Crisis Communication
A crisis is something everyone can relate to. Weather is it in someone’s personal life or in an organization. In someone’s personal life a crisis may be a death of a family member, a car accident, a theft, a broken heart, or anything negative that occurs in an individual’s life. These are all things that are out of our power and these things just naturally happen. It comes down to how you deal with it. How you persevere when things are not going your way. It is hard to have a plan implemented when the crisis comes from the element of surprise. If there is a possibility that something may happen all you can do is prepare for it the best way you know how.
Lately organizations have been faced with crisis due to the economy. Gas prices rising, business going bankrupt and out of business, individuals being laid off, and hiring freezes have all had negative effects on organizations as a whole. Organizations face crisis that occur naturally, so when faced with it there is a solution planned out to some degree. These situations may cause a decrease in revenue, loss of employees, and loss of sponsors but there is always a way to overcome the situation. Lack of preparation can make a crisis even more severe and prolonged when they do happen. Organizations must also determine which constituents would be most affected by the crisis. This is important because some constituents are more important than others; organizations need to look at risk in terms of its effect on the most important constituents.
http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/crisis.html
When a company is faced with a crisis you cannot stop. All you can do is put your plan into play. There are many issues that you can be faced with, especially when it goes to the media. The media is most likely to focus on the bad news because it catches the audience’s attention. When major corporations are faced with a crisis it sticks out more to the public. This is when their honesty, credibility, reputation, and image are questioned. This is when you do all that can be done to prove that your company is strong and you stand on the words in your mission statement.
A crisis outcome is based on the leadership and decision making. This is what makes an outcome for the better or worse. Learn from others mistakes and turn others expenses into future profits.
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/docs/the_biggest_mistakes_in_crisis_communications.html
A personal experience I had was when my father passed away May 9, 2008. It came so sudden and no one was ready for it; it shocked us all. All we could do was prepare his home going service and celebrate the day a great man passed on this earth. This was a crisis, and all we could do was continue to love him and keep him in our hearts as we moved on. No plan could be implemented , but we were forced to live as if he were still here and make him proud.
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The current financial crisis the United States is facing is taking its toll on virtually every business in the country. Companies are being forced to layoff workers, cut benefits, close plants, and in the worst of situations close down shop completely. When it comes down to doing this, there are actions that must be taken to assure that the correct course is taken. Some of this includes explaining to the media and the company's constituents (including employees, stockholders, and the general public) why the company is taking that specific course of action. Without this, the company risks alienating thousands of people who have opinions of the organization's repuation.
ReplyDeleteMy fiance recently got a crash course in a company's crisis communication strategy. In a meeting while at work at Cannondale (http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/) in Bedford, Pa., he learned from management that he would be losing his job this spring as they would be outsourcing nearly their entire production to Asia. The company told their employees the news first, but the very next day the news made front page headlines. Cannondale took pride in producing "American-made" bicycles, but they'll have to deal with the reputation crisis that will almost certainly come in the backlash of the announcement.
Many companies have had to make announcements similar to this in recent months. It has become commonplace to see headlines announcing such company closures. As unfortunate as it is, it's like to continue if the country's economic situtation does not improve. This will force all organizations to become well-versed in crisis communication because more than likely they'll have to use it at some point themselves.
Crisis communication can be a make or break situation for a company. It is important to hire a great public relations person to handle all types of media contacts and situations. During crisis times for companies it is important that they maintain a strong image for their company. Take for example the Coors case. The Coors Company was under investigation for some serious allegations. During their crisis communications they saved face for the company and totally turned the public image from negative to positive. Especially with our countries economic situation it is even more important to be prepared for crisis communication. There should be an action plan for crisis situations and employees and figure heads for the company must be trained in crisis communication for the company to handle situations easily. Crisis communication can turn a bad situation into a good one with carefully planned actions. In my profession (football) there are always players getting into trouble. An organizations depiction of the athlete and the way the situation is handled with the public can take one athletes actions that reflects poorly on the organization and turn it into a good situation. Take for example Brett Farve, a few years ago he was addicted to pain killers and needed to go to rehab. The Packers organization could have been held accountable for these actions, but they had a crisis plan and sent him to rehab. Throughout the situation the Packers stood next to Farve and held a positive image with the media and as of last year Bret Farve was the poster boy for the Packers organization. Through their crisis communication the public forgot about Farve’s mistake that could have reflected poorly for the Packers and adopted him once again as the “Golden Boy” for Green Bay.
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