Beekeeper holding second COVID-19 webinar

THE NEXT INSTALLMENT in mobile communication software producer Beekeeper’s COVID-19 webinar series will be held April. It will focus on providing information to furloughed employees.

“Communicating with Furloughed Employees —Getting it Right” will be led by David Sherwyn, director of the Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations and the John and Melissa Ceriale Professor of Hospitality Human Resources. The webinar panelists include Sandy Gentles, vice president for Talent Point by Marriott; Efrat Schulman, labor and employment partner at JONES DAY; and Andrada Paraschiv, Beekeeper head of hospitality and former executive director of communications and strategy of FRHI Hotels & Resorts.

“Furloughed employees are trying desperately to navigate the current uncertainty,” Paraschiv said. “They are hungry for any piece of information that brings direction and provides a support system to help them cope. As a result, some have started Facebook groups to keep in touch with co-workers. While messaging on these types of social channels is positive for the most part, it can also be risky for the property or brand.”

The situation is even more frustrating for management, she said.

“Companies simply can’t afford to have a communication gap at this time,” Paraschiv said. “Digital communication is the only scalable way for employers to connect with their remote workforce and get ready to ramp up once this crisis ends. We hope everyone will join us for this critical discussion to better understand the operational and legal implications if we fail to communicate and engage with our employees at this time.”

Crisis communication also was the topic of a recent article by Nicole Dehler, vice president of product for StayNTouch.