Crisis Communications

Effective communication is crucial during change and crisis. Clarity, transparency, and trust are key. These case studies showcase how CDC's NCCDPHP Office of Communication guided our 1,100 person organization through complex shifts and unexpected challenges. We fostered calm, clarity, and cohesion, enhancing engagement, minimizing disruption, and supporting staff resilience.

COVID-19: Strategic Communication Through Change and Crisis 

Case Study

How do you keep over 1,100 people aligned during a global pandemic and a shift to remote work? We were prepared! From day one, we implemented a flexible, people-centered communications framework. As the pandemic forced a rapid transition to remote work, our team became a stabilizing force, providing clarity in uncertainty and keeping everyone connected, informed, and engaged.

  • The transition to remote work presented unprecedented internal communication challenges, including:

    • Maintaining employee morale and connection in a fully virtual environment.

    • Communicating rapidly changing health guidelines and business impacts.

    • Avoiding misinformation while promoting trust and transparency.

    • Aligning distributed teams and sustaining organizational culture remotely.

    Clear internal communication was no longer just important—it was critical for stability and continuity.

  • We paired structured project management principles with a deep focus on the human experience. Our approach combined rigor with empathy:

    • Defined project scope and goals to provide direction and reduce ambiguity for teams.

    • Aligned timelines with operational realities to minimize disruption and promote trust.

    • Engaged HR, IT, and leadership to ensure diverse perspectives shaped each message.

    • Built in feedback loops so staff could share concerns, ask questions, and shape how communication evolved.

    This balance of structure and compassion helped us deliver communications that were not only effective but respectful, inclusive, and responsive. Every message had a purpose, every plan had a human impact, and every project honored the lived experiences of the people it served.

    To support cross-functional collaboration, we introduced custom workflow systems and collaborative tools tailored to our agency’s needs. These systems helped:

    • Streamline content review and approvals.

    • Ensure consistency across communication channels.

    • Track progress and performance using defined metrics.

    By connecting tools to strategy, we laid the foundation for a sustainable, scalable communication infrastructure.

  • Communication doesn’t succeed unless it resonates. We emphasized human-centered leadership throughout our work by:

    • Prioritizing inclusive feedback mechanisms.

    • Equipping managers with guidance that combined empathy with clarity.

    • Using storytelling to connect organizational goals with real staff experiences.

    Even during disruption, we built trust and fostered engagement.

    • Maintained communication continuity across nine divisions.

    • Increased cross-departmental coordination and workflow efficiency.

    • Boosted employee trust and morale through transparent, timely updates.

    • Laid the groundwork for long-term content governance and collaboration.

    By combining strategic project management with people-first thinking, our communications helped carry employees through uncertainty with adaptability, structure, and empathy.

Leading Communications Through Federal Restructuring

Case Study

Throughout 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) underwent a major restructuring (including a significant reduction of staff and programs), our NCCDPHP communications team was tasked with more than just delivering updates to staff. We needed to provide clarity, address fears, build and keep trust, and reinforce stability across a workforce navigating uncertainty.

Organizational change, especially at the federal level, requires more than top-down announcements. It demands a thoughtful, human-centric communication strategy that empowers people at every level to understand, adapt, and lead through change.

  • The federal restructuring of HHS brought major changes to agency roles, reporting lines, and program alignment. For employees, this meant:

    • Unclear timelines and shifting job responsibilities.

    • Questions about policy direction, leadership intentions, and human resources.

    • Emotional stress related to role security and workplace culture.

    In this environment, inconsistent or delayed communication could easily create confusion or erode trust.

  • Strategic Internal Communication Planning

    We launched a communications strategy grounded in transparency and stability. Core elements included:

    • A centralized messaging plan tied to key transition milestones.

    • Keeping pace with a constant flow of information—from policy shifts to leadership updates to staff input—so our messages stayed timely, accurate, and relevant to what people were really experiencing.

    • Coordination with legal, HR, and executive leadership to ensure message alignment.

    • Development of core materials (FAQs, talking points, internal briefings) to explain what’s changing—and why.

    This approach gave employees a consistent source of truth during a time of ambiguity.

    Supporting Leadership and Managers

    We recognized that mid-level leaders were critical to shaping employee experience. To empower them, we created:

    • Manager toolkits with talking points, timelines, and approved messaging.

    • Briefing sessions to help them confidently answer employee questions.

    • Regular updates to keep information current and aligned with evolving policies.

    These efforts helped managers lead with clarity and empathy.

    Building Two-Way Communication Channels

    Change is easier to navigate when people feel heard. We opened channels for feedback—like listening sessions, surveys, and inboxes—so employees felt heard and their input could directly shape how we communicated through change. Input from these channels helped shape ongoing messaging and demonstrate responsiveness.

    • Delivered coordinated internal communications products within the first 90 days of restructuring.

