Dan Slee

It looks like we’re at a really odd stage of the pandemic with a UK Government announcement due to end restrictions.

UK Government has announced plans to end legal restrictions. So, no more requirement to self-isolate after a positive COVID-19 result. Free testing also is set to end.

The British Medical Association have described this as ‘odd.’

The World Health Organisation call the plans ‘alarming.‘

There have been warnings of a surge in numbers.

The UK Government’s own figures show 74 daily deaths and 25,696 confirmed cases.

But isn’t what Boris Johnson said true? That the jabs have blunted the worst?

Public Sector communicators across the UK now find themselves faced with a series of dilemmas.

How do they commmunicate these changes?

Will they?

I’ll dodge the politics of all this and just concentrate on the practical dilemmas facing NHS, police, central and local government comms people.

For police, this is relatively straight forward. The law is black and white. But tempers are likely to fray between those happy and those looking to maintain protection.

For everyone else, this is likely to be trickier.

The legal restrictions are gone in England but will people still ask to take precautions?

Here’s a few dilemmas.

The Boris Johnson trust dilemma

Ipsos MORI’s veracity indsex on trust put doctors trusted by 91 per cent of the politicians and politicians trusted by 19 per cent. Polling data on Boris Johnson himself put him far into negative equity following a collapse in personal trust. He’s not trusted by 69 per cent of the population in February 2022.

So, do public sector comms put the Prime Minister front and central of their campaigns or not?

Will there be health professionals queing up to add their weight to this eye-catching move?

The Trust me, I’m a health professional dilemma

Without the strong support of the NHS and Public Health its hard to see how the rule changes can be communicated effectively in a way that will cut through.

Pressure, I’m sure, will be placed on the NHS to tow the line but will it? And will public health who are at arms length in local government?

Will the message instead by a request to comply with mask wearing and social distancing? Particularly in hospitals and GP surgeries.

So far, as the UK we’ve done comparatively well with complying with messages compared to other countries. The Cummings effect led to a measurable fall in trust. Whitehall’s Partygate did similar.

Will this add to the fracturing of compliance?

The U-turn dilemma

For the past two yearts a central plank of COVID-19 comms has been the importance of self-isolating, social distancing and you playing your part.

Any campaign message that looks to reverse this is in for a tricky time.

Last week it was this and now its that, they’ll say. Which one is it? And who do I believe?

And what about if we have to bring restrictions back?

The anti-vax dilemma

Always through the pandemic there has been a strain who have refused to believ ethe health messages. At the start, it was because it was a hoax. Then it was that the vaccines wouldn’t work. Then that they would give you health risks.

Like playing whack-a-mole, public sector communicators have countered the messages by and large successfully.

Hang on a minute, they’ll say. It can’t be much of a virus if you legally don’t have to stop going to work. Clearly, it was lies all along.

So how does the campaign for a 4th jab work?

The devolved government dilemma

Lastly, Wales, Northern Ireland Scotland can make their own decisions.

Who are they likely to follow?

Medical professionals or a beleagered Downing Street?

Do we trust the Welsh message? Or the English?

Good luck, everyone.

EDIT:

The announcement was made and Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance insisted that COVID-19 still had the potential to be dangerous and more dangerous strains were likely.

In other words, we now have two speed communications. What the politicians say and what public health says.

Good luck, everyone.

A hospital saw a terror attack. Andrew Duggan, Head of Communications, Marketing & Engagement at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust has reflected on the learning.

by Andrew Duggan

Just before 11am on Sunday 14^th November 2021, a car explosion occurred outside the main entrance of Liverpool Women’s Hospital. It was later confirmed that this explosion was an act of terror.

The incident was extremely traumatic and upsetting for everyone, in particular our patients, families and members of staff at the hospital.

It feels flippant to say that ‘it could have been worse’ but there is no escaping the fact that as we now know the intention of the attack was to cause much more harm than it did, we are at least fortunate that the outcome was not more severe.

If you followed the news at the time of the incident you will probably know what happened and if you don’t there are plenty of news articles online to find out (like this one: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-59287001). So for the purpose of this blog I will assume you know about the incident.

A little bit about me first. My name is Andrew Duggan and I am the Head of Communications, Marketing & Engagement at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. I lead a small comms team and we were responsible for leading the communications response to the incident on behalf of the Trust.

Firstly, this blog is merely a product of my own personal reflections on the challenges of leading the communications response during and following the incident, what I experienced and what I would advise others to consider as a result. It isn’t intended to be a list of best practice actions or a lecture on how YOU should do things. It’s just a few pointers that may or may not work for you.

I hope this is of some use to anyone who may be thinking ‘how would we have dealt with that incident?’. The truth is we will all deal with things differently. This is my take on it all, summarised in 20 short points.

