QUOTE OF THE DAY “All great achievements require time.” — Maya Angelou COVID-19 UPDATE At the time of reporting, The New York Times reported 1,397,784 confirmed cases in the U.S. and 84,109 deaths from COVID-19. Bing’s COVID-19 Tracker showed 1,421,061 cases, with 84,763 fatalities. The Federal Reserve chair warned that the economy may face a lasting economic downturn if Congress and the White House do not provide sufficient financial support to prevent a wave of bankruptcies and prolonged joblessness. New Jobless Claims totaled 2.9 million last week, bringing the rolling total during the coronavirus crisis to 36.5 million, CNBC reports. The weekly total is higher than economists expected, but that tally has declined for six weeks. Bars across Wisconsin were crowded after the state Supreme Court struck down stay-at-home orders. Communicators may need to brace for an uncertain future as citizens head out into public areas.
Search engine tips for the coronavirus era. The pandemic is forcing companies to pull back on rah-rah marketing in favor of an emphasis on purpose and the public good. Learn how to boost SEO during this crisis.
Too much on your plate? Try these three simple ways to edit your workday and boost your productivity during the pandemic. Streamline and sharpen how you approach work. Free How-To Session: Due to popular demand, Happeo has decided to host another how-to session on "how to digital workplace". On May 20, digital workplace experts Britney Schulz and Meg Rivers will discuss practical use cases on: How to build and maintain a high-performing remote culture with G Suite How to connect G Suite apps into a unified digital workspace in a few hours How to create a collaborative workspace in G Suite The session is limited to 20 attendees. To save your spot, please RSVP here. How nonprofits can engage during COVID-19. Telling your organization’s story during requires careful positioning and a reliance on your subject matter expertise. Here’s how to nail it. COVID-19 changes the PR world. The No. 1 way PR agencies and departments have changed recently is increased collaboration with the top brass, a new Ragan/PR Daily report reveals. At least half of respondents say collaboration with the top executives has surged. Forty-eight percent report more cooperation among departments.
Mitigating risk as employees return. Law.com offers tips for mitigating the risk of COVID-19 in the workplace. Are you prepared to communicate initiatives such as staggering shifts and increased cleaning and sanitizing of shared spaces? Tips for returning to office. California Gov. Newsom outlined COVID-19 guidelines for employees to return to their workplaces. Communicators will have a large role in the messaging around all of this. Among the tips: Draft worksite-specific COVID-19 prevention plan for every location, and train and communicate it to employees and their representatives. Train your workforce on how to prevent the disease from spreading, and which underlying health conditions may make individuals more susceptible to contracting the virus. Lean into wellness during the pandemic. The public health crisis has many organizations looking communicating about health and safety. What messages are appropriate and relevant for audiences? Here’s expert guidance. Will monitoring tools harm trust? As working from home becomes the norm, the use of monitoring tools is surging, even though this could harm the trust you worked so hard to maintain. Are such tools over-intrusive? When a New York Times writer allowed his editor to monitor his every click , her response was, “Ick.” Uber touts safety initiatives. As regions start to open up, Uber is promoting safe traveling. The ride-hailing startup will require drivers to prove they’re wearing masks, a press release states . What are you doing to reassure your customers—and employees? Before a driver or delivery person can go online, they will be asked to confirm, via a new Go Online Checklist, that they’ve taken certain safety measures and are wearing a mask or face cover. Our new technology will verify if the driver is wearing a mask by asking them to take a selfie. After we verify the driver is covering their face, we’ll let the rider know via an in-app message. (Unlike our Real-Time ID Check system, this technology detects the mask as an object in the photo, and does not process biometric information or compare mask selfies to driver photos in our database.) Communicating cuts. A Chicago-area hospital system plans to not give raises this year and will cut executive pay after due to pandemic-related financial losses, a memo says. Successful executive comms isn’t just about how you message, but what actions your leaders take, including sharing in the pain. Virtual Conference Alert Join us for PR Daily’s Media Relations and Measurement Virtual Conference May 14–15. Learn from experts who are transforming their pitches and media relations efforts, as well as their measurement strategies, to meet the challenges presented by the health crisis. Join our Crisis Leadership Board Ragan’s Crisis Leadership Board is the resource you need before, during and post-crisis. As a Board member, you have access to all back issues of this newsletter—as well as research, data, case studies, checklists, tip sheets, articles and other resources—plus a peer-to-peer discussion board and an all-access pass to the annual Crisis Management Conference. Sponsorship/Advertising Opportunities Contact Hannah Lavelle at [email protected] with sponsorship and advertising inquiries. Pitch Us Have a great story to share about crisis communication or your own take on current best practices? Contact Editor Ted Kitterman at [email protected]. Sign Up Subscribe to Ragan’s Crisis Daily newsletter today. | 