are increasingly difficult to manage .
The Crisis Life Cycle has several stages including stage one : the storm breaks which means control seems to be slipping out of the company , lack of solid detail about the crisis , hard-to-provide information demanded by the media , analysts and others , temptation to resort to a short-term focus , to panic and to speculate . For a period of time , everyone loses perspective .
Stage two is where the Storm Rages , the speculation and rumours develop in the absence of hard facts , third parties including regulators , scientists and other experts - throw in their weight to the climate of opinion . Corporate management comes under intense scrutiny from internal and external groups .
At stage three , the Storm passes as the leadership is able to manage crisis and its reputation is in control . There are opportunities in a crisis to build positive perceptions of the company or product that last beyond the crisis period . At the same time the company embarks on a long-term program to tackle management issues and communication problems that exacerbated the crisis .
During a crisis communications is vital . You have noted in many countries the President or the PM as the case is , has been the Chief Crisis Officer ( CCO ) delegating the responsibility to the Cabinet Secretary to carry out the daily communiqué on progress on combating the Covid-19 crisis .
Good communication is the heart of any crisis management plan . Communication should reduce tension , demonstrate a corporate commitment to correct the problem and take control of the information flow . Crisis communications involves communicating with a variety of constitutes : the media , employees , neighbours , investors , regulators and lawmakers .
Crisis Management
Despite a solid risk management process , problems will always arise because we cannot predict all crisis events and protect against them . The leadership should be prepared to deal with a crisis event and take action immediately - identifying and assessing issues and options and obtaining expert advice as needed .
The first goal of crisis management is prevention . Risk assessment means the identification , defining and describing the crisis . Secondly the estimation of the extent and the likelihood and consequences leading to evaluation and finally acceptability of risk .
The High level crisis threats include population safety , health , environment and national security . The specific threats to organisation include operational viability , reputation , credibility , financial stability and legal action .
In public relations profession , crisis can also be managed through crisis management model . The model involves planning - assess risks , produce plans define roles and responsibilities , appoint a crisis management team . The next step of the model is to draw up a communication plan which means producing contact details of CCO ( s ) and organisation chart , promoting crisis-ready culture , publishing plans and conducting training . It also means testing , reviewing and practising including securing any resources needed - material , financial and talent resources , monitoring and controlling .
Crisis management is public relations responsibility - that is , handling situations in which public awareness of a particular issue may dramatically and negatively impact the organization ’ s ability to achieve its goals . For instance , when drought was rampant here in Kenya , Red Cross Society embarked on providing food items and clothing to the affected people . There was also a program called “ Kenyans for Kenya ” where Kenyans donated money , food and clothing to the Red Cross .
It was later discovered that maize that was imported from South Africa had aflatoxins and hence harmful for human consumption . The toxins were discovered after maize had been distributed to a large number of people . The general public tainted the society ’ s name as corrupt and “ not putting the poor people ’ s interest at heart .” The public relations team had to ensure that the general public did not thereafter automatically associate Red Cross Society with the infected maize . Other public relations activities include lobbying , advertising management about public issues and planning community events .
There have been countless public relations crises in the past and there are five steps that should be executed in order to properly manage a crisis . First , the organization in crisis should be prompt , addressing the public immediately following the discovery of the crisis . Second , the organization in question should maintain honesty because the public is more willing to forgive an honest mistake than a calculated lie .
Third , it is important to be informative because the media as well as the public will create their own rumors if no information is given to them by the organization in crisis . Rumors can cause significantly more damage to the organization than the real truth .
Next , it is important to be concerned and show the public you care because people will be more forgiving if it is clear that the organization cares about the victims of the crisis . Finally , maintain two-way relationships . This is important because the organization can learn a lot about the status of public opinion by listening . These five steps are necessary in order to manage any crisis public relations .
With that having been said , each crisis situation is unique and therefore , requires a tailored response . There are six types of responses and they range on a continuum from defensive to accommodative .
First , organizations can attack the accuser attempting to eliminate the attacker ’ s credibility . Second , organizations can use denial claiming that no crisis exists . The third response is justification where the organization claims no serious damage was done or that the victim was at fault . Fourth , the organization can use ingratiation to appease the public , such as giving away coupons . Next , organizations can use corrective action to right their wrongs . Finally , the organization can give a full apology asking for forgiveness for their mistake .
All the six responses have been used in the past with varying results . If chosen properly , one of the six responses can help mitigate damage .
May I remind you that crises grow people and ultimately organizations by hardening their resolve for tackling life challenges and trials .
Joe Nyutu is a marketing and strategy consultant who teaches marketing on part-time basis at a local leading university and can be reached via : Nyutu1kj @ yahoo . com .