Rudyard Kipling captured the essence of how to act in a crisis situation: "If you can keep your head about you, when those around you are losing theirs, then you�ll be a man, my son." An excellent quotation to remember, especially in the confusion and uncertainty that reign in a crisis.
What�s a crisis? Generally, two situations are definitive: It�s a situation that hinders the ability to do business normally. Or, it�s one that threatens the health of -- or results in injury to or death of -- a human being. A crisis results in loss of business; it results in fear, anger, insecurity and confusion. Finally, if the "right thing" is not forthcoming, it results loss of reputation.
We need to talk about two distinct areas of crisis situations: Crisis planning, and crisis management. Crisis planning will prepare you for what�s going to happen. Crisis management will see you through the crisis itself.
There have been many books written about crises and how to prepare and handle them. You can order binders full of wisdom from crisis gurus. You can buy book after book describing classic public relations crises that have occurred in the past two decades alone.
You can do that if you want to, and you really should. I did. But all we need here is a general overview. If you�re really serious about getting crisis planning/management help, you need to get the aforementioned information and discuss your needs with a professional.
So, where to start? First, do your research. (But then you knew I was going to say that, didn�t you?) If you have the luxury of time, you need to do some extensive interviews, from the CEO to the janitors, from the front-line salespeople to those who supply the client. However, if time is a problem ("We need this by the end of the week"), you still need to do the extensive interviews. So plunge right in and get to work.
Here�s information you need first:
If there is no plan, you need to create one. Now there�s a whole set of activities you need to do. The following "getting started" list is not exhaustive, but it is fairly complete.
Perhaps the most important element of this initial phase is the database of outside contacts.
Emergency services is a pretty obvious category. Management needs to know the quickest way to contact the closest fire station, police substation, hospital, ambulance, electric company, waterworks, natural gas supplier . . . you get the idea. If your client has more than one location, you need to customize your database for each.
Suppliers and purveyors need to know what�s happening. They need information fast, and can help the company communicate with others via their own lines -- something that�s very helpful when its people are busy taking care of the crisis itself. They can cement their partnership with the organization in a crisis, resulting in a closer and more trusting working relationship in the future.
Labor unions represent employees. Keep them updated, and don�t ignore them. As an employee�s representative to management, unions can either stand in the way or help allay fears and get the situation under control. Don�t think of them as a substitute for management communication, because they are not. But unions can help assure the health and safety of employees as the situation progresses.
Government agencies that hold jurisdiction over an organization�s activities should also be in the loop. When a crisis occurs, the organization is placed in a fishbowl. Every action is there for the world to see, and everybody will be watching quite intensely. The government agencies that create and enforce the regulations and laws under which the organization operates are no different. In fact, they will be even more rigorous in investigating causes and results of the emergency.
Competitors. Competitors? Yes, competitors. When a major industry player faces close public scrutiny in a crisis, there is always the danger than public confidence in the industry will plunge. Any corporation -- and its competitors -- cannot let that happen.
There is a good local (Honolulu) example of this. A large savings and loan institution was the victim of rumors, and before they knew it, people were lining up in droves waiting to withdraw their cash. The S&L issued a news release saying there was no problem with cash supply, and the CEO appeared on TV to emphasize this. The problem was that the CEO was not properly prepared. He looked tired and bedraggled, sweating quite profusely. The next morning, the situation deteriorated and the run worsened.
It looked like the S&L was in grave danger. Fortunately, the CEOs of Hawaii�s two largest banks came to his rescue. In a joint press conference, they flanked the besieged S&L CEO and announced they had pledged their two banks� resources to see the S&L through the crisis. The run stopped, the crisis was over. Thanks to competitors.
The news media can help, so it�s important to know how to get in touch with them and feed them the information they need. Or they can be a royal pain in the ass. If they don�t get answers from the company, they will seek them out elsewhere. By the very nature of what they do for a living, the news media will unintentionally fan the flames, report rumors, interview bystanders who can only surmise about what�s really happening, and generally hinder the organization�s efforts to get the situation under control. Create a list of all appropriate editors and reporters, and know how to get in touch with them after hours.
Returning to the list of possible emergency situations that you created earlier, work out a procedure for each situation that anyone in the organization can easily understand and use. The principle criteria (in order of importance) to consider are:
It is essential that management be notified at the earliest opportunity. In order to obtain information quickly, and to ensure that you will be communicating properly during the crisis, you need to consider setting up a notification protocol and a crisis team.
A notification protocol (hierarchy) will ensure that management knows as soon as possible that a crisis exists. Someone, usually the CEO or other senior management, receives the first call from the emergency site. An alternate or two are recommended in case the alpha contact is not available. These primary contacts then disseminate the information to a select group -- the crisis team.
The crisis team includes both management and operations personnel. Team composition will vary from company to company, but most include at least the CEO, a company spokesperson (who may or may not be the CEO), a public relations professional, legal counsel, a human resources representative, and appropriate operations managers. Each member of the team receives a specific job assignment.
Once the plan is created, get it approved. Then, insist on testing the procedures. Insist on doing it more than once. Insist on annual testing. Then test. Do it in real time, do it in scenarios that are as realistic as possible. Find out what the bugs are, and fix them. Then test again. And again. Every year.
It will pay off in the end. And hopefully, nobody will have a chance to use it in an actual crisis.
In Part 2, we'll talk about how to handle a crisis in progress.
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