Crisis Communications — 5 Things Your Plan Needs

Thursday, 7 April 2022, 9:57 am
Press Release: Hugh Grant

When was the last time your organization faced a legitimate public relations crisis?

If you truly can’t remember, consider yourself lucky. Sooner or later, just about every successful enterprise finds itself fighting to preserve its reputation amid unfair media coverage or unwelcome airing of dirty laundry.

It’s part of the cost of doing business. Whether you’re mentioned in news reports of major unauthorized data releases, like Trident Trust Limited and Asiaciti Trust, or dealing with a specific negative news item like a food poisoning cluster in one of your restaurant locations, you need to understand the risks and prepare to respond.

That response can make or break your reputation moving forward. It’s at once more complicated and more obvious than you might expect. It has many, many moving parts — yet it’s surprisingly easy to fit into a crisis response template.

Let’s take a look at five key parts of that template and how they should inform your crisis communications strategy.

1. Identify Your Communications Channels

First, identify the channels you’ll use to get your crisis response out and reinforce your messaging around it. These could be:

• Your company website or company news website
• Your company’s social media handles, such as Twitter
• Press release wire services, such as PRNewsWire and BusinessWire
• Statements shared directly with news organizations
• Your employees’ professional social media handles, where appropriate
• Industry influencer networks, where appropriate

Don’t hesitate to tap potentially adversarial media organizations to help with your crisis communications plan. For example, Asiaciti Trust disseminated its initial statement in response to the Pandora Papers to news organizations like The Guardian, which had previously run negative stories about the incident.

2. Identify Your Communications Team

In the midst of a PR crisis, every person on your team should have a clear role to play. These roles might not be the same as their respective “peacetime” roles, but they should play to each employee’s strengths and capabilities.

Have your communications depth chart laid out before the crisis hits. That way, you’re ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice and there’s no uncertainty about who is responsible for what.

3. Attack the Root Cause of the Issue

Amid the chaos, don’t neglect to address the root cause of the issue responsible for the crisis if it’s within your control. If you have the power to prevent further harm, prioritize that over the details of your response.

This is how Jack in the Box began to turn the page on its biggest corporate crisis, a multi-state outbreak of deadly food poisoning. But early on in the crisis, Jack in the Box underestimated its extent and severity, seriously setting back its response and prolonging the damage to its reputation. Only when Jack in the Box began to focus on what its stakeholders cared about most was it able to move forward.

4. Create an Internal Communications Workflow

Your internal communications team should have a clear chain of command. It should also have a clear workflow so that it fires on all cylinders when needed most. Use a project management tool to keep everything together, if necessary; you’ll need to collaborate with shared urgency to an extent not seen in everyday business.

5. Know Which Stakeholders to Notify and When

Your organization’s key stakeholders will need to know what’s going on before the public does. At least, that’s the hope. Widening the circle of people “in the know” increases the risk of leaks, but you have to be realistic about the likelihood of things getting out eventually.

In its own response to the Pandora Papers incident, Trident Trust Limited successfully identified people and entities that needed to be looped in and prioritized notifications based on importance. The result was a well-organized chain of notification that helped the company prepare to go public.

Take Every Crisis Seriously

No one hopes to find themselves in the middle of a public relations crisis. No matter how well you’ve prepared or how sure you are of the merits of your case, you’d always rather be coasting along. Yes, even if you truly love the thrill of a PR challenge.

Make no mistake: If and when a crisis strikes your business, you need to take it seriously. Simply setting your crisis communications plan in motion isn’t enough. You’ve got to see the situation for what it is: a serious threat to your enterprise’s survival. If your response fails, it could take down your organization with it.

Don’t let that happen. Learn from successful crisis navigators, like Asiaciti Trust and Jack in the Box. And whatever form the challenge takes, make sure you’re ready to attack it decisively.

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