Your response in the first 24 to 48 hours of a crisis is often what you will be judged on in a crisis communication situation. It isn’t easy. You will need speed, accuracy, and some skill at predicting the future to be able to look at your work as successful. And even then, something will almost certainly have not gone the way you wanted it to.
A crisis hits you like a punch in the face.
It was Mike Tyson who said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” While this will not go down in the annals of great philosophical prose, it could not be more true.
While working for a major school system a few years back, I arrived at the office on the morning of my wedding anniversary, full of smiles after a nice breakfast with my wife. Within thirty minutes I was dealing with a mass shooting at one of our schools. It felt very much like a punch in the face, and, just like a fighter, the first step is to not let your knees buckle.
Let the training take over.
The most important things you will rely on in a crisis situation are the cohesiveness and experience of your team, and the preparation you have already put in. You cannot be ready, in detail, for every possible scenario. Even if you have plans surrounding the concept of what you are dealing with, details will present themselves that throw things a bit off course.
What is invaluable, first off, is everyone knowing their role in a crisis. We didn’t have to have a conversation about who would handle on-site press, who would monitor social media, and who would guide communications with our families and staff, because our team already had a good handle on what that could and should look like. We were immediately working the problem presented by the situation rather than solving problems of our own making.
Beyond that, having people who work well together and are good at digging in and executing their tasks is vital. This comes from hiring good people, putting them in the right place, and clearly defining roles. It all happens long before the crisis. If you are in communications, every hire should be viewed through the lens of how you think they would handle a crisis situation.
Be decisive, not reactive
Let me throw another sports quote your way: “Play fast, but don’t hurry.” That one comes from legendary basketball coach John Wooden.
The point here is that urgency is everywhere in a crisis situation. You will have to make split second decisions, and you need to make them with confidence, even if you aren’t sure about other options. You need to move as quickly as possible, but with a few rules for yourself:
- Release nothing until you know it is accurate. If you are not sure, wait until you have it right.
- Remember who your stakeholders are, and put them first. If there is media covering the story, they will want you to think they are the most important focus for your attention. In our case, in a school system, our families and staff mattered more. We did all we could to make sure they were up to date and getting information directly from us. (Though at times, media would need to be a conduit.)
- Focus your statements on what you can do and are doing. As a school system, we weren’t going to catch the gunman or identify a motive. What we could do was make sure families knew where to connect with their children and what was going to happen the next day in schools around the District.
Understand the context of the situation.
Know your place in the story. In the case of a crime, the police are the ones who will have most of the answers in the first 24 hours. Allow room for them to take the lead, and identify the time when you need to step forward. For us, the second day was the most vital in sharing our message.
If there is a protest, job action, or controversy, the questions will be coming your way immediately. Be as transparent and empathetic as possible. Never, ever say, “No comment.” If you don’t know an answer, say so, and work to get one. If your lawyers are saying to “put a lid” on information, work with them to find common ground. There are ways of speaking without divulging too much.
Take charge of your message.
Part of your crisis planning should have involved basic messaging regarding your organization. The message mapping sessions we do for clients here at Chemistry PR and Multimedia are a great example of how to develop concise communications points about your company that can be used as a starting point.
From there, take in all the questions and requests you are getting and determine what you can answer. If you are able, use a news conference setting or a series of interviews to provide as much information as possible in the context of your crisis. Reporters only have so much time/space for their story. The more of that space you can occupy, the more favorable the reporting is likely to be for you.
Take notes and set expectations.
Know this: You or someone on your team will almost certainly make a mistake in the middle of this firestorm. Expecting perfection in a crisis situation is setting the bar for almost certain failure. So give yourself and your team some grace. Hopefully the mistakes are small ones.
Most importantly, keep notes or do an immediate after-action review. We can tolerate mistakes, but we can’t accept not learning from them. As Director of Communications for a school district, I learned that I should always have the cell number for the police Public Information Officer in my cell phone. I didn’t that day and that was a mistake. I will never make it again.
Use your team’s experience to inform your crisis plan.
Every person on your team with crisis experience should be part of your planning before the fact. Because every crisis is unique, everyone has a different set of information they can contribute. Brainstorm potential crises. Brainstorm solutions. Have answers ready for the most likely challenges to come your way.
Next steps.
There is a lot to creating a plan like this, and here at Chemistry, we can help you put it together. Whether you need a basic message map and plan layout, or ongoing support, we can help.
