Business Critical: Covid-19

We know, we know, the news is bleak. Every day on our television screens, social media feeds and news sites all we can see is an overwhelming amount of bad news. These are unchartered times, that much is true, but it’s not all doom and gloom, we promise.

In order for businesses to survive over the next few months, they must adapt, and luckily, we’re here to help. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at all of the ways that companies can utilise their creative assets and services to enhance their digital workflows and virtual teams, plus we’ll be showing you how brands can engage their customers online in ways that they’ve perhaps never done before.

But, first things first, how can businesses ensure that they’re engaging and managing their virtual teams effectively and efficiently? We’ve identified some of the essential tools we think you’ll need to make sure that your digital network stays as productive as possible.

Tool 1: Communications

This situation is unprecedented and as such, is very difficult to communicate to customers and employees alike. So, first and foremost, your company should really be thinking about its immediate communications response.

Whether this be in the form of an official press statement or customer email, a concise, written response to the pandemic, including your approach to staff welfare and your processes for ensuring (or disbanding) your continuity of service, is essential at this time. You might also like to think about setting up an FAQ page on your website to deal with all Covid-19 enquiries relating to your business. Plus, some appropriate social media post content will help to keep your channels updated with your Covid-19 response and approach.

Once your initial comms response is sorted, you’ll probably be thinking about how on earth you’re going to manage and engage an entire team of remote workers. This might seem like an insurmountable challenge, especially if many of your staff haven’t worked remotely before or you’re unused to managing a team virtually. Luckily, they are so many simple ways that you can utilise creative assets to encourage the productivity and engagement of your team over the coming weeks.

Tool 2: Infographics

How can you disseminate important information in bite-size chunks that are engaging for your team and stakeholders? By using expertly designed infographics, obviously!

But really, simple and effective infographics will help present key facts clearly and easily, they’ll also help to brighten up the screens and inboxes of those team members working remotely from their homes. There’s a lot of information for people to be constantly taking on board at the moment, so by utilising effective creative in this way, you can help to ensure that your team is engaged, interested and focused on the issues that you want them to be.

Tool 3: Animations

Worried that you’re quickly going to run out of ways to keep your team or stakeholders positive, motivated or attentive? Using animated content to relay instructions and deliver key information can help keep colleagues, partners and suppliers invested and engaged with the information that you’re sharing with them.

All of us are at risk of being flooded with an endless supply of information at the moment, so managers would do well to break up this onslaught of material with some concise and appealing visual content to ignite users’ interest and help inspire morale and productivity.

Tool 4: Presentations

One of the biggest fears for business owners at the moment is the need to reassure staff and colleagues that it is business as usual, and that the day to day management of teams and workflows is attainable. But, how do you present frequently and effectively to a team that aren’t even in the room with you?

By using a digitally designed slide-deck, managers can ensure that each and every one of their weekly meetings and presentations are consistent, effective and inspiring for team members, partners and suppliers. Now that we’re all having to communicate virtually, team members and those having to present information regularly can really benefit from having the right visual aides to make this digestible.

All in all, these are unchartered times and right now team leaders and business owners will be doing everything they can to ensure the survival of their brand and continuity of service. To chat to us in more detail about anything covered in today’s blog, or to learn more about our Survive and Thrive Digital Toolkits simply click here.

We’re here to help you engage with your staff and customers digitally throughout the current crisis, so please do not hesitate to contact us today at brightideas@pistachiodesign.com or by calling 01628 882990.

Stay home and stay safe!