This month has seen a number of regulatory changes made in the UK.
Some have the potential to affect every type of business: the new Worker Protection Act comes into force on 26th October, introducing new responsibilities on all employers to take reasonable steps to protect their employees. Some are far more niche, but still impactful in their relevant sectors. For example, The Tipping Act in hospitality, and the new authorised push payment (APP) fraud scheme in financial services. The UK has also launched a new regulator, the Regulatory Innovation Office.
Keeping up with regulatory changes is routine for most businesses, but for anyone involved in communicating on behalf of impacted businesses, new laws and guidance represent more than a compliance challenge. It’s a chance to engage meaningfully with audiences.
Now is the ideal time to assess how well your corporate communications and PR strategies are addressing any updates.
Why is it important to communicate regulatory changes?
Clear and transparent communication around any issue impacting a sector, business, or stakeholders helps to build trust with your audiences. Your audiences need to know how the changes impact them. This is especially important in a climate where misinformation spreads quickly and easily – offering a speedy, clear, and accurate take on new rules positions your company as a reliable source of truth.
Communicating about the updates is also a chance to showcase businesses – and their spokespersons – as industry leaders. It’s going beyond the bare minimum of informing audiences about new regulations, to active thought leadership; interpreting, explaining, and even critiquing the changes demonstrates not only knowledge, but a willingness to help others.
It’s not just external activity that matters here. It’s essential to keep employees informed, so internal comms can be just as important. They might be worried about how their roles will be impacted or unsure whether the changes will require a shift in processes. For example, workers currently on zero-hours contracts may be wondering if the new Worker’s Rights Bill means they will have to take guaranteed hour contracts, and be reassured to know that they can stay on zero-hours if they prefer. Or, for The Tipping Act, they may be unsure if tips have to be pooled and shared out amongst all staff, or if they can keep money given directly to them. Depending on how well-known the regulations are, they may not have heard about the change at all yet. The information you share with them, and the way you share it, can impact morale, productivity, and retention.
Amplifying your regulatory change comms
To truly stand out from the noise around regulatory change, fresh facts and figures are an impactful way to bring something new to the conversation – this could be research that shows the potential impact of the new regulations, or a survey that reveals the public’s perception of the issue. It could even be data from the business itself, demonstrating the scale of the problem the changes are intended to address. These statistics enhance credibility and help audiences to understand the broader context.
Media outreach is another powerful tool. Data insights are one option to share with relevant publications. Businesses can put forward an expert spokesperson’s opinion, advice, or predictions for the new rules. If the organisation is tackling the changes in a particularly innovative way, or was complying with the regulations before they even came into force, this is an opportunity to publicly share the approach. It’s more than being part of the conversation – it’s leading it.
Creating useful resources to share with audiences will help them to understand complex information around the regulations. Whitepapers, Q&As, how-to guides, and infographics are just some of the tools you can provide using information you already have available. For a more interactive touch, hosting webinars and roundtables is an effective way to create opportunities for learning and discussion, and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders.
Don’t forget your usual communications tactics – blogs, email newsletters, and social media posts are some of the go-tos to discuss changes. They are all convenient ways to reach wide audiences, and are an important part of the toolkit.
Top tips for including regulatory changes in your communications strategy
- Tailor the message for different audiences: Not every audience needs the same level of detail, but all of them need to feel that what you’re communicating is relevant for them. Your messaging should be consistent and transparent, but make sure to adapt it where necessary so it is accessible and useful for the intended audience.
- Keep it simple, stupid spokesperson: Regulatory change can be complex, but your communications shouldn’t be. Legal jargon – any kind of jargon, really – should be broken down into simple, understandable language. Consider the tactic, too – would this particular audience benefit more from visual social media slides or infographics over a lengthy chunk of text?
- Get there first: The sooner you start informing audiences, the more chance you have of building credibility and trust. Being unprepared for the changes can risk confusion amongst your audiences, and it also means you miss out on valuable chances to boost brand awareness. Being early demonstrates that you’re on top of the situation and proactive about how the changes affect stakeholders.
- Reinforce your company values: Regulatory changes are a chance to remind audiences of what the business stands for, so frame them alongside your company’s core values. For example, many restaurants were interviewed this week about new tipping regulations. Many of them used the opportunity to state that they care about staff, have always ensured staff received their tips, and that they’re pleased the changes mean other businesses will now follow suit – brilliant work.
Remember – like a good communications strategy, regulations are always evolving.
Regulatory change is not a one-off, and communications teams keep a close eye on potential further changes. They should also be monitoring how previous updates are playing out in the market and with the public. There may still be misconceptions that you can help to clarify, or unforeseen effects on businesses that you can raise awareness of. Use these deeper insights to inform your comms strategy.
Also in the spirit of continuous improvement, try and collect as much audience feedback as possible, such as with post-webinar surveys or tracking social media comments. Don’t be afraid to ask for more in depth feedback, either – you could directly reach out to people who downloaded a whitepaper to ask “was this report helpful, is there anything you wish we had included?”. It’s not just about pushing for feedback, it’s opening up a two-way conversation with audiences so you can better help the next time.
Incorporating regulatory changes into your communications strategy isn’t just talking about compliance; it’s about owning the conversation. It does take effort, but by staying proactive and keeping your audiences front of mind, you can build credibility, highlight your business’ values, and boost brand awareness.
