The Secret to Effective Crisis Communications

“We’ve made order out of utter chaos. We’ve not frozen in the face of crisis. The team has instituted incredible programs, used energy in the face of disruption, and genuinely brought reason to a season of madness. We’ve not only kept going, but we’ve broken new barriers.”

Jennifer Russo is the Senior Director of Corporate Communications and HR Strategy at Banner Health. Jennifer communicates on behalf of the Banner Health system to the 55,000 employees across six states. She also champions the strategy that makes Banner Health a great place to work. In this episode, she talks about communicating effectively during times of crisis, exploring different mediums like videos and podcasts, and offering mental health resources to employees.

“Give counsel and be brave in the counsel that you give. Because you’re ultimately looking to make sure the audiences you are reaching have the right information and, and also to make sure the people providing it are credible.”

• Communicate to employees often with accurate information
• Acknowledge when the going gets tough
• Celebrate successes, no matter how small

“You have to show up. My team showed up every day, oftentimes seven days a week. You have to be brave. You have to lean in. People are under stress and duress… You have to acknowledge when things stink. There were times where I said to my team, ‘This stinks. We’re working seven days a week, for a long, long time, months and months and months.’ But you also have to celebrate the wins.”