Zeitgeist Du Jour

We started out this month talking about how we as biopharma communicators can foster a social-first employee partnership, despite the abounding compliance issues we face.

We’re CLOSING the month by looking at this in reverse, thinking about, as Digiday put it last week, “how extremely online culture is showing up outside of social media.”

The White House recently hosted a Creator Economy Conference, and the president told folks in attendance that they’re “the future.”

There are SO many microtrends these days, most of which seem to originate on the Tik-Tok.

We’re not even on Tik-Tok but know about them.

Why? Because we hear about them somewhere else.

When we google terms like “demure” and “brat,” we see explainers from major news orgs like the BBC and NBC.

We’ve started seeing thoughtful reflections and analysis about these terms – particularly in our comms world – on other platforms, like here, on LinkedIn.

Beyond ensuring awareness of what we in the biz may term big news stories and key mentions of our orgs and clients on social, we’re going to need to start to be fluent in some of these trends, too.

While there might be the occasional opportunity for a brand or executive in our industry to publicly hop on a trending bandwagon, we don’t see that very frequently – understandable.

But because what’s happening online is becoming part of our OFFLINE culture, that means that we are the de facto arbiters of figuring out how that translates to integrated comms strategies, including employee engagement.

Understanding the zeitgeist du jour and finding small ways to allude to some of them internally is another way to show that company leaders are attuned to what our colleagues are experiencing outside of the lab and office.

Social-First Employee Partnerships

Do you remember when, a few months ago, a Chick-Fil-A employee got in trouble for posting favorable TikToks about their sandwiches?

She resigned soon thereafter and immediately signed a deal with Shake Shack for THEIR chicken sandwich.

Unless you work at a big pharma company with a really, really good in-house cafeteria, your colleagues probably won’t be posting about chicken on their lunch breaks.

But they may want to post about a day in the life at the lab bench or the moving remarks from a visiting patient advocate.

Many of us communicators have been trained to be SO careful that you may start to feel butterflies in your stomach at the mere mention of these scenarios.

In this age of mixternal communications, where there’s no longer a brick wall separating internal and external, a key opportunity to promote our orgs’ values, goals and messaging is through employee ambassadors via – you guessed it – their PERSONAL social media accounts.

You may have to be the bearer of bad news to Legal when you inform them that, no, in fact you should not require employees to seek approval every time they want to mention your company’s name in a social post.

The risk is there, sure, but in our role as communicators, we can mitigate this by actually encouraging colleagues to post by providing positively-oriented guidelines and resources.

That’s the difference between a list with a bunch of red x’s and suggestions for what type of content is not only permissible but invited.

This is one of those instances where, instead of being the gatekeeper, we can be a supporter, a champion of change, and an advocate for both employees and corporate.

Avoiding the Inaction Trap

Whether to start a new DEI initiative at your company or with a client can sometimes feel like a game of chicken.

The leadership team might be saying, “Well, employees aren’t asking for it.” Or “No one seems unhappy.” Or the classic, “III haven’t heard anyone complain. No one’s said anything to ME.”

And then on the other end, there might be whispered frustrations in the lab or in the break room: “I know we changed our logo on social, and I read the email, but what else are we doing?”

There were lots of good nuggets coming out of this month’s Comm Convo with LGBTQ advocate Lex Clay, and here’s another one: “Inaction acts sort of as a vacuum for something worse to fill it.”

Avoid the trap.

Regardless of where you sit in your org, comms touches everything.

And we can use that–as an excuse if need be–to catalyze change, even if it means doing it covertly. We have that power.

Maybe it’s a meeting of the minds and you don’t call it an ERG yet. Maybe including optional pronouns in email signatures is part of the next brand resource refresh.

The most effective DEI programs are going to be those where leaders walk the talk, YET employees feel empowered to start–and to lead–grassroots initiatives.

It’s when those two things meet in the middle that we see progress.

Creating Safe Spaces

We as communicators hold ourselves to high standards and because of that, often feel the weight of our orgs’ and clients’ stances on our shoulders.

Slow or lack of DEI-related progress can be frustrating.

Last week’s Comm Convo with LGBTQ+ advocate Lex Clay reminded us, however, of the power of leading by example to create safe spaces – which we are usually in a position to do as comms practitioners.

Those actions that you might perceive as little could make a world of difference to someone in an underrepresented or marginalized community, he said.

Visible examples here are wearing a small pride pin, having a sticker in your office, or adding pronouns to your Zoom name and email signature.

