Crisis Management – Spot & Stop Crises Before They Stop Your Business

Successful crisis management is more than just damage control. One of the critical features is the continual tracking of relevant issues and the ongoing management of an organization’s communication relationships.

Trying to do this when the crisis is in full swing is certainly leaving it too late.

Any organization with significant stakeholder and/or public exposure should have an issues management plan in place, enabling timely and efficient response, should a media crisis ensue.

An issues management plan tracks the development of matters that could develop negatively and puts in place actions to prepare for relevant internal and external engagement. It should be part of the staple operations kit of any Communication operator and, most importantly, the senior management group and Board.

It is the necessary precursor to the crisis management process that rolls into action when an issue ‘blows-up’.

Unless you track issue development and plan to handle communication around your risks, you are always going to scramble to get on top of the information demand in a crisis.

The recent VW case provides a perfect example of this.

The effective use of an issues management plan could have provided the company with the tools and opportunity to talk to staff, suppliers, dealers, customers and media much earlier and could well have defused the whole issue.

An organization’s leadership can reap significant rewards from effective issues management resulting in positive pre-crisis communication.

Handling problems properly can actually result in positive media attention, strong stakeholder advocacy and enhanced relations with governments and industry organizations.

The alternative can be both painful and costly.

Robert Masters

The Price of Silence

The Price of Silence – Crisis Management in Media Engagement

The recent Fairfax vs. VW battle has brought into sharp relief the need for organisations with any public exposure to be well prepared to handle the media in a crisis situation.

The best preparation is, of course, to be fully across an emerging issue, to engage with media at an early stage thus maximising the chances of minimising negative coverage.

Once the issue becomes live in the media there is a need for a clear processes to actively manage the situation; remembering that the modern media encompasses online, where the spread of information may well be consumer-to-consumer.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, in the words of noted British Historian and Scholar C. Northcote Parkinson:  “The vacuum created by a failure to communicate will quickly be filled with rumor, misrepresentation, drivel and poison.”

VW Australia endured two weeks of relentless negativity from Fairfax publications, much of it believed to be unfair and incorrect, but the damage had been done.

Avoiding such an outcome is entirely possible. It requires the development and implementation of sound issues management processes backed by a robust and rapid response media management plan.  Most of all it requires the foresight to put such measures in place and the discipline to use them when the situation demands.

ICG has, for over three decades dealt with the media management of crises, from the most catastrophic natural and industrial events, to international product recalls and major operational incidents.

The consultancy has developed and implemented crisis management plans for Government agencies, major multinational corporations and significant national organisations in a range of industries.

Over that time we have observed the development of major issues and how  corporate response, or lack of,  can act to transform an issue into a full- blown crisis, with strong media involvement.

The result is the crisis escalation model below.

The difference between the dotted line, representing the impact profile of a well managed media issue, and the solid line leading to ‘Peak Outrage” is largely due to the processes and disciplines employed in engagement with stakeholders and media.

The price of poor preparedness and silence is obvious. 

John Kananghinis

 

Click image to enlarge

Media Training – is your organisation ready for the “Gotcha” moment?

At some point in the management of a crisis there is likely to be the need for a senior executive to front the media and answer questions or to participate in an interview.

No matter how confident of facts and figures, or how good a presenter the chosen executive is, some core media training will ensure a better outcome and quite possibly avoid the infamous “gotcha” moment when the person being interviewed is left with no viable answer.

The biggest mistake is to think that the interview is an opportunity to answer questions. It is not. An interview is an opportunity to get the agreed corporate message across

Effective media training will prepare executives for the key task of getting that message across, no matter the insistence of the inquisitor, and it will provide the tools to help avoid the “gotcha” moment.

ICG has delivered comprehensive media training for decades. We can prepare your management and spokespeople for the task of presenting your case.  Comprehensive media training includes live, filmed interviews based on real word scenarios and utilising in-depth knowledge of the risks faced by your business.

Is your organisation prepared?

In Australian politics, off the record is on the record

In Australian politics, a salient message was delivered recently to business executives about going ‘off the record’ – it cost a Victorian State Government Minister his job.

In today’s society, the media needs large volumes of information faster than ever before. The growth of social media and online publications is pushing the traditional media to get this information, sometimes at any cost. In this environment, ‘off the record’ comments can become an easy opportunity for competitive advantage. The truth is, ‘off the record’ is never really ‘off the record’.

In effect, in going ‘off the record’, you’re actually asking the reporter not to do his or her job. Their job is to find information and report on it. To fulfill this, all they have to do is put your ‘off the record’ comments to someone else and get an ‘on the record’ response.

There is always someone around your business who is ready to go ‘on the record’ – competitors, dissatisfied current or former employees, or disgruntled customers.

Simply stated, never expect anything you say around a reporter not to hit the media in some form or another. Simply assume that whatever you say will be online today or on the front page tomorrow. Therefore, the rule for ‘off the record’, if one understands the media and how it operates, is to assume it doesn’t exist.

In short, fully understand the information game you are playing and how to play it. Don’t blame the journalist for what you have told him or her when it appears on, or in the news. Journalist have their job to do, so too do you.

Carefully think about everything you say, don’t be pressured into commenting on things you don’t feel comfortable about, stay on message, don’t speculate, don’t try to show off how much you know and don’t gossip.

Being knowledgable about working with the media is an increasingly important skill for any senior executive’s. RMKA has been working in this area for decades and can assist by delivering a thorough grounding in media relations and training, developing and delivering key messages and staying smart!

Robert Masters