Good Times or Bad: When Should We Communicate the Most?

When do you feel most comfortable speaking about your organization?

If you're like most people, you like to share good news. You are confident speaking about success. New initiatives are exciting and you want to share that excitement with stakeholders. Cheque presentations with the inevitable "grip and grin" photos abound for this very reason.

This is certainly part of an effective communications program. But there are other times when your communication takes on even greater importance.

It's very hard to make it through more than a couple of pages of a national newspaper today without coming across an article recounting the trials and tribulations of an individual or organization.

How do you feel about doing a media interview about a challenge you are facing? This is exactly the time to have a communications professional in your "hip pocket". Why? One word: objectivity. A seasoned, objective professional will prepare you to confidently address the situation at hand, internally, externally or both.

Stakeholders need reassurance. Your employees, clients, funding agencies, lenders and suppliers need to know you are in control. If you don't tell them your side of the story, other versions WILL come out, with varying levels of accuracy. Publicly-traded companies have protocols to follow when it comes to disclosing material information, and they must be respected, but this does not reduce the requirement to manage public relations effectively. An investment in effective public relations is arguably more of a priority in times of turmoil and fiscal restraint than at any other time; it may prove to the the most important means of rallying the support necessary for survival today and prosperity tomorrow.

Change is constant. Individuals and organizations enjoy periods of success and challenge, sometimes simultaneously. Communicate when you feel you want to; communicate even more when you don't.