Public Relations During Times Of Crisis

Public Relations During Times of Crisis

Crisis is . . .
“A nonroutine event that risks undesired visibility that in turn threatens significant reputational damage”
Credit: Doorley & Garcia, p. 328

4 Types of Crises
Meteor
Predator
Breakdown
Lingering
Credit: Shel Holtz @ http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/crisis_communication_fundamentals/
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittymeetsgoat/1373562566/

Sparks of a Crisis
Environmental
Technological
Terroristic
Criminal Misconduct
Managerial
Accidental
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/liberato/2521884271/

Benefits of Planning
Reduce Stress
Demonstrates Goodwill
Flow of Information
Involves Stakeholders
Business Continuity

7 Must Have Elements in Your Crisis Communication Kit
A list of the members of the crisis management team
Contact information for key officers, spokespeople, and crisis management team members
Fact sheets on the company, each division, each physical location, and each product offered.
Profiles and biographies for each key manager in your company
Credit: Don Crowther at http://www.globalprblogweek.com/archives/7_musthave_elements_.php

7 Must Have Elements in Your Crisis Communication Kit, cont’d
Copies of your company, division and product logos, your press release format and the scanned in signature of your CEO on disk
Pre-written scripts answering key questions that you have generated through your crisis scenario analysis
Contact information for each of your key media contacts both locally, nationally, and if appropriate, key financial press and analysts.
Credit: Don Crowther at http://www.globalprblogweek.com/archives/7_musthave_elements_.php

Environmental Scan: Search for the Negative
Google Alerts
search.twitter.com
For-fee services like Radian6 & CustomScoop
From Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com/2008/11/reinventing-crisis-communications-for.html

The “Suck OR Die” Factor
“product+sucks”
“company+sucks”
“die+company”
“i+hate+company”
From Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com/2008/11/reinventing-crisis-communications-for.html

3 Rs of Crisis Communication
Research
Response
Recovery
Photo by Christopher.Woo, Flickr

RESEARCH
Relationship Building
Environmental Scan
Emergency Personnel
Notification Procedures
Communication Procedures
Practice

Building Relationshipswith Stakeholders

Emergency Personnel Team
Spokesperson (1-2)
Phone team
Researcher and writer
Business continuity
Decision maker
Legal council, if applicable

Notification Procedures
Emergency Personnel Team
Board of Directors
Employees
Members
Other Stakeholders

Communication Procedures
Platform
Priority
Policy

Spokespersons
Interest and Empathy
Honesty and Authenticity
Responsive and Proactive
Open to Criticism
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/presta/142795058/

Bridging
Don’t Know: I don’t know, but I can tell you…
Time: That may have been the case in the past. Now we are…
Importance: That once was important. What is most important now is…
Completing: I think you would have a more complete picture if you considered…
Yes and No: No, let me explain. Yes, and furthermore…

RESPONSE
Emergency Notification
Gathering Information
Releasing Information
Stages of Crisis

4 Stages of a Crisis
From Communication Overtones

The Rule of 45 Minutes, 6 Hours, 3 Days, and 2 Weeks

Notification

Gathering Information

Releasing Information

Tell It
Tell it all
Tell it fast
Tell them what you’re doing about it
Tell them when it’s over
Get back to work
Credit: Doorley & Garcia, p. 336

RECOVERY
Follow up
Proactive storytelling
Solidify relationships
Adjust plan

YOUR TURN
Executive Director
Sexual Predator
Death of Child
Terrorist Incident

Executive Director is Critically Injured in Rollover Accident with Kids
You are in charge of communications for the Boys and Girls Club. You are working late and you get a call just before 9 p.m. on your cell phone from your Executive Director’s husband. He tells you he has gotten a call from the hospital that your Executive Director has been in a terrible car wreck. You head to the hospital right away and learn from family member that there has been a rollover crash with another SUV and that she was not alone in the car. Several children were also with her, but you still are not sure who they were.
Taken from real incident in Simi Valley, Calif.

After-School Program Employee Charged with Sexual Assault of a Child
An employee at the Boys and Girls Club was arrested today as he worked and charged with sexual assault and indecency with a child. The employee underwent a background check when hired and passed it. He has also never had any disciplinary problems. The child in the case was a 10-year-old girl who told her parents about the assault, which allegedly occurred a the center. Her parent then called the police. A few hours after the arrest, concerned parents, who have heard the initial reports through the grapevine start to arrive and angrily demand answers as to how this could have happened.
Taken from an amalgamation of real incidents in schools

Child Dies in After School Program
You are the executive director of a Girls and Boys Club. One of your kids who comes on a regular basis has some special needs but has never been disruptive. Today when he arrived after school, he seemed troubled and incoherent. He started to bang his head against the wall, and while you called 911 support, one of your male staff members held him down to keep him from hurting himself and others. While waiting for emergency personnel, the worker realized the boy was not breathing. He started to administer CPR and you called emergency services back to apprise them of the situation. Once EMTs arrived they continued acute care, but the child did not survive. The cause of death is unknown.
Taken from real incident in San Antonio, SW Mental Health Center

Shooter Enters Boys and Girls Club, Kills 2 and Injures 5
A gunman has entered your building and killed one employee, one child and has injured two more employees and three students. The scene is chaos, and your office is being cordoned off by the police as a crime scene. You are not allowed to return to get anything. You are not injured, but two of your crisis team are, and you are already getting calls from media on your cell phone, which thankfully was on your person when the shootings began. You have no idea who the shooter was, but the police are starting to interview witnesses and staff.

Measuring “Success”
Power of the Impact
How hard
Breadth of the Impact
How long
Depth of the Impact
How isolated
Credit: Ike Pigott

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Prepare at Work,American Red Cross
“Now is Too Late,” by Gerald R. Baron
CrisisBlogger
7 Must-Have Elements for Crisis Planning
Crisis Communication Articles
Emergency Procedures Flowcharts
Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2007). Reputation management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communications. New York: Routledge.

Contact Me
Barbara B. Nixon, Ph.D. (ABD)
Public Relations Faculty Member
Southeastern University
E-mail: bbnixon@seuniversity.edu
Twitter: barbaranixon
Skype: barbara.b.nixon
Blog: Public Relations Matters

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Public Relations During Times Of Crisis

by Barbara Nixon on Nov 09, 2008

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Public Relations During Times Of Crisis — Presentation Transcript