The chance that a nation, an organization or a community will face a crisis event is practically guaranteed. Every crisis event is unique and so is the size and magnitude of each one. The crisis will affect people, their communities and very likely the companies they work for.

Corporate crisis events can impact individual and organizational financial stability, productivity, reputation and success, both long term and short. National and community crisis events can impact economic stability and confidence. We don’t need to think very hard before natural disasters and high profile corporate crises come to mind.  

While the process for dealing with crisis events differs according to the nature of the event and stakeholders involved, factors to consider during a crisis event are similar across the board. These top 5 considerations are important to varying degrees during a crisis event like those examples given above and others.

Details

In any crisis, it is important to maintain composure so a crisis communication team can effectively determine the details of the event. Details include the Who, What, When, Where and How of the event. The ‘Why’ may or may not be discernible right away, but the other factors should be relatively easy to determine.

One important detail to consider is the hierarchy of a crisis communication team. Who is in charge? Who will make important decisions and therefore need to know as much as possible about the event?

With a well-constructed crisis communication plan, the person in charge should have assembled his or her team and each member should be actively collecting details to bring back to the team and begin the process of …

Crisis Containment

Containing the crisis is less about attempting to stop the crisis and more about ensuring the safety of all involved, taking action steps to avoid further damage or injury if possible and communicating internally to ensure good information is exchanged as early in the event as possible. Once the crisis is contained the team is better prepared to step right into the process of …

Messaging

Developing a consistent and effective message is essential in a crisis event, but a communication method will differ depending on whether the communication is internal or external.

Internal. Communicating internally keeps the rumor mill at bay and speculation to a minimum. Part of internal communication is persuading all parties to buy into the message so it remains consistent. Persuasion doesn’t mean asking team members to buy into a lie or pacify with exaggerated optimism. It requires allowable degrees of transparency and absolute honesty on the part of leadership and the communication team. When no information is available to share, the best answer to give is that no information is available to share. It is important to encourage an atmosphere of trust and honesty is absolutely necessary.

External. Communication keeps the community and other stakeholders informed. Speculation and rumors are as detrimental, or more so when a crisis event involves communities. For large scale crises, people rely on civic and national leadership to inform and act on behalf of the masses. Small crisis can become a large issue when events are not communicated well and trust is lost. Well crafted and universally adopted messaging is a necessary early step toward ensuring a positive outcome.

Preparation

Prepare for aftershock. Aftereffects of any crisis can be long-lasting. Think of the aftershocks of a serious earthquake. Foundations weakened. Panic activated. The aftershocks often cause more damage than the initial quake. In high profile crisis events involving companies or public safety, backlash is a certainty. Effective preparation for backlash includes tactics for leveraging the positive and mitigating the negative while remaining transparent about the state of things, and therefore upholding your integrity and trustworthiness.

Mitigation

Monitor, measure, evaluate and mitigate future events. The best way to deal with a crisis is to avoid it. One can’t argue with that logic. The best outcome of a serious event is more than lives saved, reputations intact and preservation of lifestyle. It is also a good rearview of what happened, why it happened and how to keep it from happening again. A forward-thinking plan includes a critically thought-out decision to mitigate subsequent events in the best way possible.

The most effective crisis communication plans are created with past events in mind and the goal of a plan is to carefully consider all 5 areas discussed here. What exactly happened and how was it handled? What was done well? What could have been done differently, or better? What messages need to be developed and communicated that could lessen the impact of future crisis events? Better yet, what messages and protocols could be developed to mitigate future crises?

Isn’t it time for your organization to develop a crisis communication plan?  At Chemistry PR and Multimedia, we are here to help you develop and implement your best crisis communication plan. Call us today!

Chris Kuban started Chemistry PR and Multimedia with a vision to effectively formulate corporate and non-profit brands across the country. In doing so, he has become an expert in Media Relations, Event Management, Social Media implementation and video production.  He engages, coordinates and oversees a diverse team of local and national suppliers, vendors, employees and consultants, allowing him to successfully coordinate over 120 national events focusing on overall logistics, media relations and his clients’ expected ROI. Follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.