Think you're immune to a crisis?

Think Again!

Many public relations nightmares could have been mitigated if the organization responded quickly with the right message.

© Copyright 1996, Wilson Group Communications, Inc

If you've given thought lately to how well your organization is prepared to handle a major crisis with the news media, you're definitely not alone. Sooner or later, almost all organizations feel vulnerable to the possibility of being publicly scrutinized under the glare of television lights and inquisitive reporters.

It usually starts with something that "almost" becomes a crisis like a contaminated product that came close to being distributed to customers before it was noticed, or an accident that could have been worse. Often, it's just reading about some other organization's news media nightmare and knowing - except for luck - the same thing could happen to you.

But if you're like most organizations, that fear of the unknown soon passes and before you know it, you're back to business as usual. At least until the next would-be or real crisis strikes.

The fact is that while most companies and organizations periodically recognize the importance of being prepared to face a crisis, too few of them do anything about it.

Recent statistics indicate only about half the major businesses in the U.S. have anything that could be recognized as a bona fide crisis plan. If you ever watch the evening news on television, it would be easy to believe even that figure may be exaggerated.

The problem? Barring the periodic questioning of crisis management capabilities that usually goes away within a few days of a "near miss," most organizations live by the code that they are somehow immune to crises. They simply believe things like product tamperings and the like only happen to the "other guy."

But in real life, the other guy may well be you.

Today, it is not so much a question of if an organization will encounter a public relations crisis, but when.

Still think you're immune? Just read today's newspaper, or watch the local news tonight. Crises don't just happen to the other guy. They can happen to anyone.

But being prepared can help you weather even a major crisis, and it might even prevent a would-be crisis from becoming a real-life PR disaster.

As one company executive who believes in crisis plans and training likes to say: "The more prepared we are, the luckier we get."

The fact is that many incidents that ultimately turn out to be major crises in the news media could have been drastically mitigated or even averted if the organization could have responded more quickly with the right message.

A quick, unmistakably clear response is essential in controlling a crisis. But, without some preparation for facing a media crisis, developing and delivering that message can be difficult at best. Even if you eventually decide on the right course of action, it may be too late to prevent a media nightmare. Instead of taking the lead on an unfolding story, you'll simply be reacting to it.

While no crisis plan is likely to provide you with the perfect solution for every conceivable disaster, good crisis plans combined with media training and disaster drills will help prepare you with the essentials of how to develop the right message and get it out in a hurry.

If your crisis plan and training programs can't do that, perhaps you ought to start thinking more seriously about how your organization would fare in a crisis.

Take this simple test:

Questions:

1. Does your organization have a "workable" crisis plan?
2. Would it be of any real use in a crisis?
3. Does everyone on the crisis team have immediate access to a copy of the plan?
4. When was the last time your crisis team and other possible spokespersons participated in a bona fide media training program?
5. Has your plan (or your team) been tested within the past 12 months?
6. Do you have adequate backup spokespersons and have they been trained?

Answers:

1. If the answer to the first question is "no," you need to start work immediately on developing at least some form of a crisis plan that would provide you with who to call, where to go and what to say during an emergency.
2. Make sure you answer the second question honestly. If your answer is yes, you're miles ahead of most organizations.
3. If the plan isn't with you when you need it, it isn't much use to you. If necessary, develop abbreviated versions that members can carry with them in their brief cases or cars.
4. Here, the "use it or lose it" phrase rings true. If you want to stay on your toes, you need to go through realistic media training at least every other year. Sorry, listening to lectures, reading books and watching videotapes aren't the same thing.
5. If you don't test it periodically, how can you know if it works? Better to find out in a test that there's a flaw than to discover it in real life.
6. There's a rule in crisis situations that the primary spokesperson is on vacation or has laryngitis when the crisis hits.

If you're just getting started with a crisis plan - or you feel it is time to give your existing one an overhaul - take a look at what you already have. If you don't have a real crisis plan, take a look at your emergency response plan. Even though most of them are somewhat bulky and give little emphasis to crisis communications, they're still a good place to start.

Take a look at the types of crises that could impact you're organization, or a particular plant.

In a food processing plant, for instance, you already know that contaminated product, fires or industrial accidents are a possibility and any one of them could cause concern with your customers or in your community. If such an incident did take place, you need to have a system in place to make sure it is reported ASAP to the proper people. Ultimately, the crisis team - or at least your designated spokesperson in a crisis - needs to be notified.

Here's where most crisis plans seem to fail. While most designate a spokesperson, they provide little guidance on what that person should say - or should not say. If you want your crisis plan to really work for you, it should contain pre-written statements and news releases that can be modified for use in a real crisis.

And those statements have to say more than just repeat the obvious. They should express concern and reassure people that your organization is in control. When appropriate, they need to express compassion.

Beyond the prepared statement, the spokesperson needs a pre-prepared list of questions the media might ask as well as pre-prepared responses to those questions. You say you don't know what questions the media might ask? Try starting with, "What happened?" and follow it with questions like, "What caused it?" and "Is your organization taking responsibility for it?"

You may not be able to answer every question, but you can have a response for them.

Additionally, your new crisis plan needs an easy-to-read quick reference page where you can look up those statements and news releases. And, it needs a quick check-list to make sure you don't overlook any important details in the midst of a crisis.

Then there are all those telephone numbers. You'll need the work and home numbers of every person on your crisis team and don't forget the alternates. Make sure you have pager numbers too. This may be the most used page in your plan and it has to be up to date.

Finally, make sure the plan doesn't suffer from a weight problem. It should be portable. That doesn't mean it has to fit in your pocket, but it should fit in a briefcase. If necessary, make abbreviated versions of the plan in addition to the "master plan" you keep in your office.

Above all, keep your plan simple enough that it can actually be used. You don't need a lot of philosophical prose about how to define a crisis or the different kind of crises.

If it's a real crisis, you'll know it.

A crisis plan's real value comes from whether it can provide you with any help and provide that help in a hurry.

Don't forget that the people using the plan are far more important than the plan itself. Unless they are properly trained in what to do and how to do it, even the best crisis plan will fail.

As a result, crisis teams and all potential spokespersons need to go through media response/crisis management training on a regular basis. Once every four or five years isn't enough. Key spokespersons may need "refresher" courses at least once a year.

The training should force them to develop and deliver the right message in a crisis situation and how to handle tough questions from reporters and the general public.

More importantly, the training raises the awareness of what could happen in a real crisis and the need to prepare for it.

A solid program that combines a workable plan with realistic training may not prevent a crisis from happening, but it can prepare you to deal with it and hopefully prevent a public relations nightmare.