Help your team get vaccinated
Strategies and tips from organizations who are leading the way.
"We're not just fighting an epidemic; we're fighting an infodemic."
-Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.
Across the world, fake news and misinformation on the Covid-19 pandemic - including the various available vaccines - continue to flood media platforms every day, especially on social media. This has blurred fact from fiction, creating fear and hesitation especially when persuading people to get vaccinated.
While the choice to get vaccinated is personal, organizations also have a strong interest in ensuring their staff members are safe and healthy. Thus navigating the world of vaccines is a new organizational challenge we must face.
As a leader, encouraging your team to get vaccinated can be a highly sensitive task that needs tact, understanding, and emotional intelligence. Additionally, the vaccine rollout plan is different across the continent, and not all teams have access to the vaccines yet, and not all members would be eligible either. Most teams trust communication from their ‘employer,’ and as a leader, creating an open platform to have these honest conversations is critical.
We spoke to two partner organizations that have successfully supported their team to get vaccinated, and here are some of their top tips on how to support your team through the vaccination process.
Julius Lekenit, Deputy Director of Programs, Grevy's Zebra Trust
As the senior management team at Grevy's Zebra Trust, we quickly realized that it wasn't as easy as we thought to send the teams to get vaccinated. There was a lot of fear and misinformation, so we came up with strategies to counter this. Here are my top tips:
Promote frequent communication. We established a regular communications protocol around COVID-19 and the vaccine. We also created a special WhatsApp group where we share verified, factual news. We make time to discuss COVID-19 updates during team meetings to keep our staff regularly informed.
Seek professional expertise. Get a professional to help dispel myths and provide facts. Create an environment that encourages open conversations where your team can ask questions without fear of judgement or consequences. This worked well for us – we brought in a doctor who works in the places where we operate, so he was already well trusted. He joined one of our virtual meetings and answered all sorts of questions. After this session, most of our team felt adequately informed. Five people immediately after that went to get the vaccine and even more went weeks later. It gave the team the confidence they needed to make informed decisions.
It's not just about the individual. What we continuously remind our team is that getting vaccinated isn't just about them. It's also about protecting their families and creating a healthy community. Culturally, many of us are family and community orientated, and understanding that getting vaccinated is a service to the community made a huge difference to our team.
Rose Kimanzi, Program Manager, Communities Health Africa Trust (CHAT)
We are an organization that works in the healthcare sector, therefore getting our team vaccinated was a priority. However, even within our sector, there is COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, fuelled by endless conspiracy theories and amplified by the online anti-vaxxer movements.
This is what worked for us to help dispel myths and get our team vaccinated:
Lead by example - Get vaccinated. Demonstrate to your staff that even after getting vaccinated, you'll be okay, and in the long term, it's beneficial for the individual, team, and the wider community.
Be understanding. Understand that people are scared, and respect their fears. Give more than less information. Direct them to the right platforms to access knowledge and resources.
Be informed. As a leader, equip yourself with the latest information as your team will constantly refer to you as a point of knowledge. Inspire confidence by always being ready to answer their questions.
Don't stigmatize. Different people process things differently. Don't create an environment where people who haven't been vaccinated are treated differently. Give everyone time to understand the vaccine, its side effects, how to manage the side effects, and most importantly, the value of getting vaccinated.
Focus on 'psychological' comfort. Help your team realize that getting the vaccine helps to give some psychological comfort to their ability to deal with COVID-19.
Do a health audit of your employees, where appropriate. Do you have many in your team with underlying conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or HIV? As a caring leader, ensure that this vulnerable group is well-informed on why getting vaccinated should be a priority for them.
As Kenya's Health Chief Administrative Secretary, Dr Mercy Mwangangi, said, getting the vaccine is like having an umbrella to protect you from the rain. When the heavy storm comes, you'll only get slightly wet, compared to the person who'll be without any protection. Prevention is always better than cure.
Helpful resources for more information on vaccines and COVID-19:
Read the full newsletter here: Maliasili Reader Issue 30
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