#1 When you get the call, remember your essentials and prepare for the long haul
After the initial shock of whatever news you receive, at some point you’ll need to do things. Resist the urge to speed into work unprepared. Remember your ID badge, laptop, phone charger and whatever else you normally take into work. It might delay you by a few minutes but you need to be well prepared because you’ll potentially be in this for the long haul. It’s an unnecessary inconvenience to yourself having to let someone buzz you through doors or on printers because you dashed in without your essentials – it’s an honourable move but ultimately hampers you in the long run.

#2 Keep your own log as early and as accurately as possible
This will be a combination of a to-do list, diary, journal – basically your go-to resource for actions and reflections during and after the event. You will also use this information for reviewing your work after the event as evidence. So keep a note of calls, conversations, actions, and a log of your comms output throughout the event with times and dates. It will save a lot of retrospective searching and collating later on.

#3 Action cards do not prepare you for real life
You will most likely have some form of major incident comms action cards in your organisation. This is valuable information to have on file and will be of use to many in the organisation other than comms. The reality however is that they are of limited use to you and your team during a live incident. You will most likely call on the resources that naturally work most effectively to meet your needs. You know the tools that work, you know the people, and you have the What’s App groups. You will always need the formal action cards but you will do a lot of things naturally via your most effective routes.

#4 Share the load
The most senior comms person will understandably be the individual who will be called upon initially and a lot of the responsibility will fall to you. But call on your team early and don’t try to do it all alone. You will need rest and recuperation at some point so you need to make sure you are all close to the workload and can share responsibilities.

#5 Collaboration and support provides a boost
You will be blown away by the offers of support and mutual aid that will come your way through your social media networks from peers and colleagues far and wide. You will be full on and it will be difficult to digest those offers straight away, or even find the time to say thank you. But knowing your peers and colleagues are there for you is a huge boost. So even though you might not get a reply, don’t underestimate how far a friendly text goes to show your support – it means a lot.

#6 Limit your signposting to a dedicated resource for updates
When you start your comms journey in response to a significant event or incident there will be a never-ending flurry of essential messages to distribute to various audiences. It’s essential that you establish ONE clear and simple signposting resource that ideally all of your updates can lead to. A prime example would be a live news page on your website. All roads should lead to one live location which can be updated easily. It will make your life easier and will keep the messaging clear and easily accessible for key stakeholders.

#7 You’ll need a tone and style so try and decide what it is early on
This will depend on the event you are experiencing but aside from the essential ‘need to know’ messages, the longer an incident unfolds the more you will need to think about a tone or style to adopt with your comms output. You will need to use your creativity and instincts for this but the most important thing is to keep your audience engaged and reassured. Focussing on positivity, kindness, and togetherness is likely to work well.

#8 Is that list of key spokespeople up to date?
We all have an idea in our heads about who we should ask to front up public speaking requirements whether it be staff briefings or media interviews. But how up to date is your go-to list? With personnel in most organisations occasionally or regularly changing, it’s important to make sure that you have a suitable bank of people who you can call upon in a crisis and more importantly that they know they are on your list. It doesn’t always have to be your CEO. For the purpose of planning for a crisis try to have at least three primary spokespeople who are good under pressure.

#9 Stepdown BAU tasks and don’t forget things that might fall through the net
You will inevitably be swamped, and all focus will be on the incident you are dealing with, so it is sensible to stepdown anything that is non-essential. But when doing this don’t forget certain things that may not be in your line of sight to pull. For example, did you remember to cancel that scheduled Tweet that will be going out about something trivial in a few hours’ time? Be careful to not unintentionally appear insensitive due to something automated not being pulled down.

#10 Don’t get frustrated if people are asking you for BAU support
Point #9 above is an important one but don’t be surprised if during the chaos you still come across random requests for help with seemingly un-important tasks. If people do this, although you will politely ignore the requests for now, try to take the positives that it’s likely to be a good sign that your comms approach is working and you are keeping people calm and reassured enough that allows them to get on with their job.

#11 Make social do the media hard work for you
The social media noise will be big and the media enquiries will be consistent. It will take you a little while to get to grips with both but if you can make them complement each other and allow your social media approach to manage some of the message it will help all parties who are seeking regular updates. Where possible, broadcast via your own social media honestly, emotionally and regularly to keep people informed but to also help shape your media coverage. You won’t be able to accommodate all the media requests but they will appreciate notifications in advance about any content you have planned for online.

#12 Have you got a resilient set up?
Unless you have tested this you won’t know until you encounter an event. But a good place to start is to ask, ‘What if?’. What if your Head of Comms was on holiday? What if a couple of members of your team were poorly and unavailable? Some of these things are outside of your control but a reliable resilience plan to call on in the form of paid support at short notice or a mutual aid agreement with partner organisations may give that added assurance to your organisation.  

