When the Shoe is On the Other Foot: Taking My Own Crisis Communications Advice

This pandemic has broken a lot of hearts. Including my own.

As president of the board of directors for Camp Ramah in the Poconos, along with the executive director, I led the board in making the difficult decision to cancel the summer 2020 camp experience. This decision impacts hundreds of campers and their families, and creates a summer of joblessness for dozens of teens, disappoints countless parents and grandparents, and robs our community of the cherished opportunity to teach and share what we call “joyful Judaism.”

Camp Ramah is a $6-million organization offering a day camp, an overnight camp, and a unique program for kids with special needs. For the first time in our 70-year history, our programming is suspended for the summer.

I share this because it’s my professional life and experience with crisis communications that prepared me for the strategic and operational aspects of the announcement – but not the emotional impact. Nothing could prepare me for the hole in my heart or the tears in my eyes that appear every time I read a Facebook post, an email, or a text about what this camp and this community truly means to so many people. The outpouring of love and support from the community for us in having made the right decision was what provided us comfort. 

I have guided many leaders through their crisis communication strategies during COVID-19, but all of a sudden, I had to use the approach myself – and it has been illuminating. Here are ten things I learned “on the job” that I share in the hopes they’ll be helpful in your COVID-19 communications strategy moving forward. 

1. Put yourself in their shoes. If you read my articles and blogs regularly, you know I’m an evangelist for “know thy audience!” In this case, there were several – campers and families, young staff, “mature staff,” vendors who rely on our camp primarily in the summer, alumni, and the greater community. 

2. Leadership matters. As board president, I took a leadership role in the initial announcement, but the subsequent cadence of communications have been in the hands of an accomplished staff with an excellent leader. From pre-announcement calls to principal donors, and from heartfelt videos to countless Zoom calls, our incredibly sensitive and wise leader continues to be central to the healing of the community. Leadership matters. Trust matters. The combination of the two is key. 

3. Prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. The camp leadership started a “cancellation playbook” long before we were certain we had to cancel. We referred to it often, updating and editing it along the way. It was, and continues to be our guide, ensuring no audience is missed, no message is forgotten, no stone is left unturned. 

4. Keep editing. I’m a big believer in collaboration and by using GoogleDocs key stakeholders were able to suggest edits until the moment we pushed “send” on the announcement. Every communication must have the appropriate tone, and in our case, it was both solemn and empathetic, and we adapted until we agreed the messages were communicated the way we wanted.

5. Timing. A wise person once said, “Timing is everything,” and that’s the truth. No matter when a decision is reached, the timing for the public announcement is crucial. Just as knowing when to return a reporter’s call (something I manage daily) involves strategy, so does announcement timing. And perhaps now more than ever, as our lives are changing so quickly in the days of COVID-19.

6. Sincerity and Transparency. This announcement broke a lot of hearts, including ours, so we leaned into the emotion. We shared how we felt, shared the timeline of our decision-making process, and clearly outlined just a few of the practical reasons why camp couldn’t safely operate this summer:

• Not enough PPE for campers, staff, infirmary staff

• No ability and lack of products needed to disinfect the camper and staff bunks and public meeting spaces as often as required for safety 

• The local hospital has just eight beds for serious cases

• Food supplies are low; food costs are skyrocketing

• Our international staff, integral to the program, couldn’t come to the US

• And finally, but so important, we couldn’t prevent the kids from making out! (For goodness sake, that’s why they GO to camp!)

7. Don’t underestimate emotion. We all want to believe we can anticipate how people will feel or should feel upon hearing a serious announcement, be it a layoff, a furlough, or a cancellation. But we really can’t. No matter how you think the audience will respond, kick it up a notch (even two) and prepare for that. Then take it one step further and provide resources to help people cope. We had online resources for parents and staff, Zoom meetings for parents, Zoom meetings for campers, and online videos for everyone on how to deal with a loss like this.

8. Stay true to your values. Perhaps this shouldn’t be so far down on the list, but everyone says it. And if your organization is ethical and credible, you need to really mean it. And own it. Our top priority is the health and safety of our campers and staff. And we made the difficult decision this year that proved it. We used it in our messaging. We live by it. Period. End of story.

9. Seize the teaching moment. I had to lead a very emotional board meeting to finalize this decision, and with my many years in newsrooms and then in corporate America, I thought I was as prepared. But boy, there was still a lot to learn. Before the meeting, colleagues shared thoughts and insights for meeting flow, ideas on how to broach the more sensitive issues, and strategies to garner support for the final decision. Those new insights will forever alter my approach to negotiation and conflict resolution. The entire day was a teaching moment for me, and now I’m able to pay that forward with my clients.

10. Community matters. For those of you who went to summer camp, or are generous enough to send your children, you understand the community that is formed in these precious eight weeks every summer. The kids today say they live “10 for 2,” meaning they slog through ten months of the year for those delicious two months at camp. For 70 years, Camp Ramah in the Poconos has been building its community. We have generations of families there, and from the sentimental calls, texts, and emails we received after the announcement, community matters. And this is mine.

A pandemic can break your heart.