    • Increased employee understanding of restructuring goals, as reflected in positive feedback from listening sessions and surveys.

    • Established repeatable processes and systems for change communication, now serving as a model for future organizational transitions.

NCCDPHP Crisis Communication After the August 8th Shooting Attack on CDC

Case Study

On August 8, 2025, a gunman attacked the CDC’s Roybal Campus in Atlanta, firing over 500 rounds at six buildings, killing a responding police officer, then shooting himself. No CDC staff were physically harmed, but there was extensive building damage and psychological trauma. The shooting was a targeted attack on CDC related to COVID-19 disinformation.

  • The attack tested the agency’s communications systems in ways it never had been before, revealing shortcomings and causing confusion among staff across CDC. While these issues were outside of NCCDPHP’s purview, we noted that the agency’s communication challenges fell into several categories:

    • A breakdown in immediate alerts from CDC caused many staff to not receive official lockdown alerts, resulting in fear, confusion and distrust.

    • An agency-wide all-staff meeting in the days after the event was riddled with technical issues and disabled features like chat and Q&A, preventing attendees from voicing concerns.

    • Fragmented messaging from agency leadership, creating an atmosphere of anxiety and the perception that senior leadership didn’t care about the fears and anxiety about returning to work.

    These communication issues left a gap that our NCCDPHP comms team moved to fill at the center level.

  • Upon the breakdown in communications from the agency, our team quickly took steps to strengthen internal communication and boost staff’s trust in our center. Here is what our NCCDPHP Office of Communication did:

    • We adapted our standing all-staff Touch Bases meetings for focused and clear updates on safety, security, and information. We always included a direct acknowledgment of grief, fear, and trauma. We enabled chat and Q&A features in virtual meetings and anonymous question submissions to make space for candid concerns.

    • We created more opportunities for two-way communication. Staff needed a stronger voice in shaping the recovery process. We launched listening sessions to provide safe spaces for discussion to ensure staff perspectives inform leadership decisions during future emergencies.

    • We gave clear and ongoing safety updates. Staff needed to know what was being done to ensure their safety. We regularly communicated through multi channels providing tangible updates about safety and security.

    During the month of August alone, we received an average of 53 questions per week through the many feedback channels we offer. Whether we emailed staff with answers, worked information into our weekly calls, or simply picked up the phone to talk with them, we responded to every single question.

    In short, we recognized that crisis communication is not only about delivering information, and took immediate action to create connection, trust, and safety. By restructuring meetings, centralizing messaging, sharing clear safety updates, and building two-way dialogue, we took concrete steps to support our people through a traumatic moment and strengthen our agency for the future.

    • Consistent use and dissemination of agency directives and communications created flexibility while keeping the tone and resources consistent.

    • Leadership empathy and trauma-informed communications shifted the tone of messaging and helped weave empathy into communication of fact-based information.

    • Improved leadership briefings and longer, more interactive follow-up calls with Q&A and chat features enabled. Listening sessions were attended by 500+ attendees.

  • Mastering Crisis Communication and Audience Engagement

    NCCDPHP’s Associate Director for Communication Science addresses the audience from the podium, expertly navigating crisis communications and fostering dialogue through Q&A sessions.

  • Guiding Public Trust Through Clear Communication

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, NCCDPHP’s Chief Medical Officer delivered vital updates with moderated Q&A sessions. This helped guide our staff through uncertainty while addressing emerging challenges and reinforcing trust in health communications.

  • Transforming Communication While Navigating Uncertainty

    NCCDPHP’s Associate Director for Communication Science and senior leaders delivered crucial updates in a touchpoint video, sharing key information and strategies for navigating changing and uncertainty.

  • Clarifying Budget Processes and Ensuring Transparency

    Our Associate Director for Communication Science and Director of Policy presented the Appropriations Budget Process slides to the center, explaining our current status amid budget uncertainties. They also hosted a Q&A session to address questions.

  • Navigating Change Through Federal Restructuring

    Leadership hosted listening sessions and a special NCCDPHP All-Hands focused on the Circle of Control. This event gave staff the opportunity for reflection, encouraging the team to concentrate their energy on what matters most as we navigate change together.

  • Bolstering Public Health Heroes Through Voices of Solidarity

    We created a word cloud using over 300 letters submitted in response to the August 8th attack on the CDC. The graphic, titled ‘Dear Public Health,’ showcased standout quotes that celebrate public health workers as heroes and highlight their undeniable impact.

  • Facilitating Open Communication During Grief and Instability

    We honored the fallen officer from the August 8th attack during center-wide calls while leadership provided immediate resources, listening sessions, and outlets for staff to grieve, process, and openly ask questions. These efforts helped ensure that staff’s concerns were directly communicated to agency leadership during this crisis.

Header Image Credit: Photo by Marcos Luiz Photograph on Unsplash

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