Communicating a Crisis
T he c oron av i r u s p a ndem ic has had a great impact on all aspects of life in general, and
BY SUE LANGLOIS
it particularly posed a communication challenge for many condo corporations. The vast and constantly changing flow of information took many by surprise, but it is never too late to adopt best practices and lessons learned in order to make strategy a natural part of condo communication planning going forward. When it comes to communication tools, COVID -19 seems to have been the catalyst for many to realize the benefit of having a digital elevator screen to reach the majority of residents in a highly effective manner. Regardless of the tool, starting early, setting a tone and planning what type of information to share, all go a long way to getting the right message across at the right time. Communicate Early News reports about a new SARS - like coronavirus began circulating around the Lunar New Year on January 25. Smart condo corporations with proactive communication strategies had
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their communication provider dust-off flu campaigns from the previous November and adapt them to the new threat. The key is to start building awareness early on — these properties were reminding residents to wash their hands and avoid touching their faces a whole month and a half before the crisis fully hit. Planning communication in advance has the added benefit of sharing information in reasonable measures. One of the biggest snags of COVID-19 condo communication was too much info, too fast. It is important to break information down into smaller pieces, and this can be accomplished by sorting topics and sharing one item from each topic at a time. Facts about the virus can be placed in rotation with health info and amenity closures.
