Crisis comms, 🎢 , jobs, Disney, and annoying jargon

Insider Comms for internal comms

Mar 11, 2022

Pro tip: Monday is Pi Day (3/14). If you’re sending a newsletter on Monday (I am!), consider putting as much of Pi in the subject line as possible.

3.141592653589793238462643383279…
Works great on tech and engineering audiences.

Inside Out

Normally I wouldn’t feature a Forbes Agency Council article because it’s pay-to-play, but this one was catnip. In “How to Counter Negative Publicity About Internal Company Issues,” council members:

share tips for countering potential damage to brand reputation and revenues when a less-than-ideal narrative about a company escapes its walls and goes viral on social media.

Members give 16 pieces of advice around external crisis management. Only two of them involve internal communications.

Ensure External Statements Mirror Internal Communications: There is no one-size-fits-all tactic for crisis communications. Have something ready and prepared for when journalists begin to call and email. It’s important that everyone in the whole organization is also made aware of the company’s perspective; they are your ambassadors too. We recommend that any external statement mirrors what is being communicated internally in the event that internal communications are shared.

Offer Employees Clear Explanations: Your employees can be your most valuable asset or a dangerous weapon. Offering employees clear explanations of the “what,” “when,” “where,” “why” and “how” of an internal crisis is the best way to manage potential negative publicity. Your team should hear updates from you first and be armed with approved talking points they can share because, whether or not you want them to, they are going to talk.

Keep scrolling to see how this is playing out with Disney now.

Industry News

How Fritzi Michelle Lescano (above), internal communications manager at Accor, thrives in her male-dominated IT department (Hotelier Middle East)

3 Strategies for Engaging Employee Newsletters (Brilliant Ink)

The Redefining Communications With Jenni Field podcast is live with season two (Redefining Comms)

vivowire22, a free, virtual employee experience event hosted by Workvivo, is open for registration (vivowire22)

One-third of employees don’t feel valued by their bosses (HRD)

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Oops

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek sent a 900-word memo to employees on March 7 explaining the company’s actions—or seeming lack thereof—on Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

With ~80,000 employees in Florida, Disney was conspicuously quiet as the bill went through the legislature, angering shareholders, activists, prominent Disney insiders, and Disney fans.
Bob Chapek has spent much of the week apologizing for not speaking up.

Read the memo and a breakdown of its components (Mister Editorial)

Axios - Communicators Newsletter Writer (Remote)

Axios and their internal comms arm, Axios HQ, were featured in The New York Times this week.

Cohesity - Internal Communications Manager (Durham, NC or remote in U.S. ET)

Cumbria Police - Internal Communications & Engagement Office (UK)

LifeArc - Internal Communication Manager – 6-month fixed term contract (London)

Scotland’s Rural College - Internal Communications Officer (Edinburgh)

Stanford Health Care - Manager, Internal Communications (IT) (Palo Alto)

Reply to this email with your job openings for inclusion in the next edition of Mister Editorial.

IC Adjacent

⛔ 300+ companies have withdrawn from Russia, but some remain. Is your company on the list? (Yale School of Management)

🦜 Five annoying words and phrases you say at work, and what to say instead. (CNBC)

🚗 Lyft announced it was shifting to a “fully flexible” work option, allowing workers the choice of where to live and work. (Lyft)

💸 Companies tweeted for International Women’s Day. Then this account called out their pay gaps. (WaPo)

📖 Journalists who call themselves “storytellers” are seen as liars, according to a survey. (But it’s OK for internal comms pros to be storytellers, right?) (Nieman Lab)