Communicating In A Corporate Crisis: No Time On Your Hands

The scarcest resource in a corporate crisis is time. This also applies to crisis communication.

The team has to analyze countless pieces of information under high pressure, evaluate strategic and tactical options based on this, develop language rules, respond to inquiries, and actively use various channels. All of this is embedded in constant interaction with the other members of the crisis team and advising and supporting decision-makers with regard to stakeholder management.

Small causes can have big effects

Every minute that unnecessarily strains the available time reservoir is lost in dealing with these complex tasks - and such "unnecessary" strains are usually caused by a lack of preparation. Slipping into a crisis situation without defined processes, a robust infrastructure and solid content preparation, means one almost inevitably has to accept ambiguities, delays and ultimately mistakes that can massively damage the company's reputation - in other words, the very thing the team is actually trying to protect.

Let's take a look at some of the most common causes of unnecessary delays in crisis situations.

Alerting procedures

Already in the early stages of a crisis, valuable time is often lost because the person who discovers the problem doesn't know who to inform about it. Important details may be omitted when forwarding reports. In addition, there is often a lack of clear criteria as to whether the situation should be classified as a mere operational disruption or a genuine crisis, which in turn delays further steps such as convening the crisis team.

Possible remedies:

-        Defined alarm cascades for various crisis scenarios

-        Checklists for the (written) recording of important information

-        Criteria for classifying a situation as a crisis with corresponding follow-up steps

Availability

Lack of availability of the members of the crisis team is considered a "classic" of crisis management. Be it a switched-off cell phone, time differences due to long-distance travel or outdated contact details in the crisis manual: the later the central crisis team is formed, the greater the pressure and therefore the likelihood of errors.

Possible remedies:

-        Regular updates of the crisis manual

-        Availability regulations for certain members of the crisis team

-        If necessary, defined alerting tools such as pagers

-        Clear rules on deputization

Responsibilities

The complex task of managing a corporate crisis can only be accomplished if each member of the communications team fulfills a clearly defined area of responsibility, with everyone’s efforts complementing each other. A head of communications who spends most of his time in front of TV cameras cannot live up to his essential strategic role.

If the press officer has to prepare crucial media resonance analysis herself, she will most likely miss journalists' deadlines for comments, just as the social media expert tied up in online conversations won’t have spare time to draft a press release here and there. The recipe for success is for each individual to focus on a limited number of tasks.

Possible remedies:

-        Developing a clear role description for each function in the crisis team

-        Consideration of all mission-critical functions, including those in the background, such as monitoring, analysis and documentation

-        Providing the appropriate resources, skills and tools

Collaboration

Another typical time waster is the exchange of information within the crisis team - especially if several locations or even countries are involved. Can topics be identified in the social media sphere that may soon spill over into the journalistic mainstream? Are political interventions taking place somewhere that may affect the evolution of the crisis? Which country team takes care of the request from an international medium, and who provides the necessary inputs? Are we getting through to employees with our arguments?

A lack of coordination within the team usually leads to unnecessary queries, parallel processing of topics by several people involved, inconsistencies in content and ultimately to errors that then have to be corrected.

Possible remedies:

-        An online collaboration platform

-        Regular (virtual) update calls

-        Clearly defined processes

Information toolbox

As a crisis continues to unfold, journalistic research in particular tends to adopt a broader perspective, deviating from the acute trigger of the crisis. The focus of reporting may shift to the decision makers involved, the company’s history and possible past misconduct or to details about products, manufacturing processes and safety precautions.

If such information is not readily available in the form of fact sheets, photos, illustrations or video sequences suitable for television, the laborious search for reliable data within the company or even the creation of materials will consume valuable time that is lacking in acute crisis management.

Possible remedies:

-        Anticipating relevant stakeholders' research and interests as part of scenario planning during crisis preparation

-        Compiling or creating suitable content ( text, image, video) in an appropriate form for use in various channels

Approvals

Another classic time waster: waiting for approval of urgently needed documents, such as a press statement with a 30-minute deadline or an important So-Me post. If the CEO's approval is imperative, but he's stuck in a meeting with the owner for the next two hours, the communications team is forced to work with stall tactics at best, or at worst is rendered partially incapacitated.

Possible remedies:

-        Substitution arrangements in the event that the person actually responsible is unavailable for a certain period of time

-        Staged approval processes in which, for example, derivations of already approved content can be signed off at a lower level

-        Careful planning of cooperation with internal or external lawyers, if necessary

Documentation

One aspect that seems rather inconspicuous at first glance, but can have a considerable disruptive effect, is the ongoing documentation of crisis management. Which of the three dozen media inquiries received have already been answered - and by whom and with what content? Has there been any further feedback?

What was discussed at the last crisis team meeting on the subject of communication and what are the consequences of this, e.g. for the underlying narrative? What conclusions were drawn from social media analysis and who is responsible for their implementation?

Given the highly dynamic and complex interaction with a large number of stakeholders typical of crisis situations, such documentation is challenging but absolutely necessary to avoid potentially momentous delays and errors.

Possible remedies:

-        A dedicated role for documentation in the crisis team

-        A suitable template for structuring and sharing the information gathered

Structured crisis preparation is the key to success

The best way to avoid unnecessary loss of time and the associated risks in crisis communication is comprehensive, structured preparation.

Such a "crisis preparedness process" first identifies crisis scenarios that combine a relatively high probability of occurrence with a relatively high potential for damage to the company's reputation. These high-risk scenarios are then elaborated before the processes, infrastructure and tools required to manage them are defined. Finally, all relevant information is compiled in a crisis manual.

If you want to enable your organization to focus on the things that really count in the event of a corporate crisis, then we should talk!

Learn more about our crisis communication services here.