Anthonissen Р.F. Crisis communication: practical public relations strategies for reputation management and company survival

Подождите немного. Документ загружается.

Crisis-control list

6. Employee training: dealing with the media

Teach your employees how they should respond in crisis situations, how

they should deal with journalists, when they are not authorized to speak

to journalists, etc. Regularly scheduled training is not a disposable

luxury!

They should pay attention to the following things:

ɀ Give no details – not even your name. Don’t let yourself get dragged

into a conversation.

ɀ Always assure the journalist that you will pass his or her questions

on immediately to a spokesperson who is aware of the situation and

who will call him or her back right away.

ɀ Ensure that you find out the following:

– Who are you talking to? What is his or her name?

– What is his or her position?

– On behalf of which newspaper or broadcaster is he or she

calling?

– What is his or her telephone number?

– What does he or she want to know?

ɀ Give the message and all the information that you have learnt to an

authorized person immediately. Check whether the spokesperson

actually contacted the journalist.

ɀ Always be polite and patient. That is the message and will remain so,

even – and particularly – in difficult circumstances.

It is not enough for you to give this list to your employees. Explain

things to them and schedule regular training sessions.

Crisis-control list

7. Crisis manual

Do not write this manual alone – teamwork is required. Writing it is the

job of the crisis team and the crisis-communication team. Your crisis

manual must be a reference work for meetings, brainstorming sessions,

crisis training and simulations. Every company has different needs.

Here is a suggested list of contents for a good crisis manual:

220022

Crisis Communication

ɀ Introduction: short description of what is expected of the members

of the crisis team and the crisis-communication team; company phi-

losophy; how to use the manual.

ɀ Procedures: short description of the procedure to be followed in the

event of a crisis in the company.

ɀ Crisis team and crisis-communication team: the names and posi-

tions of the members of the teams; brief description of their respon-

sibilities; telephone numbers of the team members and external

advisers such as lawyers, PR consultants, etc (office number and a

mobile or private number that they can be reached on, day and

night); detailed information on their back-ups in case a member of

the team is ill, on vacation or simply unreachable.

ɀ Public groups: list of the public groups, with addresses and tele-

phone numbers of contact people; emergency numbers of govern-

ment services, hospitals, emergency services, ministries, lawyers.

ɀ Message: summary of what should/can be communicated to the

outside world in the event of a crisis: who, what, where, when, why

and how.

ɀ Material: the crisis centre (location) and similar information; what

material is provided, for whom is it intended and where it can be

found; user instructions available.

ɀ Media: checklist with media-relations principles, how to prepare for

interviews and give interviews successfully.

ɀ Background information: brochures on the company, products,

procedures, etc. Technical information can sometimes be useful,

too.

ɀ Useful addresses and telephone numbers: press-monitoring serv-

ices, caterers, etc.

Crisis-control list

8. How to handle a crisis

Some general principles:

ɀ Don’t stand by idly waiting… do something… take action.

ɀ Always repeat the same message.

ɀ Call the crisis team and the crisis-communication team together

immediately and sequester them.

ɀ Evaluate the situation (see control list 9).

Crisis Communication Checklists

220033

ɀ Decide which strategy should be followed.

ɀ Identify the public groups and stakeholders affected.

ɀ Determine what you want to communicate to the outside world; if

possible, determine who the opinion leaders are.

ɀ Prepare a plan and carry it out.

ɀ Inform those who should be informed.

ɀ Centralize all incoming and outgoing information.

ɀ Understand your public groups and speak their language.

ɀ Give information quickly and clearly.

ɀ Calm everyone down.

ɀ Respond to negative reporting.

ɀ Be flexible and creative.

ɀ Think long term and keep the reputation of your company and

organization always at the forefront of your thoughts.

Crisis-control list

9. Crisis strategy

When you evaluate a crisis and think about how you will approach it

strategically, you should ask yourself the following questions:

ɀ What crisis? What actually happened? Are we all interpreting the

situation in the same way?

ɀ Is this crisis what it appears to be? Or is there something else behind

the crisis? Is this the tip of the iceberg? Can this incident bring the

reputation of the whole company, the group and the sector into

question? Are our safety standards being questioned? Can other

elements of our company be brought into disrepute? How will the

company values be interpreted?

ɀ Should we expect still more problems? Will more of this type of

environmental problem, explosion, strike, etc, take place?

ɀ What will happen in the worst case? Prepare for the worst-case sce-

narios.

ɀ How will the public groups and stakeholders interpret this matter?

Try to imagine how an outsider would view this crisis. How does the

concerned community view this situation? The personnel who have

only just learnt what happened? And what about the other public

groups, especially the media? What would you think if you were in

their position? Can you ask them that question? Have you already

thought of calling a couple of journalists to find out whether they

think it is an insignificant matter or front-page news?

