Don’t duck your head during a crisis
It may seem redundant to say so, but the key to a successful crisis communications plan is to focus on communication. There is often an instinct to withdraw from the public eye during times of crisis.
However, during a crisis, people seek strong leadership. The public expects, and needs, someone to step forward to explain the problem and to provide information on how the problem will be fixed. Think of recent notable failures in crisis management, such as last year’s BP oil spill. The concerns and frustrations expressed by the general public were not typically focused on the spill itself, but on the company’s inability or unwillingness to share information on how the problem was being addressed.
This quote, from the Ackermann PR blog, accurately describes a problem many companies face when involved in crises. Regardless of what is going on behind the scenes, if you forget to communicate exactly what is being done in terms of crisis management, then you are seen as doing nothing at all, causing your organization’s reputation to take a blow.
It’s crucial to not only address the issues at hand, but also make absolutely certain that people know that you’re doing it, and no, a press release will not be sufficient. One simple solution is to film repair, retraining, or recovery efforts yourself, using not only a corporate website, but outlets like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the like to promote the videos, making them accessible to as many eyes as possible.
However you choose to do it, keep talking. It never pays to play ostrich.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/