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Corporate Advisory Insight: Crisis Communications
Corporate Advisory Insight: Crisis Communications
Arzu Cevik from Thomson Reuters' Corporate Advisory Services group discusses Crisis Communications for Public Relations Professionals. Transcript: Given the number of lawsuits companies face and how quickly bad news travels, public relations teams have their hands full. I'm Arzu Cevik with Thomson Reuters and today, we're discussing Crisis Communications for Public Relations Professionals. So what's the best way for a PR team to handle a crisis? Every situation is different but there are some general guidelines to follow: 1. BE PROACTIVE. Don't wait until a crisis hits in order to develop a framework for a response. Internal knowledge -- get to know key people in each department so if you're faced with a particular crisis, you'll know who to get in touch with as soon as possible. This is especially true of senior management. You want to understand how management thinks and how they might respond in a crisis. External contacts - Build relationships with print and web publications. This will make getting the company's message out easier in times of a crisis. Practice -- Role playing is an important strategic tool many companies use to determine the appropriate response. Delegate -- While it's important to have control of a situation, time is important and having a responsible team in place to share the burden will help expedite things. Have team members in place that have media experience (and can be camera ready), have good writers on hand to draft press releases and other media tidbits and prepare admin staff to handle the field questions by phone and help conduct outreach. AFTER A CRISIS HITS - What should PR teams do? First, 1) Understand the scope of the problem. Bee able to quantify it in terms of customers or dollar impact in a way that's easy to understand. 2) Consult with management and converse with other experts that are familiar with the crisis. For example, if a crisis were to occur at a particular facility, it makes sense to talk with that facility's manager. 3) Talk to legal to discuss what should or should not be said. 4) When drafting a response, keep it simple and consistent. 5) One message - Convey the message to employees. This is important if employees are dealing with clients and customers. Keep the number of individuals talking to the media to a minimum and maintain consistency. 6) Anticipate any responses especially the difficult questions and draft potential questions. It's a good idea to review with legal. Getting your message across: 1) Speakers should not discuss anything off the record... This prevents people going off message and staying on point. 2) Practice Q&A internally with management and legal. 3) Make sure any communication is simple and consistent. 4) It's okay to say no or I can't answer that question. Don't let your answers lead to more questions. Be concise. Finally -- PR teams shouldn't underestimate the value of video -- more specifically the use of webcasts because they're a cost-efficient and fast way to get your message across to media outlets and to the public. _______ For more information about this report or any of our strategic research reports, please contact your CAS representative. Thanks and have a great day!
YouTube | May 21, 2008
