Typically labeled "crisis communications," the way and what you tell your team, your clients, and other audiences after disaster strikes is a critical element of business resiliency. Whether a flood wipes out your business or a cyber attack exposes sensitive data, your organization must have a crisis communication plan for sharing the right information with your constituents in a cadence that balances transparency with accuracy and thoughtfulness. Effective communication is crucial when your team is handling business disruptions and you need to protect your business reputation.
Assess the Situation to Inform Crisis Communications
The first step for launching effective crisis communications seems obvious but is often overlooked in the rush to "get something out." Be certain your communications lead is in the room for all discussions. Communication leads must have the level of detail necessary to craft a succinct, factual statement that includes the impact of any disruption and the next steps. Be certain your business continuity plan includes clear direction for identifying the communications lead and/or spokesperson if they are not the same person. In some situations, your communications lead may remain behind the scenes but develop the talking points and support a figurehead such as the CEO. In other organizations, your communications lead has a seat at the leadership table as well as on the incident response team and will fulfill both roles.
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Tell Them What You Know, When You Know It
When it comes to effective crisis communications, there are a few basic rules: Be transparent, genuine, accurate, and clear.
- Transparency: Honesty is truly the best policy when it comes to crisis communications. Be honest and transparent about the situation but understand that doesn't mean revealing every detail. Be cognizant of compliance standards when discussing any incident. Be empathetic to victims and their families and thoughtful about what information is presented publicly.
- Genuine: Coach your spokesperson to be aware of tone, word use, and demeanor. Be genuine and don't shy away from real emotion – be it anger, frustration, or pain. Audiences quickly identify disconnects between words and body language, so be certain your spokesperson is suited to the job assigned when you plan for effective crisis management roles.
- Accurate and clear: Create clear and concise messages that address the key points of the incident, including what happened, the impact, and the next steps. Be sure that your messaging across all channels is aligned and be thoughtful about the needs of each audience.
Consider Audiences for Effective Crisis Management
One big challenge when managing business disruption communications comes with the need for multiple messages for different constituencies. Most organizations will need to address employees, perhaps volunteers, leadership, and/or a board of directors. Stakeholder communication during a crisis is equally important as media relations during a crisis. Don't overlook external audiences such as customers, business partners, and the general public. While the facts remain the same across these communications, the cadence, detail, and tone may be markedly different. Crisis communication best practices to remember:
- Your employees deserve as much detail as possible. Be sure they are the first to hear updates and have a plan to engage with them either in-person or using a collaborative tool that allows for conversation and Q&A. Be sure to take the necessary time to ensure your employees not only understand what is going on but the impact and next steps as part of your internal communication in a crisis. Also provide clear guidance when it comes to who they can talk to, what to do if someone asks them for information, and when to expect additional updates.
- Balance transparency with info overload when providing updates to external audiences such as clients and the media. Be sure to provide next steps and provide updates on a clearly outlined schedule. Consider avenues for contact and feedback such as a web form, hotline, or info email that can be monitored by key leaders in the company.
- Provide information through multiple channels for communication: issue a press release, post regular updates on social media, add information on your website, send emails to internal and customer audiences, and hold in-person or virtual updates for all.
- Be proactive with the media when it is inevitable the incident you're managing will be public – either because your customers are impacted or it your disruption is part of a natural or public disaster already being covered by news media. When briefing the media, choose your timing to fall between key times such as the morning, noon, and evening news shows, and provide clear guidance on where, when, and in what format your briefings will happen. If possible, release your news before the briefing so the time is spent on follow-up questions rather than details of the incident. If possible, select a spokesperson with experience handling media. Remember that you do not have to answer all questions; "We don't have that information yet" is a perfectly acceptable answer, as is "We are working with authorities to investigate and understand the incident." Again, schedule regular updates and hold to those times, even if you have no new details to share.
The Role of Perception in Effective Crisis Communications
While many elements of crisis communications are frustrating and overwhelming, one is particularly aggravating when you are trying to handle business disruptions. It is also the reason that good crisis communications plans include taking action sooner rather than later when something goes sideways. Perception is reality when it comes to a crisis. Delays or gaps in communication can lead to gossip and fabricated truths, resulting in time spent reacting versus informing. Bottom line: Perception can turn a small problem into a huge issue that damages your organization's reputation.
To avoid a situation where emotion and myth are driving the news cycle, be sure your leadership team, communications manager and incident response command bring a heightened awareness to situations that hold the potential to go badly. When a situation that may be less than a disaster but still has the potential to be viewed negatively, take the time to identify the points where misperception could turn a minor glitch into a major PR disaster. Remember to start stemming gossip with quick internal updates and a reminder that team members should direct any questions or inquiries – from customers, business partners, and media – to the communications lead, and discussing the incident with family and friends is strictly prohibited.
Stop Talking and Listen
Once the initial round of communications is complete, and the incident has moved into a less urgent status, be sure to monitor media coverage and any designated avenues for feedback or questions, such as social media or public forums. Watch for early signs of discontent over communications, missing details, or those pesky misperceptions and address them immediately. As the situation evolves, and you see commentary and feedback, adjust your messaging accordingly to be as effective as possible. Remember that post-disruption communication updates may stretch for days, even weeks after an incident.
Once the incident has been resolved, invest the time to review the crisis communication process and analyze what worked well and what didn't. By identifying and documenting opportunities to improve future crisis communication plans, you will be better prepared to follow crisis communication best practices the next time a situation takes a negative turn.
Why Work with Exigent to Prevent Business Disruption
Exigent has been through many of the same scenarios we discuss in our blogs on business continuity – either as a small business ourselves or with our clients. We understand the importance of a technology roadmap that includes consideration for disruptions, backup and disaster recovery and layers of cybersecurity. If you have questions, we have answers. Let's talk today about taking the first step together!
