Crisis Management: The Savvy Communicator

Crisis Management: The Savvy Communicator Kami Watson Huyse, APR

Defining Crisis
a. A crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point.
b. An unstable condition, as in political, social, or economic affairs, involving an impending abrupt or decisive change.0
Definition from The Free Dictionary

3 R s of Crisis Communication
R esearch
R esponse
R ecovery
Photo by Christopher.Woo, Flickr

Types of Crisis
Environmental
Technological
Terroristic
Criminal Misconduct
Managerial
Accidental

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

RESEARCH
Relationship Building
Emergency Personnel
Notification Procedures
Communication Procedures
Practice

Building Relationships with 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

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

Notification

Gathering Information

Releasing Information

4 Stages of a Crisis From Communication Overtones

RECOVERY
Follow up
Proactive storytelling
Solidify relationships
Adjust plan

SITUATION
Executive Director
Sexual Predator
Death of Child
Terroristic Incident

Case Study: St. PJs Children’s Home
BJ Mamuzic, Executive Director
Children from the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Texas became residents at the home.
Key Learnings:
Connect with like agencies
Learn from experts
Give the board something to say
Designate who will communicate
Don’t underestimate volume
Know players before crisis

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. this week

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.

RESOURCEs
“Now is Too Late ,” by Gerald R Baron
Prepare at Work , American Red Cross
CrisisBlogger
7 Must-Have Elements for Crisis Planning
Crisis Communication Articles

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Crisis Management: The Savvy Communicator

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Crisis Management: The Savvy Communicator

by Kami Huyse on Aug 20, 2008

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