COMMUNICATING IN A CRISISIT TAKES A TEAM TO MAKE IT WORK

WORDS TO REMEMBER

“We need to get people to understand that in our society, it’s not a question of if a crisis will occur during your career, it’s when”

Dr. Alan FriedmanPsychologist

BUILD IT BEFORE THE CRISIS

“Crisis management in organizations should involve all departments that touch the public”

Laurence Barton

PHASES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Pre-crisis

Crisis response

Post-crisis

PRE-CRISIS ACTIVITIES

Select and train the crisis management team Seek to identify and reduce known risks Create the crisis management plan Conduct simulations Update plan often

SELECTING AND TRAINING THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM

Representatives from a cross section of the organization and should

Include managerial and technical skills Understand every aspect of the organization Have the support of senior management Include member(s) of the board of directors

DEVELOPING YOUR CRISIS TEAM

Start with the CEO

Make sure all departments that touch the public are represented on the crisis team including the board of directors

MEMBERS OF THE TEAM

CEO CFO Board Chair & Legal Counsel Senior Management

Public Relations/Public Affairs/Advertising/Investor Relations/Government Relations/Consumer Affairs

Human Resources

EXPERTS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION Technical Operations

What you do (product lines)

Where you do it (locations & facilities)

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Serves as central coordinator for all proactive and reactive communications with all internal and external audiences

HUMAN RESOURCES

Guides team in all issues regarding personnel Often serves as spokesperson to internal

audiences May serve as liaison with labor unions

CONDUCT RISK ASSESSMENT

department by department

IDENTIFY DANGERS

Make a list of all the dangers the organization may face that could:

Disrupt normal operations Cause financial harm to the organizations Damage the organizations reputation Hurt relationships with key stakeholders Place employees, stakeholders, clients at risk “Organizational skeletons in the closet”

CRISIS PLOTTING GRID

Low impactHigh probability

High impactHigh probability

Low impactLow probability

High impactLow probability

ORGANIZE THREATS INTO CATEGORIES

IMPACT PEOPLE

IMPACT FINANCIAL CONDITIONS

IMPACT REPUTATION (BRAND)

DETERMINE WHAT POTENTIAL DANGERS CAN BE ELIMINATED

Develop action plans to eliminate dangers before they become problems. Independent audit Board oversight Computer backup Alternate location for staff to conduct business Pay attention to “smoldering issues”

SWOT ANALYSISUnderstanding Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats

4 ELEMENTS OF SWOT Strengths:

What strengths does the company have if this risk occurs?

Weaknesses: What are things that will make the situation

worse?

ELEMENTS Opportunities

What external advantages do we have? Threats

What external disadvantages do we have?

HOW TO USE A SWOT ANALYSIS

Label a flip chart for each category

Advise participants to use the rules of brainstorming as a guide to their discussion

Set a time limit (usually 20-30 minutes) per category

HOW TO USE A SWOT ANALYSISCONTINUED Review each list for each category before

moving on to the next category Prioritize: this is the point at which you can

discuss and make decisions about which entries are the most important

Select and record the prioritized entries from each category

QUESTIONS TO HELP GUIDE THE DISCUSSION Strengths:

what advantages do we have, what do we do well, what resources do we have access to that will

help what do other people see as our strengths

QUESTIONS TO HELP GUIDE THE DISCUSSION Weaknesses:

what could we improve what do we do badly what should we avoid what disadvantages to we have what resources do we lack

QUESTIONS TO HELP GUIDE THE DISCUSSION Opportunities:

what is happening in the world around us that we can take advantage of

what trends might work for us what is going on around us that we can build on how can this benefit us in the near and long term what ripple effect is possible

QUESTIONS TO HELP GUIDE THE DISCUSSION Threats:

what obstacles do we face what is the competition doing can any of our weaknesses seriously threaten us

(cash flow, staffing) what is changing in the world around us that

could hurt us and make our crisis worse

DEPARTMENTAL WORK

Eliminate risk

Minimize impact

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE

ELEMENTS

Contact information for CMT Blueprints for key facilities Media contacts 24/7 responder numbers Crisis centers

CONDUCT SIMULATIONS

Test team Test plan Uncover potential crisis

CRISIS PHASE

How to communicate during a crisis Tools to use

Communications Plan Media Relations Social Media

ELEMENTS FOR CONSIDERATION

Audience (s) Goal Messages & Messengers Vehicle Spokesperson Support and Opposition Feedback

AUDIENCESCOVER ALL THE BASES how best to reach them, what to say, who should say it, who else they are listening to (opinion

leaders) and how to get honest feedback about how

you did and what else needs to be done to reestablish the good name of your organization.

