Communicate — be clear about what is happening and the value of the change, Collaborate — build trust, treat people with respect and integrity Commit — deliver on the change, demonstrate the value and move forward Dr David Halpern and Professor Steve Reicher, two behavioural scientists gave evidence in January 2021 to a Parliamentary Committee to outline what had and hadn’t worked in terms of the Government’s management of people’s behaviour during Covid. Reicher said: “One area is the importance of the clarity of messaging. When we had the message ‘'Stay Home', 96 per cent of people understood it. When it changed to 'Stay Alert', 31 per cent of people understood. It wasn't clear what it meant. It wasn't clear what people were supposed to do with it. It violated core principles of messaging… which is the basis of building up that relationship of trust.” So, being clear about the change, communicating it effectively and building trust was key. A lack of clarity leads to confusion and distrust. Reicher said that the change will come if people really understand why the change is being asked of them. He added: “People aren't stupid. We've seen that people can take the pain, with huge suffering and difficulties, during the pandemic — but they won't do it for nothing. We won't take the pain with no gain. So, you need to show people that the measures that you're implementing are effective… there haven't been debates about whether we should have measures. They have 32
Communicate
Be clear about what is happening and the value of the change
Collaborate
ʻ When we had the message ‘Stay Home’, 96 per cent of people understood it. When it changed to ‘Stay Alert’, 31 per cent of people understood. It violated core principles of messaging. It wasn’t clear what it meant.ʼ
Build trust, treat people with respect and integrity
Commit
Deliver on the change, demonstrate the value and move forward
33