220044

Crisis Communication

ɀ Timing? First: when will the media (radio, TV, internet sites, blog-

gers, daily newspapers, magazines, trade press) begin to report on

the incident? Is our information adequate or should we take the

time to provide them with more detailed information? And when

will we inform the employees, the government and head office?

Then: how long will the crisis last? There is the initial incident, and

then there are the consequences, the negotiations, the restoration of

the situation, contacts with pressure groups, NGOs, etc.

ɀ What is at risk? What will we lose in the worst case? How loyal are

our clients, our suppliers and our shareholders? Will they also be

loyal in bad times? How long will people remember this incident?

What will the impact be on the reputation of our company or organ-

ization?

ɀ Can we get the crisis under control? In a general context: how can

our actions contribute to speculation and negative or imprecise

reporting being limited as quickly as possible and to preventing the

crisis from getting out of hand? In a limited context: can the crisis

be attributed to a specific branch or product? If you only use the

geographical name of the branch or the name of the specific

product and you give the spokespeople a role that is limited to the

subsidiary, you may be able to keep the name of the parent

company and/or its other products out of the line of fire or at least

limit the damage.

ɀ Can we find allies? Would our sectoral employers’ organization or

professional association be better able to communicate the message

credibly or ensure that it is received better? Or perhaps an inde-

pendent research centre or university?

ɀ Who is involved? Are third parties involved with the incident? Are

there government services that have not done their jobs properly?

Suppliers? An extortionist? Vandals? Terrorists? That can influence

our strategy: if we come first with the news, we may be labelled as

‘guilty’, regardless. It may be possible for you – along with the

public – to blame that other ‘guilty party’ now.

Crisis Communication Checklists

220055

Crisis-control list

10. Crisis communication

What you definitely must communicate in the event of a crisis:

ɀ Details: as much information as possible about the incident or the

issue.

ɀ Sympathy: concern, understanding, possibly also regret, possibly

apologies.

ɀ Reassurance: ‘There is no longer any danger’, ‘It is not harmful’,

advice to people who are concerned, ‘One chance in a million’, etc.

ɀ What are we doing about it? A thorough investigation by an inde-

pendent body.

ɀ Good reputation of our company: our company has always done so

much good.

ɀ Extensive information: where and when will more information be

available?

ɀ Possibly: free-phone numbers, help lines, special websites, etc.

ɀ Background information: details about products, procedures,

chemicals, the company, etc.

Always give – to the extent that it is possible, of course – details and prac-

tical examples. If you only say, ‘Our security standards are the best in

our sector’, that will not be credible. But if you describe how often the

ministry of public health or social affairs has investigated your company

to the smallest detail, how much your company invests in safety, how

many employees are responsible for it, what your company does pre-

cisely to ensure safety, that will be credible. This applies to all forms of

messages (for example reassurance, good reputation) where your

version of the facts will not be accepted at face value.

220066

Crisis Communication

Appendix 1

Factual information document

COMPANY NAME: ...............................................................................

Description of company (in no more than eight words)

.................................................................................................................

Year founded:

.................................................................................................................

Accreditations:

.................................................................................................................

Awards: ...................................................................................................

Brand names of products/services in portfolio: .....................................

.................................................................................................................

End-user prices: .....................................................................................

Your route(s) to market (% of each channel): ........................................

Trade prices: ..........................................................................................

Typical margins to channel: ...................................................................

New products coming through from R&D: ...........................................

.................................................................................................................

When? ....................................................................................................

220077

Last year’s sales by volume/units: ..........................................................

Last year’s sales by revenue: ..................................................................

This year’s sales by volume/units: ..........................................................

This year’s sales by revenue: ..................................................................

Overall size of market:

By volume/units: ....................................................................................

By revenue $: .........................................................................................

Your share of market: .....................%

Your position in market: ........................................................................

Main competitors: ..................................................................................

.................................................................................................................

Your customers:

How many: .............................................................................................

What sectors: ..........................................................................................

Top customer/user names: .....................................................................

Total number of staff:

Worldwide: .............................................................................................

By region: ...............................................................................................

In sales: .......................................... In support: .................................

In R&D: ......................................... In admin: ...................................

Anticipated recruitment this year: .........................................................

220088

Appendix 1

Company description:

Describe your company in 100 words or attach existing press release

boilerplate here:

.................................................................................................................

Contacts:

Main telephone: .........................................

Free phone: ................................................

Web address: ..........................................................................................

Main press contact:

Name: .....................................................................................................

E-mail: ....................................................................................................

Office number (plus ext): ................................................

Mobile: ............................................................................

Appendix 1

220099

Appendix 2

Message development document

Message development 1: pre-crisis

Facts Message

Company

Products

Services

People

Customers

221100

Message development 2: possible crises

Appendix 2

221111

Issues Your Opinion