From your bunker, the quality of relationships deteriorates

What do you do during corona time? Experiences of public affairs professionals in times of crisis part 2

The digital lobby: many PA professionals are now used to it during the corona crisis. Lobbying remote or virtual advocacy, it appears to work. But in the long run, the quality of relationships deteriorates, we hear public affairs professionals from large companies. They still miss face-to-face contact.

The appointments from home follow each other at a rapid pace. The online meetings are coming together. This usually works efficiently. Much lobbying continues without any problems.

In fact, efficiency creates a higher workload, especially in the sectors that are strongly affected by the crisis. "My experience is that it is only getting busier," says Jaap Jelle Feenstra of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. 'It has always been a lot of work, but all communication now takes place step by step, one by one via email.'

"Certainly at the beginning of the crisis, all those calls in a row were quite intensive," says Wouter Thalen of PFZW. There was a lot of coordination with other companies in the pension sector, more consultation with the pension umbrella organization, internal accountability to the board and contacts with colleagues.

Wouter Thalen: 'In the beginning I woke up with it and went to bed with it. In the long term this is very tiring. Now the frequency is lower. I now also make sure that I can breathe between calls.'

Keeping the lobbying relationship effective

The main disadvantage of digital contact is the lack of personal contact. Really seeing each other. "I miss that very much," says Jacco van der Tak of the Dutch Railways. 'In normal life there is a certain facial expression and physical contact. Digital is a different type of energy and requires more patience.'

At the same time, the PA professionals see that we are slowly learning to collaborate, connect and achieve results in this digital way. Jacco van der Tak: 'Administrative consultations with regional partners, ministries or cabinet members go quite well digitally. That does surprise me. Apparently we are able to adapt somewhat.'

Ad Antonisse from AstraZeneca also finds it surprising how quickly we get used to virtual advocacy. 'Now that we have to, we can inform stakeholders via Zoom and Microsoft Teams. That's different from calling, because you see each other's expressions. The whole world was already engaged in online advocacy. The transition has now also gone quickly for us.'

What does that mean for public affairs work? To keep the lobbying relationship effective, you have to 'be there', see each other in person. Not surprising, public affairs is a profession that relies on personal relationships and chance encounters. Well, video calling can go a long way, but you cannot put the finer points of the work into practice.

Talk in the margins

So what exactly are PA professionals missing? Especially the fun, the moments when you talk about other things:

• The talk about current events on the margins of a meeting.
• The raised eyebrow or a wink during a meeting.
• A one-on-one cup of coffee without an agenda.
• A confidential conversation about a private subject at a party.

These are all moments when you build rapport with people, says Mark Esseboom of IBM. The new initiatives grow from this.

Esseboom: 'If you have a rapport with someone, it is much easier to text in between to briefly arrange something or think along. After all these weeks of lockdown, I notice that the response to apps is becoming less and less fast. That one app is no longer enough. That is a loss.'

Relying on existing relationships

Fewer physical lobby contacts, that will be fine for a while, nothing to worry about. 'You can rely on existing relationships for a long time,' says Mark Esseboom. 'But the quality of the relationship is slowly decreasing. If it takes longer, you will hear less and fewer new ideas and initiatives will arise. That becomes a problem if you are permanently working from your bunker at home.'

How do you compensate for that loss? As soon as it is possible again, small groups will meet in a large room with a lot of distance. "That certainly gives the pleasure of personal contacts," says Mark Esseboom.

Tim Stok of RELX: 'Maybe there will be more room for this in the summer. After all, we are used to shaking hands with someone. I do expect that something will change structurally and that non-personal contact will become more normal over time.'

This is part 2 of a series about public affairs in the corona crisis. Do you have completely different experiences? Let us know.

Read blog 1 here: PA in times of crisis ensures more creativity

Sybrig van Keep and Bas Lans work at communications agency De Issuemakers. Erik van Venice is a trainer and advisor in the field of public affairs.

With the cooperation of Noor Broeders from De Issuemakers.