This article discusses three lessons learned from crises over the last seven months. Steps to avoid these missteps should be included in your crisis communications plan. Over the past seven months the media have relentlessly covered major crises ranging from a superstar athlete’s fall from grace, a massive vehicle recall because of safety problems, two [...]
In a fast-breaking crisis, communicating early and often can link your stakeholders with your messages and establish your organization as a reliable source of verified information. However, traditional communications channels quickly become clogged with speculation, conjecture and rumors about your organization and how it is handling the crisis. That’s why the Crisis Communications Team Leader [...]
To fine-tune your crisis response skills, we’ve advocated watching other organizations and practitioners handle real-life traumas and analyze their emergency strategy and tactics. For example, the ongoing Toyota recall crisis has provided a bonanza of crisis management lessons, all of which belong in your crisis communications notebook, if they’re not there already. If you haven’t [...]
One of the most important components of crisis response is effective communications, but to whom should you be talking and what should you be saying? That depends on which stage your communications efforts are in: Initial Stage Primary Stage Recovery Stage Let’s take a look at communications in these three stages. Initial Stage Making a [...]
A crisis communications plan organizes your team into neat, specific roles and responsibilities to facilitate rapid and accurate response. But ask anyone who has responded to a crisis, even a “small incident,” and they will tell you there are myriad administrative events and developments that fall outside those roles that can overwhelm the communications team. [...]
Bright lights switch on. Microphones and tape recorders are thrust at you. Harried reporters ask brusque questions. What kind of person voluntarily steps into such mayhem? If you are a member of a Crisis Communications Team that person might very well be you. Even if you aren’t going to face the bright lights and microphones, [...]
For a variety of reasons many people don’t like to write. Whether it’s the trauma of getting started, struggling to find the right words or conquering writer’s block, writing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Introduce the pressure, fear, panic and uncertainty a crisis creates and you’ll understand why writing crisis response communications is so challenging. [...]
In the last article we discussed the role and responsibilities of the communications team leader. This article covers the duties of the communications analyst, the person who ensures the response is effective. An Important Crisis Management Role The analyst gathers and interprets data about the crisis from several sources to determine the effectiveness of the [...]
The first step in communicating about an event that places your organization’s reputation at risk is a thorough understanding of the roles and responsibilities required for a successful response. Depending on your organization’s mission and the type of situation you’re facing some of the concepts discussed in this article will be appropriate, others not. You’ll [...]
While many newsmakers bemoan 24-hour news cycles, savvy crisis communicators can use the microscopic coverage of events to evaluate an organization’s response. Pay attention to what the organization says and does and shortly you will know what they are defending. If they are defending the CEO’s decision their words and actions will be radically different [...]
