Working Remotely With an Eye on the Future

As of this writing on March 24, I’m sitting at a desk in my New York apartment. I’m on day seven of working from home.

Like many other organizations, PRSA closed its office as the coronavirus outbreak traverses the country — as well as the rest of the globe. My co-workers are all safe, also on remote status, and collaborating quite well with one another (thank you, Microsoft Teams!) as we continue to serve the needs of PRSA and the PR community.

First and foremost, I hope that you are and your loved ones are all doing well during these difficult times.

We were nearly on press with this April issue, themed Social Purpose, as we starting working remotely, finishing up from afar with the help of our offsite proofreader and Chicago-based print shop.

Future issues of Strategies & Tactics will have more about this extraordinary crisis as the world continues to face historical challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, PRSA has gathered a timely collection of resources — from webinars to crisis-related articles — to assist you as you plan your ongoing communications.

At PRsay, our blog that serves as an extension of this paper, we published a handful of posts throughout March, including:

• “Avoiding Communication Fatigue as Coronavirus Separates Workforce”

• “COVID-19: Lessons of Past Pandemics Are More Timely Than Ever for Crisis Management”

• “Being Smart and Strategic When Navigating the Current News Cycle”

PRSA leaders and the Health Academy also created a downloadable infographic for a post published on March 17 titled “How Communicators Can Help Inform the Public During the COVID-19 Crisis.” They provide guidelines that you can use to initiate and support factual conversations in your community and with key stakeholders.

We started our coronavirus-related articles in early March with insights from T. Garland Stansell, APR, PRSA’s 2020 chair. In the post, Stansell, chief communications officer for Children’s of Alabama, the pediatric health system in Birmingham, advocates for timely yet accurate communications with a consistent tone and messaging across an organization.

Aside from the resources that you can find on PRSA.org, we encourage you to visit MyPRSA and join your fellow members as they work together and support one another while sharing ideas and best practices.

And be sure to explore the timely links to relevant news sources in Issues & Trends, the daily e-newsletter the publications team creates for PRSA members.

An eye on the future

Moving forward, PRSA will continue to monitor the spread and impact of COVID-19 and keep you updated.

Given the uncertainty about the continued trajectory of the virus and with everyone’s safety top of mind, PRSA made the difficult decision to cancel or postpone several national workshops and Section conferences scheduled for the spring. Please check PRSA.org for ongoing updates.

I am sending you healthy thoughts, and looking forward to seeing you again soon!