communicating in crisis summer 2011
DESCRIPTION
Communicating in Crisis.TRANSCRIPT
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.