The Ten Step Guide to Crisis Communication
No matter what organization you work for as a public relations professional, you will be faced with a crisis that you will need to control. The way this crisis is handled can affect your companies image and future. Here is a breakdown of 10 steps to handling a crisis.
Assess the issue
No matter what type of crisis, you will need to asses the issue at hand in order to formulate the proper response. Crises can be internal, external, or both and can vary in the level of severity. Whether financial or organizational, you must asses what exactly the issue at hand is, and what the immediate reaction was.
2. Assess the damage
After figuring out the issue at hand, assessing the immediate damage of the issue is key. This will help you understand who the audience is and the best way to effectively find and communicate a solution. This was also help you determine who to inform about the issue and whether or not it affects specific stakeholders or an entire public.
3. Find a medium
After assessing what damage has been done and who is affected, you can now figure out the best way to address the solution. The medium is key to the delivery, because if it does not reach the broad range of effected publics, it will not be received well enough. If the medium is too broad, the message can backfire by highlighting an issue that was supposed to be kept small.
4. Delivery
The way a message is delivered is extremely important to minimizing future damage and solving the crisis as quickly as possible. If the message is delivered in an insincere way or offers no tangible solutions, this can further the damage until it is too late to be solved. The message needs to offer genuine acknowledgement of the concern or if it does not need to be addressed, then do not address it. The way this is delivered can affect the way your company is perceived and sets a precedent for the future.
5. Prepare
After following the previous steps, prepare the response and discuss it with your response team. Receiving feedback from others in your company or organization is important, as they may have ideas to better communicate the response. After deliberation, send the intended message.
6. Analyze the immediate response
After you deliver the intended message, analyze the various responses. See what those in your target public are saying, as well as those not involved. This will help predict whether further damage control needs to be done or if the response was received well. This should be done within the first 24-48 hours depending on how quickly your response was sent out. In the digital age, most message are received almost immediately.
7. Plan
With your response team, plan the next move or if there needs to be one. See how the response was received and plan accordingly. This should be done swiftly after the analysis, to ensure no other crisis occurs.
8. Monitor
Over the next few weeks, monitor the response from the public and see what is working or what is not. This can be found in the in-bound and out-bound communications involving your company or organization. Follow social media and articles that may be arising out of this crisis and see if any of what is posted warrants a response. Monitor the monetary gain or loss your company has taken as a result of the crisis.
9. Studies and Reviews
After the crisis has peaked or has been averted, reach out to your publics and colleagues to have the crisis reviewed. This information is vital to avoiding a similar situation in the future. It is also important to see how your response was perceived and to receive suggestions on what to do differently in the future.
10. Learn
After receiving your feedback, re-analyze the entirety of the crisis and see what you would do differently. Review the studies and reviews from your publics and colleagues to create a future plan in case a crisis occurs again. As cliché as it may be, always learn from your mistakes.