What crisis? All in a day’s work…

During the silly season amidst client end-of-year parties and other festive bashes, our team featured extensively in the people pictures of glossy magazines, in some high-flying events which ledto one lady telling me oh-so seriously ‘So your business is about partying?’ I laughed whole-heartedly; in fact, our daily lives are a grim reminder that crises are part and parcel of the PR world and certainly strike at any time. It is a sad coincidence that whilst writing this opinion piece that I am reminded of the murder case Blast handled exactly 2 years ago. Just as the ignorant lady had a completely skewed view of the lives of communication professionals, the various publics involved in a crisis, will probably have very different readings and interpretations of what is being written in the media or being told in the public space. But when images and reputations of organisations and our clients are at stake because of false perceptions, then it is our duty to rectify this.

Is there a standard way of handling such crises? Hell No! Every crisis is different, but there are four broad principles to consider when putting together key messages during that period of great challenge

Empathy. Show that you understand why people might be angry/upset/confused with the situation. Even if an organization has done nothing wrong, it must gauge the emotions of its publics and consequently, in all its communication, acknowledge same and respond in a humane manner.

Context.Put the crisis in the context of what is happening to the sector as a whole, or to similar organizations. For that it is crucial to understand the feeling on the ground; what makes people tick, what are the staff saying, what do the authorities feel about the situation?

Action. Actions speak louder than words. Tell the public and tell them quickly what you are actually doing to restore the situation and also importantly bring back normalcy in the organization as quickly as possible. Show the world that after you have weathered the storm, you are open for business, albeit in a subtle manner.

Transparency.Being dishonest can do more damage to your organisation’s reputation. Mistakes happen and respect can be gained by admitting the fault and being clear about the reasons for it.

Some of the valuable learning over the years of handling crises are: 

- Always get your spokespersons media trained. Do not wait for a crisis to strike and be utterly disappointed that the potential spokesperson stutters or cannot handle stress. We all remember BP’s ex-CEO’s unfortunate comment during the Deepwater Horizon crisis ‘I want my life
back’.

- Anticipate potential crises and have a crisis manual ready. Also, identify a crisis team that might assist the CEO whenever needed. This might include the legal advisor, the financial director, the personal assistant, the HR mana-ger and of course, the communication person or agency. The more brains you have around that table, the better.

-Don’t obliterate Facebook and the other social media platforms. We used to have an hour to react to a crisis; today immediacy is the name of the game and please… there is no such thing as a digital past.

- Don’t wait for a crisis to build your relationship with media. Never snob  journalists. They need to tell the story and you need to provide them with your perspective lest you want a one-sided
article.

- Never try to control media. Journalists have an important role to play in a democracy and communication people/organisations as well. If everyone behaves ethically, there should be no conflict and the public will get to know the various truths.

- I could go on but at the risk of sounding like marketing my company, do have an agency or communication people who are connected and always available. In 2014, one cannot afford to say, that crisis can wait [Reference to the famous quote by Henry Kissinger “There can’t be a crisis next week, my schedule is already full”]

How an organisation communicates during a crisis can make the difference between the crisis going out of control and it being a minor obstacle. Hilary Clinton is famously quoted to have said ‘Never waste a good crisis’. There are indeed many cases where companies have recovered smartly and even benefited from crises.

As 2014 dawns slowly on those blasting party shakers and movers, allow me to wish you a crisis-free year.