Covid-19 Communications Toolkit

Right now, communications and marketing teams are under immense pressure to keep up with the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19. With daily updates from the Government, nervous staff, unsure customers, as well as ensuring the wellbeing of your team; communicators are under pressure to ensure that the comms they bring out is timely, accurate, and ensures that stakeholders are left feeling reassured.

We’ve pulled together the best resources from experienced professionals across the industry to help you and your team manage your organisation’s crisis communications during these unprecedented times. As the situation is everchanging, we’ll be updating the list with the latest resources to continue supporting your team.

Last updated 5th June 2020

Managing Covid Communications

Reviewing and planning your crisis communications:

• Why communication professionals have a vital role to play in the wake of COVID-19

• Reviewing crisis communications in the wake of COVID-19 with Jonathan Hemus (webinar)​

• Crisis Planning (PDF)

Managing employee engagement throughout the crisis:

• Employee Engagement in times of crisis
• Three practical ways to share good news stories across your business
• Guide on communicating with furloughed employees (PDF)
• Supporting employees on furlough - from Mental Health UK

• Why keeping furloughed employees engaged is critical for the future of your business

• Supporting the mental health of furloughed workers during the coronavirus outbreak (PDF)

Public Health England have partnered with the NHS and local authorities across the UK to provide informative resources to support your crisis communications campaigns.

• COVID-19 Campaign Resource Centre

The Institute of Internal Communication (IoIC) provides a curated list of advice for internal communicators on how to address your organisation during this crisis. This is a must-have list for internal communicators to support your team.

• Coronavirus advice for internal communicators
• Support during the coronavirus (webinar)

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and CIPR Inside have provided guides on external and internal crisis communications.

• Communicating in a crisis (PDF download)
• Tips for communicating with employees in times of crisis (PDF download)

CIPR Inside Board Director, Advita Patel, writes on managing difficult communications during a crisis, and reminds communicators that keeping it simple is best. She also gives her best tips on how to communicate with front line workers, who may not have the ability to work from home or self-isolate during this time.