Issues and Crisis Management

Distributing factual information quickly is crucial in a crisis. We have found that stakeholders - particularly those directly impacted by the crisis - will turn to your website for information. Many organisations are unprepared and caught off-guard, unable to quickly upload information, particularly after-hours. Crisis do not always happen during office hours. This situation adds to an information vacuum and reinforces the perception the organisation has failed to prepare and is incapable or managing the situation.
So, what is the solution? A ‘firehose’ web page. Put simply, it is an offline page but part of the organisation's website. Much like a firehose, the page is ready to roll out, is easily accessed (either linked from the homes page or replacing the homes page), and set up with relevant information.The page is pre-built with appropriate generic information, such as contact numbers, and holding areas for media statements, video statements, advice on what to do and so on. The page can be easily and quickly adapted for each situation and uploaded either to replace the home page or link from it.
Firehose web pages save time by providing information to audiences at the same time. Importantly, the organisation maintains control over the information, rather than a third party such as critics or the media. The firehose page must be updated before issuing public information through other channels otherwise it will reduce the site's credibility as a source of current factual information and potentially ignored.

How to deal with protests

Organisations caught in conflict may face an angry protest meeting. The following strategies may prove worthwhile for managing these events. > Deal with both reality, perceptions and emotions. > Ask questions - it helps to define issues and bring the perspectives of wider groups into focus > Repeat the concerns or issues - show you understand > Value input and show respect to all parties > Be open, honest and transparent > Stay cool, calm and collected > Pre-empt questions and have answers. > Always avoid 'no comment' > Never take an aggressive stance or win-lose position. > Be seen to accommodate the protest. Handing out bottles of water, for example, adds to your credibility, care and concern. > Take measured, well-thought-out actions rather than knee-jerk reactions. You will be judged in a 30-second story on the news. > Remember: desecalation not escalation. > Seek a win-win solution - search for solutions that meet the needs of all parties. Fronting a protest meeting can be a daunting experience, particularly if your organisation's reputation is on the line under the gaze of the media. We have assisted many organisations facing such an event in researching, planning and delivering outcome-focussed strategies. In our experience information delivered in the right way is a key ingredient in building trust and collaboration.

Who makes an effective crisis communicator?

An information vacuum is usually a feature in the crucial initial stages of a crisis. It is driven by a lack of facts, a lack of time and a lack of resources. Pressure is also mounting on the organisation by stakeholders who will judge - usually within 24 hours - whether they will support, become neutral or abandon the organisation in trouble. The organisation's survival - operational and reputational - rests on how it communicates and what actions it takes. The role of the communicator is to fill the vacuum. An effective crisis communicator:
Is media friendly and confident before the camerasCredible and trustedA leader of the organisation, but not necessarily the CEOCan manage pressure and think strategically.Has a solid understanding of the situation but mentally-prepared to stay on message. Often an organisation will put its CEO forward as the spokesperson in a crisis. This, however, may backfire especially if he or she is not comfortable with the media, or lacks the right personality and charisma for the role. In our experience, putting the wrong person forward can do just as much harm as the crisis itself. Egos must give way to organisational [and reputational] survival. Media skills training is a good starting point for your CEO before a crisis happens. Strengths and weaknesses can be identified, and we often find the CEO either learns from the experience or takes a back step. Your spokesperson can come from other senior leaders of the organisation as long as they are equipped to manage the media engagement - and senior enough to demonstrate the organisation is taking the situation seriously.

Political minefield for corporates

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What is a crisis?

This is an interesting question because there is no agreed definition of a crisis. While practitioners may not be that interested in definitions, we think it is important to find out what are the common elements of a crisis. It provides a basis on which to develop strategies to manage the crisis. So, here are the common elements (across a myriad of definitions): > Uncertainty (reduced by a crisis plan and team exercise) > Surprise (reduced by an issues management system) > Danger (reduced by effective decision-making) > Reputation (protected by the above) > Stakeholders (information and actions that meet their expectations)

How issues become crises

Henry Kissinger once said: ‘There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full’. Failure to manage issues is an invitation to calamity. Many organisations we have assisted during a crisis look back and ask: ‘why didn’t we see that coming. it is so obvious now’. Hindsight provides lessons, but does not obviously look at what is on the horizon. Issues have a lifecycle. Why is this important? To understand the lifecycle provides an opportunity to intervene at the second phase and prevent a crisis. It provides an argument that burying heads in the sand in the hope it will go away does not wash. The embryonic phase is when something is going wrong. Maybe it is a reported product issue to your call centre? It is noted but not rectified. The emerging phase lands when more calls are received. Something needs to be done now. It is this phase that resolution is under the control of the organisation. The third phase – the public sphere – where the media (social and traditional) light up the organisation for all the wrong reasons. The issue now evolves into a crisis gaining intensity and threatening the organisation’s operations and reputation. Competitors, critics, keyboard warriors join the fray. The organisation is fighting for survival, let alone trying to resolve the situation which is all-consuming. The fourth phase – external – happens when the resolution is imposed, usually at the political or regulatory level on the organisation, and it may not be in its favour.