COVID-19
Few companies are immune to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—from supply chain disruptions or facility closures to changes in customer demand or market volatility and more—and none can ignore the need to communicate effectively to its stakeholders. Communications to internal and external audiences must instill confidence and reflect reality through a clear articulation of a company’s fundamental strengths, how challenges are being addressed and what plans are being made for the future. This is particularly important as the world begins to look beyond stay-at-home orders to how businesses and communities will re-open.
Joele Frank is supporting our clients as they navigate new realities, helping them implement effective communications strategies that are transparent, clear and nimble enough to adapt to rapidly evolving circumstances. Leveraging our proven expertise, these efforts include:
- Issues Tracking: Tracking key trends and company actions to address COVID-19 challenges and benchmarking clients’ actions to help implement best practices.
- Earnings Reports: Advising companies in the messaging and materials that will appropriately communicate quarterly performance and future outlook, including, most importantly, assumptions underlying that outlook. In addition, helping clients plan for media engagement and post-earnings investor outreach.
- Governance and Shareholder Engagement: Planning for virtual annual meetings and shareholder and analyst engagement during an unprecedented proxy season. Also, helping companies prepare for virtual investment conferences or non-deal roadshows in which the quality of technology and connection between management team members will be important.
- Operational and Financial Updates: Developing communications strategies, tactics and content relating to operational or financial updates, including:
- Health and safety protocols
- Business continuity planning
- Headquarters, store, facility and location closures
- Organizational changes, including employee furloughs and reductions in force
- Changes to executive and employee compensation and benefits programs
- Employee or community support programs, and philanthropic efforts
- Cost-reduction and liquidity preservation initiatives and actions
- Shareholder rights plans
- Financial restructurings
- Planning Ahead: Helping clients think through internal and external communications strategies and materials for when employees will begin to transition back to offices and worksites from remote work, or as continued shifts in customer demand require new ways of working, and more.