Brushing up on Crisis Communication

Could you image being Tiger Woods’ public relations representative, or what about Toyota’s? Both the man and the machine have made some unfortunate mishaps the past few months that have not been handled appropriately by their public relations representatives. As a future public relations practitioner it is imperative to learn from these communication mistakes.

This past Thursday, James (Jim) Streed, APR, a member of Integrys Energy Group’s Corporate Communications staff and public relations professor at UWO, shared his experiences and reiterated the importance of crisis communication to PRSSA members.

First and foremost, Streed stressed that having a plan is crucial to handling any crises efficiently and effectively. Crises can happen to anyone, at anytime. It is important to be prepared and follow through with a well thought out plan.

Putting the plan into action is equally important. First, you must assess the employee impact caused by the crisis. Next you must communicate the event and future action to stakeholders in a timely manner. This can be done through multiple venues (i.e. face-to-face, on the companies Web site, over the phone or through e-mail). An effective public relations practitioner must also allow business to continue to run smoothly and address human needs simultaneously.

According to Streed, half of organizations do not have a current crisis communication plan. Of those organizations that do have a crisis plan, one-third do not practice them.

Crisis communication planning involves four steps. Below is a brief review of these steps:

1. Assess the risk.
2. Develop the plan.
   Compose strategies that will identify risks ahead of time.
   Define clearly what is considered a crisis.
   Decide who must be notified first.
   Form a Crisis Management Team (CMT) and choose a location that will be used as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
3. Respond.
   This is the execution phase.
   Communicate with the public within the first hour – even if you just plug important information into a template press release.
4. Recover.
   Don’t simply relax; use your time directly after responding to a crisis effectively by completing an evaluation that can help you in the future.

Not all crises must end in a public relations disaster. Take Haiti for example. Social media has aided the Red Cross in raising millions of dollars of charitable funds. This new media has allowed public relations practitioners not only communicate faster – but also learn about crises quicker.

All in all, the measure of a good public relations practitioner is that they are able to learn and grow from the mistakes as well as triumphs of others.

For more information about crisis communication, check out the article titled, “Flirting With Disaster: How to Take a Public Relations Crisis by the Horns.”