Communicating Through Crisis

The day is progressing like any other: meetings with staff, lunch with a client, emails to return and paperwork to complete. You’re busy with activities for the fall, tying up year-end projects and planning for new initiatives.

Then the phone rings. You answer casually, only to feel your heart race and your blood pressure rise. Something unexpected has happened — sending your company into crisis.

A wave of panic shoots through your veins. After your body recovers from the initial shock, your brain shifts into overdrive with a list of questions to ask and actions to take.  You know time is critical and communication necessary, but where do you begin?

Defining Crisis

Crisis is a negative incident or event that impacts an organization, outside the scope of normal operations or decision-making processes, and usually requires immediate action.

Jonathan Bernstein, president of a leading crisis management firm in Monrovia, California, describes crisis as “any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, significantly damage reputation, or negatively impact the bottom line.”

Crisis can come from any direction and in many forms. Outside sources, like a fire, theft or lawsuit, can wreak havoc on a business. Internal threats like the illness or death of an executive; embezzlement of funds; or any other immoral, unethical or illegal activity can damage an organization for years. Today, an emergency can even originate from inside your computer or walk through your front door wielding a gun. The threats are limitless, yet very real.

Experiencing Calamity

“Crisis communication happens nearly every day for us,” shares Michelle Baumstark, community relations director for Columbia Public Schools, “mostly because we are a large district with lots of moving parts.”

Baumstark recalls a situation from last school year when a teacher observed a suspicious individual, whom she believed was carrying a gun, in the parking lot. The teacher dialed 911 while walking to the principal’s office, and the situation resulted in a full lockdown. Law enforcement was on the scene within minutes, and the district’s safety and security directors arrived to secure the building and direct parents.

“It happened right at the end of school,” Baumstark remembers, “so we weren’t going to let kids out until the threat was diminished.” The district used their text alert system to notify parents and later sent a follow-up email with details. The incident was fully resolved within a few hours.

For some crisis situations, however, the outcome cannot be resolved as quickly or easily. Michele Stafford, a former payroll specialist for a local accounting firm, experienced crisis up close and personal last November, when her boss was arrested. He then died, in his home, less than a month later.

After news of the emergency broke, Stafford found herself in a state of disbelief, and she describes the situation as “devastating.” The memory of reporters standing outside the office door and snapping pictures of the building is still etched in the recesses of her mind.

According to Stafford, the events that unfolded in just few short weeks led to the loss of significant business for the firm, with Stafford and five others eventually losing their jobs due to the financial strain.

When thinking about defining success in the midst of crisis, Baumstark, who has worked in her position for 10 years, asks herself “Is there a resolution to this particular situation?”

She describes the ultimate resolution for crisis as one where those involved are safe, have been communicated with and have trust in the staff and organization. “Regardless of the outcome,” Baumstark says, “we want those involved to feel like we did everything we could.”

Preparing for Emergency

As a business owner and leader, you may not be able to keep a calamity from impacting your business, but you can plan ahead. “Once the crisis happens,” shares Bob Klausmeyer, director of campus safety and custodial services for Columbia College, “it’s too late to prepare.”

Columbia College created a crisis response plan following a recommendation from the Missouri Campus Security Task Force assembled by Gov. Matt Blunt in 2007. Blunt charged the 29-person task force with providing recommendations for campus safety in light of the Virginia Tech shooting, which left 32 students and faculty dead in April of the same year.

Klausmeyer now administrates the plan for the college and leads the crisis response team charged with revising and implementing the initiative. The group meets every two weeks and includes representatives from departments that would be involved in an actual crisis.

“Our plan is pretty general, since you can’t predict the specifics of a crisis,” Klausmeyer says, “but the responsibility of each department is identified in the plan.”

For smaller organizations without the need or resources for creating a formal plan, Klausmeyer suggests three simple tips for planning ahead:

Identify key players. Klausmeyer recommends deciding who would best represent your organization in planning for crisis and asking them to participate. For Columbia College, the key players include staff from public relations, plant facilities and operations, student affairs and information services.

Meet together regularly. Klausmeyer admits that keeping an organization safe is a lot of labor for one person. He encourages organizations to create a team and spend time brainstorming.

List sources of crisis. Once you’ve gathered the key players, Klausmeyer suggests evaluating potential threats. Once you’ve got a working list, assemble a proposed response to each risk.

Baumstark says that crisis management is a combination of both planning and training. “Those involved need to know what to do, but also how to do it,” she explains. “The practice is as important as having the plan.” She credits much of the success in crisis scenarios, like the one last school year, to teachers, administrators and students having rehearsed similar situations before they actually happen.

Communicating Externally

Once you have a plan, it’s time to turn your attention to communication. During meetings of the Missouri Campus Security Task Force, it was noted that 86 percent of Missouri higher education institutions had developed an all-hazard emergency plan. The same survey acknowledged, however, that 92 percent of colleges identified emergency notification and communication as the greatest challenge they faced in implementing the plan   (See sidebar for tips on effective crisis communication).

