The Pub Club Enters the Trenches: Cases in Crisis Communications and Lessons Learned
By Christopher Ranjitkar, Sharon Merrill Associates
Have you ever had one of those "uh oh!" moments in your career?
Was there ever a time when an unexpected event or incident meant you had to cancel all your weekend plans?
Can you recall a time when an email or a slip of the tongue of an employee caused unintended clean-up work?
At some point, every communications officer or public relations practitioner has encountered a major "uh-oh' situation in his or her career. Trying to prevent crises from happening is fruitless - crises will happen. However, the way a communicator deals with such situations can make a world of difference.
At the end of October, area practitioners were treated to cases in crisis communications and a discussion of the best ways to handle these moments. The panel included area veterans including:
- Jen Sheehy, Vice President of Crisis Communication, Cone Inc. discussed a crises surrounding the early unintended leakage of information about a infant product recall
- Jim Weinrebe, Executive Vice President, Schwartz Communications, Inc. talked about managing communications after a disaster at client's a production facility.
- John D. Tuerck, Director of Communications, Ropes & Gray LLP provided an in-house perspective around headcount reductions at his firm and how the company handled misinformation.
- Jim Buckley, Executive Vice President, Sharon Merrill Associates discussed the investor relations perspective on various types of crises, from insider trading to executive embezzlement.
- Justine Griffin, Senior Vice President, Reputation Management, Crisis and Litigation Communications, Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications talked about helping to restore and maintain the image of a public zoo in the face of a campaign over public funding
Some of the most important points of the evening included:
Social media changes everything.
As one panelist put it, anyone with a cell phone camera is now a reporter. Add to that, the speed at which social networks can cause information to go viral, and you have a recipe for a communicator's worst nightmare. Social media has usurped control of messaging from the company to the public. Now, more than ever, it is important to build relationships with those who can evangelize your products and services, and learn to effectively use social media to your advantage.
Plan for the unplanned.
The best way to handle a crisis is to make sure it never happens. Talk to internal and external clients about what could be potential liabilities. Ask "what keeps you up at night?" and have communications plans ready for each situation. The more swiftly you can respond to crises, the better the chance of a favorable outcome.
Think about what you want the outcome to be.
A good way to deal with an unexpected situation is to think about what the end result should look like. Once you have an idea of how you would like the outcome to look, you can work with your team to develop strategies to meet these goals.
Tell it all. Tell it now. Tell the truth.
In a crisis, your company or client must do everything it can to restore credibility. Retracting a story or trying to cover up unfavorable situation can damage your company's or client's image. The best way to diffuse a crisis situation is to come clean, admit mistakes and move on.
What are some other guidelines communicators should keep handy when in crisis mode?
