QUOTE OF THE DAY “Goodness cannot be imposed externally, from the top down; it must grow internally, from the bottom up.” –Philip Yancey COVID-19 UDPATE At the time of reporting, The New York Times showed 1,730,207 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and 101,635 deaths. Bing’s COVID-19 Tracker reported 1,761,590 cases in the U.S. and 103,037 fatalities. Global cases now exceed 5.8 million. Wisconsin has seen a spike of new COVID-19 cases two weeks after the state supreme court struck down the governor’s stay-at-home order. Senate Democrats have joined Republicans in expressing skepticism over the House’s HEROES Act, which would spend another $3 trillion on stimulus. The government appears divided on the best way to help Americans as 1 in 4 workers have lost their jobs since March.
For Wheaton College, brand journalism proved crucial in crisis response. Here’s how the college’s communicators rose to the challenge posed by COVID-19 to tell their story in an authentic and respectful way in keeping with their values.
Permanent WFH threatens to create a second-class of worker, experts warn. Raj Choudhury, a Harvard Business School professor who studies the geography of work, says a mix of remote and non-remote workers could be a “disaster” for workplace culture. Wired wrote: Choudhury says a hybrid of remote and office work is hard to pull off without disadvantaging people offsite who receive less attention from leadership, while onsite workers can more easily cater to executives and win promotions. “That’s a recipe for disaster,” he says. “To do it well you have to have all or the majority remote, and you have to have managers who are remote.” Stay motivated while WFH with mindfulness and organization. Here are some tips to help workers stay sane as they navigate feelings of isolation and anxiety while trying to find value in their work. PR is a crucial tool for building relationships during this crisis. Here’s what experts from Saatchi NY, RQ, Gut and other agencies have to say about the power of PR in the current climate and why now is no time to go silent. Google’s move to rescind contracts draws criticism. The company has failed to convince some of the financial necessity of such drastic action, a reminder that transparency is essential to build trust. The New York Times reported: “If these people were promised jobs at Alphabet, which is worth a trillion dollars, it seems like the company has a responsibility to take them on,” said Ben Gwin, who works as a data analyst in a Google office for HCL America, a contracting agency. “It’s not like Google can’t afford it.” … “As we’ve publicly indicated, we’re slowing our pace of hiring and investment, and as a result are not bringing on as many new people — full time and temporary — as we’d planned at the beginning of the year,” said Alex Krasov, a Google spokeswoman. COVID-19 requires brands to commit to “purpose.” Here’s what that looked like for Texas Roadhouse as the restaurant chain had to adapt to the current crisis. New employees are more likely to feel lonely and isolated at work during this crisis. Make sure you institute programs to onboard and engage new workers, even while remote, to help combat the disadvantages facing young workers during this crisis. Walmart plans to keep tech workers remote, joining the trend of other big names in tech. The retailer plans to allow remote work after the pandemic, joining the likes of Twitter and Facebook who are exploring new workplace dynamics. CNBC reported: In an internal memo sent Thursday afternoon, Walmart’s global chief technology officer, Suresh Kumar, told the tech team that the company is rethinking how it uses its offices and brainstorming ways to make it easier for them to work remotely. “We believe the way of working in the future, particularly in tech, will be fundamentally different than it was before,” he wrote in the email. “We believe it will be one in which working virtually will be the new normal, at least for most of the work we lead.” Citi plans to bring back about 5% of its 12,000 Manhattan employees in July or August. The comments remain cautious as execs navigate the uncertainty of charting a return path. Make sure your messages to employees are transparent and flexible to allow for future changes. Make sure you observe disclosures on brand journalism. Amazon has received backlash for a package it distributed to TV stations to counter headlines about unsafe work environments in its facilities. The PR effort might have even broken some laws, according to legal experts. Vice reported: “This type of video was created to share an inside look into the health and safety measures we’ve rolled out in our buildings and was intended for reporters who for a variety of reasons weren’t able to come tour one of our sites themselves,” Amazon told Motherboard in a statement. Virtual Conference Alert Join us for Ragan & PR Daily's Social Media & Digital Communications Virtual Conference June 18-19 to learn brand strategies and best practices to meet the challenges of the new reality. Join our Crisis Leadership Board Ragan’s Crisis Leadership Board is the resource you need before, during and post-crisis. As a Board member, you have access to all back issues of this newsletter—as well as research, data, case studies, checklists, tip sheets, articles and other resources—plus a peer-to-peer discussion board and an all-access pass to the annual Crisis Management Conference. Sponsorship/Advertising Opportunities Contact Hannah Lavelle at HannahL@ragan.com with sponsorship and advertising inquiries. Pitch Us Have a great story to share about crisis communication or your own take on current best practices? Contact Editor Ted Kitterman at TedK@ragan.com. Sign Up Subscribe to Ragan’s Crisis Daily newsletter today. | 