GOALS

Set a goal for each audience

Goals must be Measurable Doable Clearly defined

MESSENGER(S)

Who is the most appropriate contact?

for first contactfor follow up contact

MESSENGER

Must be credible

Must be available

Must be interested and interesting

People listen to people

VEHICLE(S)

Questions to ask: Is it efficient Is it effective Is it sensitive and respectful Is it available Will it help me reach my audience in time

PLEASE REMEMBER!

POSITION

Be honest Report on only what you know to be true Be prepared to support your position with

facts View the crisis from the eye of the public

CONTENT

Fact Opinion Speculation

TONE AND CONTENT What tone do you want to use?

Urgent Angry Apologetic Confident Upbeat

MESSAGE(S)

What happened? How did it happen? What are we going to do about it? What are we doing to make sure it will never

happen again?

MESSAGE BOX Value

Vision Misconception Message

Message

Ask

ABOVE ALL

Tell the truth and tell it quickly. Apologize and make amends. If you are right say so and prove it.

SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION

Know the lay of the land.

Who will most likely support you? Who will be opposed to you and why? Who will run and hide? Who are your friends in the media?

GUIDELINES FOR CRISIS RESPONSE

Be quick and try to have initial response within the first hour.

Be accurate by carefully checking all facts. Be consistent by keeping spokespeople informed of

crisis events and key message points. Make public safety the number one priority.

GUIDELINES CONTINUED

Use all of the available communication channels including the Internet, Intranet, and mass notification systems.

Provide some expression of concern/sympathy for victims

Remember to include employees in the initial response.

Be ready to provide stress and trauma counseling to victims of the crisis and their families, including employees.

MEDIA RELATIONS

As an audience Fill the information vacuum

As a vehicle Tell your side of the story

TOOLS TO USE

Media Release Statements Position (White) Papers Media Kits Media Conferences One on one interviews & exclusives Web casting Blogs Newsletters

SPOKESPERSON (S)

How to decide on the best spokesperson What is the severity of the crisis Who has the most accurate and up to date

information Who is media trained Who is available Who is emotionally capable

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

What is a good interview? Positive exchange of information Be prepared Be cool Be conversational Be yourself

QUESTIONS TO ASK

What are we talking about? What is my role? When is your deadline? How much do you know about me? Who is in charge?

BEFORE SAYING YES, ASK YOURSELF

Who is the intended audience? Is this my audience? Is this a media I want to be associated

with? Who is the best person? What are the benefits? What happens if I say no? What will make me comfortable?

GETTING READY

Arrive early Plant ideas Only three messages Use clear, concise language Be emphatic Don’t bluff Use real people and real stories

CONCEPTS & PRINCIPLES

Sound bites Bridging Don’t be a slave to the question Listen Connect with the interviewer Language

ON THE OFFENSIVE

Support Messages and Premises Examples Statistics Analogies Expert Opinion Quotes From Another Personal Experience

KEY STRATEGIES

Rule of Three’s Be Prepared If Past Go Future If General Go Specific If Specific Go General Silence is Your Friend

FOR TELEVISION INTERVIEWS

Know what to expect Look directly at the interviewer Be expressive Wear bright colors Be conservative on jewelry Don’t be a wash out If you need glasses, wear them

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

Ask for a critique Listen and learn Send thank you note Stay in touch Educate rather than blame Give your work legs

FEEDBACK

Go back and ask: Did we identify every audience? Where our goals clearly stated? Did we achieve our goals? Did our message

reflect our goals? Was our tone correct?

FEEDBACK CONTINUED

Did we use the most efficient and effective vehicles for each audience?

Did we know all of the players? Did we seek support and were we aware of

opposition? Are we asking the right questions? And most important, how did we as a team

function ?

KEY TO SUCCESS

Be accurate, be honest, be timely, be thorough, and above all don’t take it personally.