OPINION | Crisis Commumications
I
t was the former US Secretary of
State, Henry Kissinger who once
famously said: “There cannot be
a crisis next week. My schedule is
already full.”
And that’s just one of the problems
with crises; they come when you least
expect them.
But what exactly is a crisis? Often,
the answer is simple; a profit warning,
a major accident on company premises
or the discovery of a significant safety
fault in a product. But so many crises
are now a result of less tangible events
which impact your company’s reputation
but are incredibly difficult to anticipate.
By way of an example, it’s a fairly safe
bet that in their no-doubt exhaustive
crisis management training Volkswagen
didn’t consider the possibility of the
existential threat brought about by their
own manipulation of emissions figures
for their cars.
So, in over 30 years of working with
companies on crises of all types, by far the
best definition of a crisis that I have yet to
hear is: you’ll know it when you see it!
And it’s this very challenge – what
exactly shall we plan for? – that causes
the first and most common problem
for companies undertaking crisis
management planning. They become
too focused on planning for the sort of
crisis that they expect and miss the point
entirely that, when it comes, the crisis
will, by its very nature, almost certainly be
unexpected both as to type and timing. As
any military strategist worth his salt might
say, learn the lessons from the last war,
but prepare to fight the next war.
This means that the most valuable
preparation you can do as part of your
crisis management planning is to avoid
focusing unduly on the type of crisis,
but rather make sure that your plans
are focused on the entirely practical
challenges that will present themselves.
First and foremost, who needs to be
made aware – and do you have contact
details for them at all times? Who is
authorised to sign off the inevitable
statements that you’ll be pressed for
from the first minute by the media? It’s
all very well assuming that the CEO will
be available at the drop of the proverbial
hat – but what if your CEO is unavailable
or, indeed, the cause of the crisis? In
my experience, far too few companies
plan adequately for ‘death and disgrace’
crises, and as a result find themselves
dofonline.co.uk
pathetically slow to respond when the
balloon goes up.
Once a crisis hits, what exactly
do you do first? Having advised and
gathered your crisis team, firstly
consider who is affected by the crisis;
customers, staff, suppliers, regulators,
shareholders and wider stakeholders
are just some of those who will need to
be communicated with. Get the facts
as quickly as you can and get ready to
communicate both to those affected and
your wider stakeholder group.
If you’re in the fortunate position that
you become aware of the crisis before
it has become public knowledge you’ll
have the luxury of being able to plan the
communications approach; identifying
the most appropriate method, content
Do you
apologise?
The lawyers will
advise that you
don’t. Listen
to them, by all
means. But then
apologise
and timing for each audience. But accept
that you may be in reactive mode,
perhaps becoming aware of the crisis as
a result of a journalist’s call, or a spike in
social media activity.
If you don’t have the luxury of time
available to plan, don’t delay in saying
something, even if it’s only a holding
statement: “We are aware of the situation
and are investigating as a matter of
urgency.” While it’s challenging to have
to communicate when you’re not yet in
possession of the full facts, in a world in
which the media continuously hunts high
and low for bad news (and in which trust
is often lacking), silence may be construed
as obstructiveness.
You now have a big decision to make.
Who is going to be your spokesperson?
My view has always been that the most
senior person available should be the
one to face the cameras, or at least
to sign the various communications,
particularly to customers. So please avoid
the temptation to put forward your head
of PR; audiences will, often with some
justification, wonder whether they are
witnessing a company trying to spin its
way out of trouble.
And now the big question. Do you
apologise? The lawyers will advise that
you don’t, arguing that to do so only
increases the chance of lawsuits. Listen to
them, by all means. But then apologise.
It’s about doing the right thing. And if
you’re seen to do your level best to be
open, honest and contrite, you have a
half-decent chance of emerging with your
reputation somewhere near intact.
You may have to apologise even if,
in your view, it’s not entirely your fault.
An example of this is after the loss of
customer data following a cyber attack.
You have suffered as a result of the
malicious actions of a third party, so
might feel that there’s no need to say
“We’re sorry”. But that would be to miss
the poi nt; your customers entrusted you
with their data and reasonably expected
you to guard it on their behalf. You’ve let
them down. So, say sorry!
Be sure to monitor social media. Yes,
it’s an echo chamber which many will
tell you is inhabited only by trolls and
fools, but it also feeds into print media,
and increasingly frequently becomes the
home of some of the most damaging
crisis-related comments. Much of the heat
generated on Twitter and Facebook can
be disregarded, but an important part
of your crisis preparation is to identify
your key Twitter followers and to build
relationships, even if they perhaps don’t
always appear to be in your corner.
In conclusion, no one in their right
mind enjoys a crisis, and they can
inflict severe reputational and financial
damage on your company. But, with the
right preparation and a commitment
to an open and honest approach to
communicating with those affected, you
and your company will survive.
And you just might emerge with your
reputation enhanced as a result. Q
Andy Berry is founder of Metalico
Consulting. He is a former investment
banker and strategic communications
adviser who has helped companies
and government bodies on some of the
highest profile crises of recent years.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
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