#13 It is strangely calm in the eye of the storm
From the outside we see incidents occurring and it looks chaotic and impossible to deal with. In reality it’s relatively calm. There is lots of waiting for information, thinking, reflecting and preparation. However, the calmness is often the most exhausting part if you are caught up in it and the adrenaline comes and goes. Don’t feel guilty about using the quieter periods to take stock and re-charge.

#14 Move on and move forward as soon as you can
No matter what the incident is it will be time limited. Whilst you have to respect sensitivities it is also important to focus on optimism and what the longer-term plans are. How are you going to keep people reassured and feeling safe one week, two weeks, six months from now? When it’s possible to do so, start planning your comms beyond the here and now.

#15 Don’t under-estimate the aftermath
The impact of an incident doesn’t end when a situation is declared safe and things get back to normal. There will be de-briefs, reflections, reviews and workstreams with multiple actions for a long time after any significant incident. It’s time consuming and can be just as challenging as the incident itself, especially when most of the organisation is in a back to normal mindset and the day job requirements resume.

#16 Nobody is perfect – accept and address the gaps
A significant event can really expose areas for improvement both personally and operationally. If your comms resilience is not good enough or your team/function needs investment, do not let a crisis go to waste – it is the best form of evidence to justify any changes or improvements you might need. 

#17 Find the positives
These events are probably going to be a once in a lifetime thing so try to appreciate the valuable experience you’ll take from it, and the small part you are playing in responding to a challenging situation. This will keep you focussed and motivated during your toughest moments.  

#18 Do this
Don’t be shy. Share your experiences with people. You will be asked to share your learning and this is a good way to showcase what you did well and what you could have done better. It’s important to help each other.

#19 It is true that people come together
As comms people we can all get down on modern life sometimes and shake our heads at how people talk to each other or interact face to face and online but these events do often bring out the best in people. Whether it’s offers of help or just kind words, people generally show each other the love in times of a crisis… even on Twitter.  

#20 If you haven’t already got a good contact network, build one now
Like many things in life today, when you are dealing with an unexpected incident you’ll do a lot of your good work via various What’s App conversations. Being in pre-existing groups with colleagues, partner organisations, and other sector comms leads is a big help. Having established contact groups (on whatever platform) is invaluable when you need to dialogue with certain people regularly and quickly in times of a crisis. It saves time and duplication. So if you aren’t well networked already, work on doing so now. You never know when you might need it.

Andrew Duggan is Head of Communications, Marketing & Engagement at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust.

Dealing with Facebook comments is not a new issue but dealing with it well can lead to a round of applause.

Step fiorward Northamptonshire Police, whose online comms I’ve followed for a while.

In a court story on the banning order of a football supporter found guilty of homophobic.

So far so straightforward.

Enter Facebook user ‘Gary’ who puts his own views forward criticising the court decision.

Of copurse, the decision making for the admin is how to react.

Let’s look at the options.

Leave it.

Hide it or delete it.

Challenge it.

They decide to challenge it.

The resoponse is more than 300 likes in less than a quarter of an hour.

It’s fair to say that the internet is not on Gary’s side this morning.

The police also have the advantage of support from other users to challenge Gery’s world view.

Of course, its worth keeping tabs on to stop things from getting out of hand. But broadly, the approach here works well.

Bravo, Northants Police.

It seems like a stage of the pandemic to reflect on where I am and and where I’m going.

March 23 2022 is two years since the first lockdown in the UK and the moment things changed.

For some, that change has been fatal. There is no pain like the memory of happiness recalled while grief is present. Any disruption I’ve experienced is a inconvenience compared to the deep pain of loss.

COVID-19 has led to the deaths of 159,000 people so far in the UK. One day not long ago I disappeared down a rabbit hole with a calculator to work out what this unspoken loss is equivalent to. Tapping the numbers, I worked out that pandemic deaths are equivalent to 197.9 Hillsborough disasters.

It’s also 98.4 Zeebrugge ferry disasters and 113 Piper Alphas. All these moments temporarily dominated the news in my younger years. In the pandemic, lets not forget that they happened daily and as we grew more tired often without comment.

With calculator in hand, I also worked out that if all the coffins were put side by side it should stretch 72 miles and take more than three hours to pass travelling in a car at funeral cortege speed. I think I did all this working out because I wanted a fresh view to try and feel a sense of shock that had been numbed out of me by months of the pandemic.

The pandemic has been light and shade and different for all of us.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown TV broadcast was seen by more than 27 million people. It was the Neville Chamberlain on the radio declaring war on Germany moment for everyone born after 1945.

Me?

I deliberately missed it. I was ill in bed with COVID-19 at a time when the death rate was worryingly high and the jab unknown. My business, which depended on face-to-face training vanished overnight. I didn’t need the extra stress so I didn’t listen to the announcement. I lay in bed able to feel my lungs from the sharp pin pricks of pain when I breathed in and I looked out at the Spring blue sky.

