Pandemic Fuels Communication Innovation: Cummins

Despite battling big problems related to COVID-19, communicators at companies around the world deployed new, innovative approaches and utilized solid crisis communications skills to break through and engage their key audiences. This is part of a series of articles taking a look at the pioneering programs Page Up members deployed to drive change in their orgs. Contact jhaddad@page.org if you have a great story to tell.

Cummins 

As with many global manufacturing companies, the early days of the pandemic challenged Cummins’ supply chain. Employees worked around the clock to ensure the company could continue delivering for customers while keeping employees safe. As weeks of working at this break-neck pace turned into months, Cummins needed a way to show appreciation and boost morale for the thousands of employees sacrificing so much to help the company endure the pandemic. The Communications team came up with the idea for Behind the Pandemic – a video-based miniseries that went behind the scenes of critical parts of the business to show what it takes to mitigate the impacts of a pandemic on the global workforce.  

Results

Behind the Pandemic comprised six, three-minute videos featuring employees across the organization telling stories of their sacrifices and contributions to keep their fellow employees safe, customers supplied and communities supported. This project was completed very quickly and at virtually no cost to the company, leveraging existing resources such as their in-house video editor. The effort generated strong viewership and engagement from employees around the world. A couple of excerpts from employee reactions to the videos include the following: 

I think you guys are doing a fantastic job and Cummins as a whole is leading in these troubled times. I have talked to many friends and families that are working in locations that are doing only a fraction if anything of what Cummins is doing around keeping its employees safe. THANK YOU for all you are doing!

What a beautiful way to start the week. Thank you to our leadership for their trustworthiness. In all the uncertainty these past four months, I have always felt certain I could count on you to keep our employees safe and our company running. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am honored to work for Cummins and the good men and women who lead it. Take care and stay safe.

Behind the Pandemic made visible the otherwise invisible stories about the resilience and dedication demonstrated by thousands of employees in the face of one of the largest challenges the company has endured in its 101-year history. While the miniseries was targeted at internal audiences, the first episode is available for viewing via YouTube.