COLUMN: PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Keep calm in a crisis
Ken Kelling, associate director at daviestanner, on protecting a brand
during a crisis and making sure your teams are prepared
E
arlier this year, the Professional
Convention Management Association
(PCMA) invited davies tanner to
share its expertise in crisis communication
to empower events industry businesses to
protect their brands and reputations should
the unthinkable happen.
There are three pertinent reasons why
this is an imperative for events businesses:
increasing uncertainty and volatility,
constant change and the increasing speed of
communications.
Our frenetic digital age is transforming
our lives at an unprecedented rate and
‘VUCA’ is now a commonly-used acronym
to describe or reflect on the Volatility,
Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity of
the world.
By the nature of their work,
event strategists are often at
the cutting edge of these issues
thanks to business meetings,
technological innovation and digital
communication. The modern
working life of event strategists
is perhaps more uncertain
and faster changing than
ever before.
We are also experiencing
the fastest speed of
communication of any
other time in history.
Stories (both true and
false) rapidly go viral and
fragment almost as soon as an
incident takes place and we are very
rarely in control of them.
The nature of events and the sheer
volume of people that pass through
shows, venues, and hotels mean our
industry is particularly vulnerable. And,
despite the many benefits of social media,
businesses now also face a quadruple
challenge in managing their corporate
reputation online, namely:
• Increased accountability
• Increased scrutiny
• Increased scepticism
• Increased confusion over reliable sources
of ‘truth’
With all of this in mind, we should be
doing our utmost to expect the unexpected.
By following the steps of a cohesive
crisis communication plan, your ability
to protect yourself, your business and to
control a crisis situation will be considerably
improved.
But as someone who is also interested in
coaching personal resilience, it seems to me
there’s a large part of all this that’s often
overlooked.
How do we personally react in a crisis
“If you’re trying
to do everything
yourself then it will
be you that will
suffer”
situation when every fibre in our
body is screaming out ‘bunny in
the headlights’?
And what does it mean
for leaders, managers and
teams if the person who
is nominally responsible
for dealing with an
incident can’t cope?
I think the answer
lies in the same principles
for good crisis
communications –
preparation and habits.
If the first time you’ve
done a TV interview is when
someone is shoving a camera in
your face asking if you’ll resign over a
botched event, it’s not going to go well.
If you’ve never rehearsed what could go
wrong and thought about how an incident
could play out on social media, you will
always be on the back foot if something
does happen.
Here are five thoughts about habits to
practice now that will serve your own
wellbeing when you are facing a crisis.
Get out of your comfort zone as much
as you can
Become used to having to adapt, change
or face a challenge as often as possible to
build your mental agility and resilience. It
could be as big as facing up to your fear
of heights or as small as taking a different
route to work.
Find a reason to say thank you to the
people you work with every day
Research shows that feeling appreciated is
more valuable to people than bonuses. And
when the shit hits the fan, you want people
right there alongside you, not all heading for
the exits as quickly as possible.
Get into the habit of asking for help
We often mistake asking for help as a sign
of weakness. But when a crisis hits, you’re
going to need all the help and support you
can get. If you’re still trying to do everything
yourself because ‘it’s your responsibility’,
then it will be you that will suffer.
Find ways to relax, switch off or
meditate
Looking after our own mental wellbeing
is no longer a fluffy subject for business
unless you’re still in the Dark Ages. Find
whatever way suits you best to lower your
stress levels and stick to those good habits.
You’ll be in a much better and clearer place
to deal with a potential crisis.
Don’t be complacent
When everything is going well and
business is booming, it’s tempting to believe
that things could ever go wrong. Ironically,
it’s when business is going well that you
may be in the best frame of mind to think
objectively and clearly about potential bad
times.
Use the opportunity to prepare, plan
and test what could go wrong both for the
business and the team as individuals. Who’s
your calmest, most effective communicator?
Does everyone understand their own
individual role if an incident were to
happen? Are they up to it?
Your everyday habits and practices will
be severely tested at a time of crisis. Make
sure they’re the right ones for making
yourself and your team resilient when your
reputation is on the line.
exhibitionnews.co.uk | January 2019
49