive with Bad News
• Three Things People Want to Know in a Crisis
• New Campaign for Will County Health Department
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 5: Test Your Call Tree
• 10 Day Tune Up for H1N1 – Day 4: Notify Stakeholders
• Writing a Strategic Communications Plan: Key Messages
• What Twitter’s DoS Attack Can Teach Us
• Nurturing Key Partnerships