Crisis communication is not intended to answer all questions or fill all needs it is just a basic outline of options you might consider if and when you are in the midst of a crisis and need help.
Crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of your company, usually brought on by adverse or negative media attention. These situations can be any kind of legal dispute, theft, accident, fire, flood or manmade disaster that could be attributed to your company. It can also be a situation where in the eyes of the media or general public your company did not react to one of the above situations in the appropriate manner. This definition is not all encompassing but rather is designed to give you an idea for the types of situations where you may need to follow this plan.
If handled correctly the damage can be minimized.
One thing to remember that is crucial in a crisis is tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth. If you do this you have done all you can to minimize the situation.
When a situation arises that may be a crisis the first thing you should do is contact your CEO and the chief of your public relations department. The sooner you get those two organizations involved the sooner you can implement this plan.
The crisis communication team is essential to identify what actions should be taken. the team should be comprised of individuals who are key to the situation. They should include as a minimum the CEO, the chief of Public Relations, the Vice President, the Senior manager from the division in charge of the area that was involved in the situation that has brought about the crisis, the safety and/or security officer, the organization Lawyer, and anyone else who might be able to shed some light on the situation such as eye witnesses.
The crisis communication team is essential to identify what actions should be taken. the team should be comprised of individuals who are key to the situation. They should include as a minimum the CEO, the chief of Public Relations, the Vice President, the Senior manager from the division in charge of the area that was involved in the situation that has brought about the crisis, the safety and/or security officer, the organization Lawyer, and anyone else who might be able to shed some light on the situation such as eye witnesses. The job of this team is to come up with a plan of action and decide who the spokesperson should be.
A copy of the management recall roster should be attached and should include cellular phone numbers and beeper numbers if each team member has one (either one or the other should be issued to the primary team members at least). As you will find out a crisis is not always at the most convenient time and place. A complete management list is recommended as you never can tell who may be needed.
Once the crisis communication team is selected a list should be made of the people on the team and what each team member is responsible for.
In addition to the crisis communication team the Public Relations or Communications department should be supplemented with competent people who can answer phones and if required escort media. Having calls from the media answered promptly is essential. As soon as possible a prepared statement should be given to this staff. This statement should be something such as "Facts are still being gathered but there will be a press conference before 4:00, give me your name and number and I will call you back to let you know when."
One of the first responsibilities of the crisis communication team should be to determine the appropriate positioning or message to address the emergency. Things to think about:
This is where "Tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth" begins.
It is always best when a mistake has been made to admit it up front, and begin doing whatever is possible to re-establish credibility and confidence with internal and external audiences. This may be difficult for senior management to do, especially if the Lawyers are involved since it is their job to minimize the eventual legal cost to the company. However, if you do some homework you will find that following the advice in this plan will minimize the legal costs. Many Public Relations case studies are made of issues where the lawyers had too much say in what was done and upper management didn't get involved from the beginning.
The first and foremost goal is protecting the integrity and reputation of the Company.
Never try to lie, deny or hide your involvement.
If you ignore the situation it will only get worse.
Don't let the lawyers make the decisions. While they are good intentioned it may cause the crisis to escalate.
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