Change is hard. Uncertainty is worse. Employees can be fearful or increasingly overwhelmed. Regardless of your industry, your people are looking to you, their employer, for trusted information and support. They may be on the front lines where their mental wellbeing is at risk; furloughed or laid off because the business has closed; or working from home and feeling isolated and distracted. We know they're facing a multitude of issues – it can help to consider them in the areas of physical, mental and emotional, financial, and even social challenges.

Employers can identify what we know and can control, both organizationally and individually. Employees are looking to us for reassurance. We must be transparent with what we know about the pandemic and what we know about our business continuity and ways to help, and provide some sense of control through frequent updates.

Capture the communication fundamentals

We need to react rapidly. By now you should have a COVID-19 task force or command center with multifunctional representation for input. This is no time for lengthy review cycles; streamline your processes.

A flexible communication plan is key. If you don't set a framework, you'll always be playing catch-up. So, what makes a good communication strategy at a time like this? It's the same components we'd normally recommend in a time of change, with extra doses of sensitivity and speed:

• Stakeholder identification: Understand unique needs so you can segment and target communications.
• Key messages: What's your organization's overall response when it comes to this crisis? How can you tie that response to your core values? There may be an opportunity to deepen the bond with employees, e.g., if your company can do anything altruistic to respond to the crisis and support our communities.
• Identify a spokesperson or sponsors to be the voice and face of the message—figures they can trust, look to for information and comfort. An effective communication cascade is important in times of change and bad news; people prefer to hear from their managers when possible.

Evolve from basics to the tough stuff

Think about ways you can get out supportive messages for physical health. Tell what you know; guide them to hotlines and telehealth as resources. That said, be aware that some telemedicine vendors have been on overload, sometimes with up to 3- to 4-hour waits as they ramp up staff. Guide employees to go online and register in advance. One client had us help get a postcard out to their manufacturing workforce literally overnight at the start of social distancing, to be ready.

Plus, you can remind your employees that good wellness in terms of physical activity, nutrition, sleep and stress management is more important than ever. Your wellness partner likely has online resources and ideas – promote them.

Don't forget those financial fears. In some industries, staff furloughs, reductions in hours or layoffs are taking place. Given that 80 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, financial worries are mounting. We're seeing organizations with employees especially nervous about the stock market drop, ready to panic in taking actions with their 401(k) or, if near retirement, worried about their pension plan. Connecting the affected individuals with your resources to tap loans or withdrawals if needed, or connecting them to emergency fund assistance or financial counseling resources, can ease the stress and pain.

Switch channels to keep your people connected

The sudden swap to working remotely work brings with it challenges and opportunities. To keep your people connected and to enable two-way communication, consider:

• Video conferencing, with leaders role-modeling this channel; our leaders used town hall sessions to lighten the mood by wearing humorous hats or T-shirts
• Regular team calls for check-ins and coordination
• Instant messaging and texting for rapid connections
• A dedicated resource page on your intranet, where the latest communications are housed, including a comments section so employees can share their concerns

This also is a time to encourage personal connections. Moments of joy are critical when things look dark and people feel isolated. We spend so much time with coworkers that they can feel like a second family, and leaning on each other and being open builds a bond that can sustain and help build engagement.

Get messages out quickly and easily

What if your intranet resources are constrained or your workforce does not have ready web access?

If you don't already have a universally available portal or site for information and outreach, consider a dedicated pop-up microsite that is mobile-enabled, so even those not working at computers can access via smartphones.

Use platforms with rapid 2- to 3-day set-up, template-based frameworks for content, and no coding/web development needed. There's little appetite for large investments or lengthy implementations. Now is the time for cost-effective solutions.

Focus on crafting and delivering more timely updates to achieve business objectives and meet employee needs.

To emphasize: rapid deployment is key. Any communication solution needs to be simple and quick, from crafting messaging to getting it out to your workforce.

Above all, let yourself be human

The global situation is very fluid. So, we're personally and professionally pivoting, trying to find the new normal. We may be professionals but we're facing the same issues as our employees. Give yourself and others a break, practice empathy and support: Let yourself be human; let your people be human. The best practices for communication at a time like this can be summed up this way:

• Get your arms around it. Given the evolving impacts, proactive communication is vital.
• Stay nimble. Establish and implement a flexibly evolving communication plan.
• Be practical. Provide resources, community health links, sample tips and tactics to support employees and achieve your objectives.
• Connect. Keep your teams connected and enable two-way communication.

Remember that it's people we're trying to help through this. Let's show our humanity. I know of one regional company identified a host of multi-state ways workers who had to show up due to the nature of their industry, options for child and elder care. Another found ways to connect college kids and teens with families of health care workers, to provide help. Another is reaching out to help senior citizens shelter at home and not have to go out for groceries.

Get creative. It's more meaningful than you think, for morale and mutual support.

Ruth Hunt is a principal in the engagement practice at Buck, an integrated HR consulting, technology and benefits administration services firm. Ms. Hunt is global lead for Buck's Working Well: A Global Survey of Workforce Wellbeing Strategies.

Read more: 

• Gen Z would welcome some emotional support from managers
• 5 ways to improve your employee communications experience
• Amid coronavirus pandemic, don't forget about mental health benefits