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