Governance Communicating a Crisis By Sue Langlois

Communicating a Crisis The coronav ir us pandemic has had a great impact on all BY SUE LANGLOIS aspects of life in general, and 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 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.

Set the Tone

Setting the tone when it comes to crisis communication can go a long way to promoting a sense of calm and dissipating unnecessary fears. It is very important to know the audience, and with COVID-19, it was sometimes necessary to get tough when residents were not taking self-isolation seriously. Reminders about the law and consequences of breaking it helped gain compliance with the rules. On the other hand, simply reminding a nervous audience to keep calm and wash hands frequently underlined the importance and safety of that one simple act to help keep everyone safe.

Humour is one of the best ways to get a message across and even though COVID-19 is no joke, lightening the mood often helps keep everyone in a positive frame of mind. Not only that, but it can positively impact behaviour as well. COVID-cranky residents fed up with social distancing, long elevator waits and no amenities can use a smile every so often. Reminders that everyone is dealing with the same limitations (taking a break from the oft-used “we are all in this together”), funny quotes about being patient or using humour when asking residents to don masks in common elements all help lower the stress and get the most cooperation.

Plan Information Wisely

Great communication during the COVID-19 crisis should not be all virus-based either. It could include ideas for what to do during social distancing and keep other day-to-day items in the loop as well. Keep in mind that all this communication is likely more than the average property manager is able to do. The time and skill set needed is likely outside the scope of a manager’s job description, and if that is the case, board directors should not be afraid to hire an appropriate service to assist. In the end, a well-informed resident audience is well worth it, crisis or not. 1

Sue Langlois is the founder/CEO of DigiNotice, a digital display and creative notice service designed specifically for condos. Sue has served on the CCI-Toronto board of directors as well as the communication/marketing committees for both CCI-Toronto and CCI-National. She contributed the Communications chapter of CCI-T’s Board of Directors’ Tips, Tools and Techniques. Sue can be reached at sue@digi-notice.com.