Crisis Communication A crisis is unpredictable but not
Crisis Communication “A crisis is unpredictable but not unexpected” - Timothy Combs 10/3/2020 1
1. Introduction z MTV, Protests over Beavis & Butthead, 1994 z Dayton Hudson, Protests over Planned Parenthood grant, 1990 z Gerber, Reports of glass in baby food, 1986 z Nike, Mistreatment of Asian workers, 1997 z Jack-in-the-Box, E. coli, 1993 10/3/2020 z General Dynamics, Contract fraud, 1985 z Perrier, Benzene in its water, 1990 z Snapple, Racism rumors, 1993 z Heineken, Glass in beer, 1993 z Sizzler, E. coli poisoning, 1993 2
2. Overview Precrisis Crisis Post - Crisis • Detecting • Following -up • Designing Tools & Systems • Containing • Shaping memories • Monitoring • Recovering • Scanning • Assessing situation • Assessing effectiveness Learning 10/3/2020 3
3. Pre-crisis Planning z. Objective - prevent or lessen the negative outcomes of a crisis and thereby protect the organization, stakeholders, and/or industry from damage y$ loss yreputation loss yidentity altered 10/3/2020 4
3 a. Scanning z. Definition - Looking out for potential sources of crises z. Industry-wide issue analysis z. Organization specific issue analysis z. Risk assessment (“implicit issues” z. Stakeholder relationships 10/3/2020 5
Scanning cont. z Issue Sources y. Newspapers y. Business Magazines y. TV News y. Trade Journals y. Public Opinion Polls y. Medical/Science Journals y. On-line (web pages, newsgroups, etc. 10/3/2020 z Risk Assessment Sources y. Safety/accident records y. Ethical climate surveys y. Financial audits y. Liability exposure y. Workers Comp. y. Product tampering y. Risk audits (70 -80%) y. Sexual harassment exposure 6
Scanning cont. z Relationship Sources y. Shareholder resolutions y. Stakeholder complaints y. Rumors/grapevine at conventions y. Speculative discussions y. Potential Boycotts 10/3/2020 z Principle: Keep in continual contact with key constituents and listen to what they are saying. 7
3 b. Assessing situation z. Evaluate issues in two dimensions ylikelihood yimpact z. Evaluate risks with risk mgt. grid z. Evaluate relational threats y. Power(Leverage) y. Legitimacy (Value driven) y. Willingness (Desire for action 10/3/2020 8
Assessing cont. Issues Risks Relationships • Scenarios Intuitions 10/3/2020 • Rankings • ROTs History 9
Assessing cont. z Historical Types of Crises y. Natural disasters y. Malevolence (kidnapping, product tampering, terrorism etc. ) y. Technical breakdowns y. Human breakdowns 10/3/2020 z Challenges (boycotts, strikes, lawsuits, government actions) z Megadamage (oil spills, radioactivity) z Organ. Misdeeds z Workplace violence z Rumors 10
3 c. Designing Tools & Systems z. Select Crisis Management Team z. Select Spokespersons z. Develop Crisis Management Plan z. Prepare Crisis Communication System 10/3/2020 11
Selecting the CMT z. A cross-functional group who have been designated to handle ANY crisis z. Characteristics of a good CMT y. Work together (conflict mgt) y. Apply the CMP (manage stress) y. Listen to others y. Make the right decisions y. Communicate proactively 10/3/2020 12
Selecting the CMT z. Typical roles y. Legal y. Security/safety y. PR y. Operations y. Top Management (CEO) y. Victim manager z. Make time for training 10/3/2020 (63% companies do) 13
Selecting Spokespersons z. Principle - “One voice is more important than one person” z. Role - Manage the accuracy & consistency of the messages coming from the organization z. Communication should be guided by the 5 C’s: Concern, clarity, control, confidence, & competence 10/3/2020 14
Selecting the CMT z Skills of the spokesperson y. Appear pleasant on camera (visual, nonverbal) y. Answer questions effectively x. Don’t argue with reporters x. Avoid “no comment” comment (65% believe “no comment” = “guilty” x. Challenge incorrect information x. Assess assumptions of questions x. Legitimize y. Present information clearly x. Avoid jargon x. Provide structure 10/3/2020 15
Develop Crisis Management Plan z. What is it? y. A potential action plan y. Used during the crisis y. Focuses on “how-to” z. What it is not? y. Overly detailed y. Rigid 10/3/2020 16
Components of CMP z Introduction (usually by CEO) z Rehearsal dates z CMT members z CMT contact sheet z Crisis Assessment yoverview piece yshort ylikely scenarios 10/3/2020 z Incident report form (documents what happened) z Proprietary info. (list) z Strategy worksheet z Stakeholder contact sheet z Crisis control center (e. g. where, capabilities) z Postcrisis evaluation 17
Prepare Crisis Communication System z. Physical setup z. Prepare tools y. Intranet y. Internet y. Phones z. Prepare team 10/3/2020 18
4. Managing the Crisis z. A. Detecting the crisis z. B. Containing the crisis z. C. Recovering from the crisis 10/3/2020 19
4 a. Detecting the crisis z. Early monitoring z. Convince upper management z. Assess type & character of crisis ydifferent crises require different strategies 10/3/2020 20
4 b. Containing the crisis z. Respond quickly z. Acknowledge what you don’t know yet z. Set fairly rigid information priorities z. Express sympathy z. You can express concern without opening the company to liability issues z. Develop a strategy based on type of crisis 10/3/2020 21
Strategic options z Full apology and corrective action - misdeeds z Corrective action z Ingratiation (remind audiences of the org. past good deeds) z Justification - minimize or no serious problems z Excuse - “no control”, “no bad intentions” z Denial - no crisis exists z Attack the accuser - confront, threaten, lawsuit 10/3/2020 22
Strategic options Defensive Attack Denial Accommodative Excuse Justification Accuser Ingratiation Corrective Action Full Apology Weak Crisis Strong Crisis Responsibility Rumors Natural Disasters 10/3/2020 Malevolence Accidents Misdeeds 23
4 c. Recovering z. Follow-up on information requests z. Communicate with stakeholders z. Inform people about corrective actions z. Talk about financial implications z. Continue expressing compassion z. Continue tracking issues, risks, etc. 10/3/2020 24
5. Managing post-crisis z. Following-up y. Collect crisis records, stakeholder feedback, & media coverage y. Conduct interviews with key personnel z. Shaping memories y. Internal audiences y. External audiences y. What did we learn? So what? 10/3/2020 25
Cont. 5 - managing post-crisis z. Assessing effectiveness z. Examine records z. Look at phases of crisis z. Determine changes 10/3/2020 26
6. Learning z. New ROTs z. Changes in CMP z. New training opportunities z. New personnel 10/3/2020 27
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