Benjamin Franklin once said that ‘by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail’.
This leading figure in the American struggle for independence may have died in 1790, but his words are still pertinent today, especially when it comes to crisis media management.
But how do you prepare for a crisis when they are typically so closely associated with unexpected events?
The Business Dictionary, for example, defines crisis communications as ‘the efforts taken by a company to communicate with the public and stakeholders when an unexpected event occurs that could have a negative impact on the company’s reputation’.
So is it a matter of having a crisis plan and team in place and waiting for the unexpected?
Well, we believe there is much more to it than that.
Here are six key ways we believe organisations can prepare for a crisis.
Vulnerabilities
A crisis can come in many different forms and it is highly unlikely that an organisation would be able to predict the exact scenario it will face.
But it can narrow down the possibilities.
A risk register is a great way for an organisation to identify its vulnerabilities and risks which could expose it to public attention, media scrutiny and potentially damage its reputation.
If an organisation has a risk manager in place there should already be a risk register and it is important to ensure comms is involved in that.
If your organisation doesn’t currently have a risk register there is a free template included in our crisis communications eBook.
Industry
As well as identifying your organisation’s vulnerabilities, it is also worth considering other crises which have affected your sector.
Is there anything you can learn from them? How would you have dealt with the situation? Would you have had the resources to meet the demand? Would you have done anything differently?
There are always lessons to be learnt from other crisis media management incidents, which is why we regularly include case studies in this media training blog.
Early warning signs
You might think that social media has added another complexity and even more pressure to crisis media management as there are now more channels to monitor, manage and feed.
But that monitoring part is absolutely crucial because effective listening on social media could provide the earliest indications that something has gone wrong.
This can enable the organisation to get ahead of the issue, plan responses and even consider breaking the bad news itself.
These days, the social media manager is likely to be the first person in an organisation to become aware of a crisis. Has the social media team had suitable media awareness training to be able to spot social media stories that could make it into the mainstream press?
Holding statements
When a crisis strikes speed is of the essence.
The latest thinking suggests that thanks to the rise and power of social media, brands may have as little as 15 minutes to respond to a breaking incident.
Sounds daunting doesn’t it? You might even question whether it is realistic.
But here is where the holding statement comes in – a powerful tool in the crisis media management arsenal.
Pre-prepared holding statements, which can be easily adapted to cover the specific incident, buys organisations some valuable time to get a better understanding of what has happened before issuing something more detailed.
The key thing to remember is that when the worst happens, social media and journalists will not expect you to have all the information at your fingertips. But they do want to see that you are aware of the incident, that you acknowledge something has gone wrong and that you are trying to resolve the situation.
As holding statements actually don’t need to go in to any great detail, they can easily be prepared in advance.
How to write a good crisis holding statement
Spokespeople
A crisis will bring intense media scrutiny and there is likely to be a high demand for both broadcast and print interviews.
Under that kind of pressure you do not want to be trying to establish who your media spokespeople are.
A key aspect of preparing for a crisis is to think about what spokespeople you would use in different scenarios. For example, if you have suffered a large IT failure, do you want to put your CEO forward for interviews or would the IT director be better placed?
If the crisis is likely to be long-running then it is important to ensure there are multiple spokespeople available who can meet the media demand.
And if an organisation has multiple sites across different regions or countries it is important to have spokespeople available at those locations. Not only does this remove logistical complications, but a regional accent can add authenticity and show a commitment to a specific area.
As we’ve already mentioned, crises are hugely demanding and it is important that spokespeople are able to deliver a clear and consistent message. This means it is not only important that they are experienced, but also that have had recent media and crisis communications training.
Test plans
Crisis testing exercises which put organisations through realistic and challenging scenarios are not only crucial, they are also the only real way of ensuring plans are robust.
Media First are often involved in crisis scenario testing for our clients. Organisations learn whether the crisis plans they have on paper will work in the real world and where they needimproving.
It can also help them identify gaps in the crisis teams and any crisis communication training needs, test internal comms systems and help establish the best spokespeople to put in front of the cameras should the real thing happen.
Your 14 point crisis communications checklist
You can find out more about planning for a crisis in our book – ok it’s an eBook. It includes a checklist to helping you identify the right spokesperson, messaging templates and a risk register to help you identify your organisation’s vulnerabilities. Click here to get your free copy.
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.
Click here to find out more about our highly practical crisis communication training.
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