In a fast moving crisis it can be all too easy to focus on your external messages and forget about your internal communications.
After all, the demands placed by the huge media pressure organisations invariably face during a crisis means there is often little time for calm reflection, clearing facts and planning responses – let alone briefing colleagues.
Inevitably companies become preoccupied with what the media are saying and how the story is being reported by the mainstream media and by customers on social media.
But their employees are their ambassadors and can be the strong brand advocates they really need during these difficult times.
A fully engaged workforce is also less likely to give potentially damaging information to a journalist or post something unhelpful on social media.
So rather than employees being the forgotten audience it is vital internal communication is not only taken seriously in a crisis media management situation but is also involved in all crisis communication planning.
When crisis strikes it is essential employees are aware of what the organisation is doing to deal with the situation and that they feel they are being spoken to openly and honestly and that there is visible leadership.
In the same way that you would provide regular updates for the media it is important timely and frequent information is also given to staff.
Let them see your press releases and public statements when they are released to the media and tell them what you are doing on social media and encourage them to share the organisation’s posts. You don’t want them to be in a position where customers know more about the incident than they do.
Another key role of internal comms is to ensure all employees know what to do if they are exposed to the media during a crisis.
Receptionists, security and maintenance staff will all wear branded clothing and are highly visible members of the team and easily accessible to journalists.
Would they know how to react or who to make aware of the media interest? Are they allowed to speak to the media? What should they do if a journalists calls outside of normal office hours?
Similarly, what is the organisation's social media policy? Should they be talking about the crisis on their personal accounts?
A crisis can strike any organisation at any time and managing one is never easy. But keeping your employees fully informed is crucial to ensuring your organisation emerges from the crisis with its reputation unscathed.
This blog is based on a chapter in our eBook ‘Why you cannot afford to put off planning for a crisis’. Click here to download it for free.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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