Communication in Times of Crisis
By Bill Pierce, Alisa Harrison and Donna Erat
Vice Presidents, APCO Worldwide
Many organizations have a crisis communication plan in a binder, somewhere on a shelf, in someone’s office. Likely, considerable time and resources were devoted to putting the plan together, and hopefully it is reviewed, tested, and updated from time to time. But, regardless of the plan’s components, there are a couple core principles to keep in mind as you review and update your strategy - especially if you find it must be implemented.
Sometimes you have to go against your instincts
During a crisis, quick, decisive communication with the public is critical to ensuring your customers or stakeholders maintain confidence in your company or organization and ultimately your products or services. In a crisis, the media and the public are eager for information as quickly as possible, but many in senior management feel they need to wait until everything is known about a situation with all the facts buttoned down tight before talking publicly.
While accuracy is paramount, speed is of the essence as well! In today’s 24-hour news cycle, timing is everything. It is imperative to communicate relevant information during the first news cycle, or it will be difficult if not impossible to regain control of information and messages. In a crisis, say what you know when you know it and let the media know you will alert them as soon as new information is available.
- Remember: if you don’t speak for your company or organization, someone else will.
Know when to say ‘I don’t know’
Sometimes, egos may prevent management and communication professionals from admitting they don’t have all the information for fear it shows a sign of weakness or lack of control. However, saying “I don’t know” does not mean you are not in control of the situation. In fact, acknowledging that you don’t have all the answers is sometimes the best way to prevent miscommunication and establish credibility with an audience and the press. While you may not have all the answers, it is important to convey a commitment to gathering the facts quickly and accurately; articulate the steps you are taking to achieve that. However, remember that the need for speedy message delivery never trumps the need to provide veritable, proven information. It only takes one wrong sound-byte to destroy an entire crisis communication plan and possibly your company’s image and reputation.
- Tell only what you know to be true. Do not speculate, and do not respond to hypothetical questions.
Manage the message by controlling the delivery
The news media is a critical delivery channel, and it is essential to deliver information during a crisis in a way that all media channels simultaneously hear from the designated spokesperson, and not through rumors or leaks from other sources. Firm command and control over crisis communication messages will lessen the likelihood of inaccurate information being reported. It will also help prevent the competitive struggle over information sometimes seen in the media during breaking news or high-profile stories. By utilizing the following delivery steps, you can demonstrate your commitment to being transparent in the dissemination of information and, again help build trust with the media.
- Consider conducting regularly scheduled briefings for reporters with a designated spokesperson, and let the media know when and how you are going to communicate with them. If reporters are camped outside your facility, this will provide good information for planning purposes. Also, plan the briefings to incorporate media deadlines and needs. Don’t plan your one briefing for 5 pm every day. There should be one briefing in the morning and perhaps an afternoon briefing as well. If the only briefing is late in the day, this will cause media to go to other sources within and without the company for information.
- Set up a toll-free number for those outside your areas to participate. By hosting regularly scheduled briefings and providing access to information, you can help manage the volume of direct calls to the organization during a crisis.
- Make the audio portion of a briefing available live through your Web site, as well as through your archives for those who may miss a briefing.
- Give television outlets the opportunity for shooting video (provide B-roll if appropriate). While obvious, sometimes people forget that television is a visual medium and needs pictures to tell the story.
- Have organized infrastructure within your organization to call media briefings at the drop of a hat should new information become available.
- Tell the media representatives how they can get information between briefings, either through a media relations contact, your Web site, or pre-recorded messages.
In the absence of these information delivery processes, there will be pandemonium within the press corps, which makes it very difficult to get the right information out to the public. It may also be very disruptive to crisis response and recovery activities.
Don’t forget your internal audiences
A crisis affects everyone within a company or organization, including business partners and stakeholders. That is why it is important for staff at all levels and all outside partners to be informed about the status and magnitude of a situation and the steps being taken to respond. Informing all relevant parties in a timely and accurate manner, allows your company to:
- Foster a cohesive staff that feels invested, rather than excluded; informed, instead of in the dark; and confident that the situation is being managed, regardless of how bad it gets.
- Have command over a situation and messages that flow, thus minimizing the urge some employees may feel to speak publicly about details of the crisis and reducing the risk of the release of wrong or proprietary information.
- Utilize informed staff and stakeholders to recognize rumors surrounding the crisis and provide additional input into the overall communication strategy. You may even want to consider including select junior staff as part of the planning and response effort. They often know best what is going on with the rank and file of a company and it sends a strong signal that management is committed to inclusiveness.
In addition to public briefings and information, the use of existing delivery channels such as Intranets, pre-recorded messages, e-mail messages and bulletins are all effective ways of communicating with your internal audiences during a crisis. Make sure however, that information provided internally is consistent with the information provide publicly. Different information should not be shared with different audiences.
Alisa Harrison and Bill Pierce, based in Washington, D.C., are former senior communication officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services respectively. Donna Erat, based in Seattle, is a former senior communication official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.