THE COVID-19 pandemic has sent shockwaves globally and the ripple effect continues to be felt nine months on by companies in Malaysia and around the world.
While bottom lines and profit are important factors to keep organisations afloat, constant communication is vital to demonstrate transparency that the company is in control of the situation and concerned about the well-being of its stakeholders.
This is revealed in a recent finding from industry survey, the inaugural Centriq PR Communications Pulse which studied impact of the pandemic and movement control order (MCO) on the communication behaviour of Malaysian companies.
The survey involved 140 respondents from diverse industries including manufacturing, property, banking and finance as well as education. They ranged from CEOs and business owners to heads of marketing, communications and PR.
Nudged by the urgency to adapt, the survey found 96% of respondents changed the way they communicated with stakeholders since COVID-19 hit Malaysian shores and the implementation of MCO on March 18.
As a starter, 86% of respondents stated they had a communication plan in place to mitigate such situations while 14% did not have a plan.
When asked about the audience groups prioritised while stepping-up communication efforts since the MCO, 68% of respondents stated they communicated more with employees, followed by customers (65%), while business partners and the community were tied at 51%.
Government (42%) and the media (35%) were ranked lowest in terms of communication engagement among companies in Malaysia since the MCO.
Elsewhere, the survey also found that respondents believed sales and marketing (49%), operations (44%), finance (39%) and technology (38%) functions in the company were far more important since the MCO.
By contrast, public relations (32%), human resource (32%) and efforts to facilitate Industry 4.0 advancements (21%) were the least prioritised.
Similarly, communication to stakeholders since the MCO were centered on sales and marketing (46%), technology (44%), operations (41%) and human resource (39%).
Meanwhile, low levels of communication were indicated among stakeholders in PR and communications (38%), finance (32%), and Industry 4.0 (25%).
English remained the language of business for 89% of respondents when communicating with stakeholders, while 8% of respondents preferred Bahasa Malaysia as a main medium of communication.
“Communication is vital in these uncertain times,” Centriq PR managing director Jacqueline Arnold pointed out.
“Proper communication with stakeholders, be they employees, customers, vendors, and other business partners, will help maintain confidence and goodwill, and ultimately support the organisation’s long term business objectives and profitability.”
As the virus is not going away any time soon, businesses will have to explore new norms to conduct business and communicate with stakeholders, added Arnold. – Dec 16, 2020
