Planning, training, and exercises, as the foundational activities of preparedness, shouldn’t be stopping because of the pandemic. Preparedness is an ongoing activity which needs to forge ahead with little disruption – and there is always plenty to do! What must we do, though, to accommodate necessary precautions in the age of the Pandemic?

Let’s talk about planning first. The biggest relevant issue for planning is the conduct of stakeholder meetings. These may be larger group meetings to discuss and get buy-in on broader topics, or detailed small-group meetings to discuss very specific topics. Information, sometimes sensitive, is exchanged, presentations are given, and documents are reviewed. I’ve mentioned in various posts through the years the importance of properly preparing for meetings. Even for traditional in-person meetings, there are important things to consider, such as:

All of these rules still apply in a virtual world, perhaps with even more emphasis. While we’ve obviously had video meeting technology for a long time, we’ve discovered this year that many people haven’t used it much or at all until earlier this year. The surge in use has also brought attention to the plethora of tools which can be facilitated through video conference.

While the simple sharing of video supports most of our meeting needs, we can share screens...

— Curtis Mayfield, Musician

As we head into the last days of Q3 2020 the year shows no signs of slowing down. With months of experience under their belts, organizations that invested in preparedness and practice early on are becoming quite used to operating under ‘COVID law’ with its increased operational limitations. For them, the challenge has become one of, “How do we sustain this, possibly for many more months, until we can begin to return to normalcy?”

And, while there’s no doubt as to the importance of continuing to put product in front of potential buyers, we’re seeing a trend of organizations out there forgetting what may be the most important piece of ‘Keepin On’ during an extended crisis event, namely letting people know things are still OK!

Just look at your own workforce. Most folk have been incredibly adaptive, and work is getting done in droves even if we’re all dealing with the occasional exuberant child or proudly vocal dog in the background, but make no bones about it, people are stressed out.

Same for your customers, clients, and business partners. Many organizations have found ways to make things work, but for others there has been no option but to limit services or even shutter doors for good, leaving plenty of room for worry among those who rely on you being open day-to-day.

Now let me ask you — when was the last time you sent out a message with these vital audiences sharing that you’re okay, that your plans are holding strong, and that you have trust in your team to carry things forward? It may seem simple, but it’s a crisis prevention measure that’s worth far more than the time investment it requires.

If there’s an essential fact you want people to remember you need to keep putting it in front of them or the brain will naturally let it slide on out. Let people know you’re keepin on, keep it up, and you’ll be better positioned to maintain the level of “faith, warmth, and trust” that will carry you through any crisis situation.