In the early days, while people in the public sector frontline were in a dark tunnel of 18-hour days I took eight months to work a full day. Walking 20 minutes a day would wipe me out. I worked in slowly lengthening bursts on external projects until I was able to relaunch training online in late 2020.

What I relaunched was much changed from my previous life. In 2019, I averaged three nights a week away training and would spend all day with a team. That’s changed by and large to programmes split into slabs of an hour or so online.

It feels wrong to say I’ve been excited by working out how I can innovate. But I have. I’ve not missed the travel. I’ve loved seeing my family. If there is a set of happy memories its the mid-week walks exploring Ordnance Survey mapped paths in North Worcestershire 15-minutes from home.

But this is the pattern we have. It’s individual and has light and shade.

Stressed or excited?

There is still a long shadow. Our mental health has worsened. A friend talks about a teacher talking about 90 per cent of children in her school showing some form of anxiety.

Those comms people who have worked through it in NHS, police and local government in particular are often scarred by the experience.

In the Second World War, the event that dominated my parent’s early lives, there was a final moment. A VE Day and a VJ Day. A raising of the Soviet flag over the Reichstag. A defining moment. We won’t have that.

We think that nothing will be the same but the people who lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic after the First World War thought the same, too. As others have pointed out, there are no memorials to this pandemic because death was terrifyingly close to home and not shielded from loved ones by a boy sent from the War Office with a telegram.

Liberated?

Women liberated by war work had their freedoms curtailed by Daily Mail editorials incensed at the lack of a pool of working class women prepared to go back to pre-war service in middle class houses. It would be decades before the door opened for them once again.

If we think that hybrid working could be with us for good history warns us not to be so hasty.

Public sector comms at its best has been innovative, lifesaving and has saved lives.

If we think the job is done and comms with forever more be taken with reverential seriousness history also warns us not to be so quick.

Here’s where I am.

Where are you?

I’ve blogged in the past about the need for human content as well as calls to action.

If all you do is badger, harangue and nag people then don’t be surprised if they stop listening to you.

I’ve long thought that the Paretto Principle, a balance of 80 to 20, is ideal for a healthy social media channel.

The first social media manager at Asda has spoken about getting this balance right too and avoiding ‘diarrhea’.

It’s one of the reasons why I love Niall Walsh’s post on running a successful local government TikTok strategy. It talks about jabs and punches. The routine punch and then the big booming call to action. It’s a mix.

What does 80 content look like?

The human, interesting and engaging content can be found widely on the internet.

Looking through my timeline, as aI scroll I see @thisisrangerkeith the environmental educator from, Tennessee with a TikTok on whether or not birds talk to each other in the wild. Spoiler: yes, they do. In winter they often forrage for different things in the same spot.

On Instagram, there’s a colourful pic of Chinese New Year from Manchester City Council.

See more

On Instagram, the police dogs of Police Scotland.

See more

On LinkedIn, it’s a post by Laura Wiffen celebrating her seven years since being an apprentice at Braintree District Council.

In other words

In short, 80 per cent cent content is stuff not asking me to sign-up for things you really want me to.

Give me some fun stuff and I’ll stick around.

This week Facebook for the first time reported a falling user metric and within days I clocked the first think piece wondering if it was now dead.

Dead with almost two billion daily users? Really?

It’s time to have a rational think about where Facebook is and what comes next.

Facebook is a company that owns four of the top five UK social media platforms. It owns Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger as well as the blue and white original Facebook platform.

What did the results say? In their press release Meta point to company turnover in 2021 increased by 37 per cent to 117 billion dollars and that daily active users were up by five per cent year-on-year. That said, clearly Wall Street analysts looked at the figures and didn’t like what they saw wiping billions of share value from the company in a day.

Facebook has long had its critics and there has been periodic movements to quit Facebook which have done little so far to arrest the upward trajectory.

There are definite legitimate criticisms with the Cambridge Analytica episode and others questioning the role that Big Tech play in the democratic process.

There is also an awkward future as this fascinating Twitter thread points out.

When I was a press officer I answered the phone to a range of titles I wasn’t personally keen on. But that’s just it. As a communicator what I personally think of a platform is irrelevant. The yardstick should be to ask if my audience is there. If it is then it makes sense to try and speak to people there. 

That said, I’ve long joked that until there was a better way to share cat videos then Facebook would be around for some time yet. I first made that observation well before TikTok was an invention. I’d say that TikTok is far better at distributing feline clips for most of the time.  

It’s next stated challenge is to build an immersive web ecosystem it has called the metaverse. This sounds too close to Second Life for my liking but we shall see if they succeed.

One day there will not be a Facebook just as there is no longer a News of the World.

But if if the data says your audience is there then its still part of the mix.