He also pointed out that how we typically comport ourselves and being sensitive to the issues, showing compassion, does not go unnoticed.

Lex spoke of a world in the future when maybe we no longer need awareness days and months because we as a society have built the infrastructure to truly support representation, and also integration, of diverse communities.

Until then, though, yes, while we can continue to do our part to advocate for systemic change, we can still make an impact by creating safe spaces for friends and colleagues, and not taking for granted those so-called small actions.

This week, we challenge you to think twice about those day-to-day actions that could facilitate safe spaces. Use your position as a face of the company or a speaker for leadership to model and inspire inclusive behavior.

As Lex said, “The people who need the help or the comfort will know that you’re safe.”

Non-Performative DEI

It’s the first week in June. As I speak, almost all biopharma logos will have turned rainbow.

Love to see this.

And now with Juneteenth being a federal holiday in the US, orgs would be remiss not to acknowledge its significance.

That’s all well and good, too.

But come June 30th, all of us communicators who manage our orgs’ social media accounts will notice that calendar reminder to flip those rainbow logos back to their normal colors and to coordinate with HR and Operations to take down the Pride flags and Juneteenth commemoration materials from the office.

What happens on July 1st?

That’s the question we are challenging you to contemplate NOW.

Throughout this month, consider how you’re setting up your teams, educating your leadership, and creating awareness among employees and other stakeholders to foster SUSTAINABLE progress toward a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and world- beyond June 30th.

What’s Next for Biopharma Comms

Communications in biopharma–and beyond–is undergoing a transformational shift right now.

Our function is moving away from “comms” towards strategic corporate affairs, with advising on and communicating decisions that drive a company forward now being recognized as twin necessities.

Corporate affairs is a pivotal partner in achieving business success. And if it’s not at your organization or with your clients, it should be!

Edelman reported last fall that “comms leaders are increasingly informing and advising the enterprise on strategy,” with “more than half surveyed [who] consider themselves to be a strategic advisor or partner.”

Although we may not see this put into practice across biopharma yet, especially among early- and mid-stage companies, it’s time for us to challenge conventional preconceptions and embrace critical business advisory and decision-making roles in our orgs.

A few tangible examples of what this looks like day-to-day: Job titles evolving to reflect the more holistic “corporate affairs” nature of our roles.

Not asking to be on the leadership team, and once you’re there, having clear expectations set from the top down on how the C-suite should partner with and consult your function.

Internal business partners fishing for themselves, so to speak, while consulting you on campaign approach without expecting you to simply write their emails.

What experiences have you had, and what are you proactively doing to become an even more strategic communicator?

You’ve got this! Follow along with us at Ticket to Biotech to access new resources this year to support your professional growth, regardless if you’re just starting out or are a seasoned communicator.

Social Impact as an Employee Engagement Strategy

We heard from Sarah MacDonald last week that part of the value of community impact initiatives lies in the opportunity to connect employees with our companies’ and clients’ mission in another way.

We’ve all seen stats similar to this one published in Forbes last year: Three-quarters of US survey respondents indicated they want to work for a company that is trying to have a positive impact on the world.

Even in our industry, as we’ve discussed here at T2B, making medicines is only a piece of that purpose-driven work we so often speak about.

Whether you’re supporting team outings centered around community service, clothing and food drives, or care kit assemblies for patients at local hospitals, as communicators, we have a responsibility to also incorporate this work into our companies’ and clients’ narratives:

It’s not enough to have C-suite support for your initiative. Work with the executive assistants to have all your leaders actively participate.

Regardless if your org has a formal corporate social responsibility program, don’t leave impact initiatives only to your HR and corporate affairs teams. Internal promotion starts at the top, but as Sarah reminded us, it needs to be in line with the leadership team’s expectations and priorities.

Assign your org’s leaders responsibilities, even if that means simply showing up and being engaged. Be clear about their role in the context of any planned activities.

Capture and celebrate with your org the impact your initiatives have, and talk with employees about how you’re going to continue building on that moving forward.

Incorporate the work you’re doing in your communities into your actual communications materials, whether that’s social media, corporate website, intranet or digital signage.

Take advantage of the long shelf life of this work by partnering with your People & Culture and HR teams on how to weave it into talent branding and onboarding resources.

Tell us how you’ve successfully engaged your companies and clients at all levels of the org to engender even greater commitment to living our values and working toward our mission.