Sam Fleury, assistant director of public relations for Columbia College, and his team are involved with communication once a crisis has been determined. Believing that social media is the most effective way to communicate to their audiences during a crisis, the social media manager for the college sits on the crisis response team. The school would use the Cougar Alert System, the school website and social media outlets to disperse information to faculty and students if needed.

Fleury remains grateful that Columbia College has not had to initiate their crisis response plan in recent years, but he believes their reaction to severe weather conditions has given them a working model. “We have a clear decision-maker for these types of situations and a clear communication structure,” Fleury says.

Fleury agrees with Klausmeyer that gathering your trusted advisors and thinking through crisis scenarios are the most important steps in preparing for a crisis. He encourages business leaders to incorporate these three principles when facing an emergency:

Remain calm. Keep your cool and look at the situation you’re facing from every possible angle.

Be quick, but don’t hurry. You want to respond in a timely manner, but you also want to be prepared.

Have clear message points ready. Draft several and keep pivoting back to them.

With more than 18,300 students enrolled in the school district, Baumstark agrees that you don’t have time to panic when a crisis arises.

“The first 30 minutes are the most important,” Baumstark says. “They will make or break the situation and help you manage the emergency as it develops.”

The first half-hour should include quickly assessing the situation, jumpstarting communication and gathering needed information. Once those tasks are covered, move on to resolving the situation and providing additional communication.

“The decompression comes later,” says Baumstark. “But first you need to prioritize, make quick decisions and be ready to communicate.”

Communicating Internally

In addition to dealing with the general public and media during an emergency, it is critical to lead your staff through the process.

A 2010 survey conducted by Towers Watson, an international HR and risk management firm, showed that companies communicating with courage, innovation and discipline during times of challenge and change are more effective at engaging employees and achieving the business results they desire.

Stafford clearly remembers her boss’s response to the crisis he and the business faced. “The day after his arrest, he pulled in the staff and gave us details,” she says. “I have to commend the man: he was very open. He genuinely cared about us.” Stafford says he continued to keep the team informed and was around the office until his death.

After his death, Stafford’s experience changed. “Once he passed away, there were lots of closed doors and people coming and going,” she recalls. “There were lots of unknowns. The quiet, secrets and whispering created anxiety and fear.”

The company has since been acquired, and it’s now part of the local firm Gibson & Company PC. Brent Gibson admits it was a very difficult tax season for the staff. “They are here now, however, working with our local firm,” he adds, “taking care of their clients  and very optimistic about the future.”

To help guide employees through times of uncertainty and change, here are three key tips:

Keep your team informed. If there’s a situation affecting your company, you owe it to your staff to explain the situation before they hear it from an outside source.
“When it comes to internal communication, I often see businesses taking the laissez-faire, wait-and-see approach,” says Jennifer Connelly, founder and CEO of JCPR, a public relations firm based in New York. “This is a huge mistake, one that opens the door to misinformation, rumor and innuendo – all of which pose significant harm to a brand.” Connelly says it is critical for companies to communicate openly and to be the source of news for their workers and stakeholders.

Don’t rely on email. When you have a crucial message to send your team, don’t rely on email as your primary — or only — form of communication.
According to Phil Simon, author of “Message Not Received,” the average person receives 120 to 150 emails each day. He notes that employees can become overwhelmed by the amount of information they’re required to process through their inboxes and can easily misplace, delete or not even see a critical message.

Invest in managers. In times of crisis or change, your managers make up a unique audience that is perfectly positioned to help facilitate communication within your staff.
According to the 2010 Towers Watson survey, the most financially successful companies invest in leaders and managers by offering additional training and information on how to communicate with their employees in a crisis.

Responding Confidently

You set the phone down and take a deep breath, a sense of relief passing through your body. The adrenaline begins to fade and is replaced with a sense of peace. It’s going to be all right. After all, you’ve planned for this. You’re as prepared as you could possibly be for the storm that’s coming.

You reach over your desk and grab the file marked “crisis communication plan.” As you review the notes, you’re reminded of the work your team has completed preparing for this moment. Confident about next steps, it’s time to assemble the key staff and assess the situation. You walk out of your office to face crisis head on. CBT

 

10 Tips For Effective Crisis Communication

It’s go time. Your company is facing an emergency and it’s about to go public. Rather than panic, grab this quick reference list off your bulletin board and proceed with confidence. Any one of these 10 crisis communication strategies, compiled from experts locally and across the nation, might just save your organization’s reputation and your bottom line.

Don’t bury bad news. It will get out eventually.

Respond in a timely manner.

Be quick, factual and avoid speculation.

Never say “No comment.” It implies guilt or apathy.

Address your audience’s most pressing concerns

Express empathy and concern when victims are involved.

Select a spokesperson to represent the organization throughout the process.

Direct all communications through one channel.

Consider a video response by the primary spokesperson to give a more human touch.

Plan to suffer in the short-term in order to succeed in the long-term.