IABC's first virtual coffee
Success stories & takeaways from our first virtual coffee
FYI: We’ve changed our next scheduled coffee to a virtual happy hour to accommodate people who might not be early birds. Join us on May 19 at 4:30 p.m. for the next chance to connect. Please RSVP so we can send you the Zoom information. We hope to see you then!
Communications professionals have been uniquely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While adjusting their own personal and professional conditions, they’ve also been on point to help their organizations and audiences stay abreast of changing policies and resources.
During IABC Greater Cincinnati’s first virtual coffee on April 21, approximately 20 participants from the Tristate and the region came together to share their experiences and, importantly, their success stories from the last couple of months.
Communicators shared their current challenges, solutions and resources during virtual coffee.
Everyone had a story to tell, from moving employees to remote work, to updating front-line essential staff about new safety procedures. Although the specific challenges varied depending on the type of industry, almost everyone cited frequent check-ins with leadership and with staff as an important strategy.
Other key ideas:
- Adapt your messaging as needed based on feedback from the audience
- Make sure employees know they are mentally and physically safe
- Use the right communications channels for the various audiences, understand that technology might present a challenge for some members of your organization and be ready to help as best you can
In the end, most people agreed that there have been some positive outcomes, including increased collaboration, albeit through different media than before. Although everyone acknowledged business would likely have a “new normal” from here on out, they felt confident that the collective experience would lead to better ways of doing business and connecting with our audiences.
Looking for resources?
Here are some we talked about during the coffee:
- Felicia Joy from Edelman posted her insights on our collective trauma on LinkedIn.
- ProofHQ was mentioned as a good virtual editing resource.
- IABC has a whole array of free tools for communicators. Learn more.