Enterprise University Course 231 - Crisis Communications

EU STL 231: Crisis Communication: Learn How to Manage the Situation –

Ann Marie Mayuga

You are probably taking this EU

course because you have a business

that can potentially be exposed to

public relations risk, and you’re

wondering how to handle a crisis situation.

You may not have given much thought to what you and your colleagues

would do in a crisis.

This course will cover the key points of a crisis communications plan.

Afterwards, you will be better prepared to for a crisis and know when to call a PR professional.

The Crisis Communication’s Mindset

Be concerned, empathetic,

but calm when

interacting with external and internal

audiences.

If business operations

are disrupted, customers

want to know how they are

impacted.

Regulators may need to be notified

as well as local government

officials.

Employees need to know what can be shared with clients, vendors and

partners.

Don’t make a crisis worse by appearing unprepared!

#1 Rule of Crisis management – You can only control your emotions.

Identify potential audiences and company spokespeople ahead of time.

Develop a set of talking points ASAP and don’t release them until you have

approval.

Worksheets: Let’s make a list of your potential crises and pick one to work

on for this course

What is your #1 potential crisis that you want to work on today? Anyone

want to share?

Who is your audience during this crisis?

Who is/are your company

spokesperson(s)?

What Constitutes a Crisis?

Something that can affect the ongoing health of your company

Does anyone have an example of something they have dealt with in

the past?

What happened?

Does anyone have an example of bad crisis communications?

Even strong companies stumble – Here are some examples of not managing the

situation. They tried to control it.

Anthem Blue Cross – Data breach

Volkswagen – Emissions Scandal

You may not immediately realize that you are in a crisis situation, so DON’T…

Provide a disorganized and “off-the-cuff” response which will result in a

sharp public outcry

Have a bad attitude: “We are right. You are wrong and here’s why…”

Don’t be dismissive, silent for a long period of time, or ignore the situation entirely!

Run Your Business

10 Golden Rules for Crisis Communication video

IF you can find humor in the crisis, keep it to yourself and don’t joke about it!

Seinfeld on Risk Management video

Nothing will convict you in the court of public opinion faster than making light of

a crisis!

How do they want to receive this information? Phone call, text, email, or

written letter?

If they are vocal on social media or broadcast media, what is your crisis

response plan?

Developing the Crisis Communications Plan

Audiences – Let’s look at the list you created

Crisis Communications Hub & Spoke Diagram

Let’s look at the various spokes of

this plan…

Do you have any questions?

Crisis Management | Got Bad News? Spit it out! Video

Who was involved?

Why did it happen? Don’t speculate! Just present the facts as they are

known.

How do you plan to resolve this crisis?

Add your answers to an approved list of

talking points

Talking Points Worksheet: An Opportunity to Reinforce Your Core Values

It’s difficult to transform a negative to a positive but you can reinforce your core values

Body language: Coach your spokesperson(s)

prior to delivering these talking points

Messages – Now, let’s tailor the crisis communications message for each audience

Stakeholders and your audience want to know how

you plan to rectify the situation

Your primary audience –what is a potential crisis that you may face that

involves them?

Use the worksheet to fill out the 5 W’s and How?

Discussion: any questions or insights?

Minto’s Pyramid Principle

Just like this PowerPoint slide deck, support each statement with

additional facts

The Key Message is at the top of the pyramid

Supporting information is in the

successive row below

Additional Talking Points

Have you thought of additional talking points?

Why did you develop these talking points?

Who else needs to know?

Resources for Crisis Communications

The Core Crisis Communications Team

Management Team monitors all communications (Phone calls, social

media, emails etc.)

Additional resources - Your attorney, CPA, financial adviser,

business consultant etc.

A PR Professional to provide outside support

Emergency Contact List – Let’s develop a list and fill out the names for now (numbers

later)

Who are you going to contact first? Use a

“phone tree”, followed by text, and email.

Fill out your vital contact list of names, cell numbers, and text

numbers.

Optional: A list of state, local, and

government agencies to contact

Business Partners/Organizations

List your business partners who may be affected by this crisis

The goal is to preserve existing business relationships and lines of

communication

Crisis Communications Tactics

The Four R’s of Crisis Communications (Affect Social Media Whitepaper)

Readiness

Examine your company, facilities,

people, products and environment for

potential risk

Sometimes it’s necessary to

respond before you have all the facts

Begin by acknowledging the situation and its impact on affected parties

Commit to a full investigation

Reassurance

Conduct an investigation and develop an action plan to rectify the situation

Managing a crisis on more than just stopping the bleeding in the short-term

It’s also about restoring the company’s long-term health and reputation!

Facebook and Twitter

Bad news travels immediately on these social networks

Recognize that there will always be someone that has a bias against you or

your company

On Your Website/Blog

Post your press release on the Home Page ASAP

Include the contact information of the designated spokesperson

Reputation Management on Google

Positive press releases to move negative results to the second or third page

Set up Google Alerts for your company name

When to call for professional crisis communications help?

There is an impending or current crisis and don’t want to weather it alone

PR Firms help you respond to negative comments in a way that turns crisis

into opportunity

How? Using an authentic and personal response,

sharing relative content etc.

We will help you acknowledge people’s feelings in a powerful way to

strengthen your brand

PR Firms help you respond quickly, and have

specialized reputation management strategies

Social media contributes to the recovery of an

offline crisis

Outsources social media and Google Alerts monitoring 24/7

The crisis is fluid and rapidly changing, so you need a 3rd

party outside of the company

Remind all employees that only the designated spokesperson can speak to

the media

Be transparent with the PR consultant

In conclusion, we covered: 1) The Crisis Communications Mindset 2) Developing a Plan and 3) Tactics