Crisis Communications

It’s pointless to have a conversation about successfully promoting your issue, organization, or grassroots campaign without a simultaneous discussion on the art of managing a crisis. If you spend any length of time performing communications and public relations work for a candidate, organization, or company, you are bound to experience a crisis or two. It is the price of existing. At our core, we make mistakes. And some of those mistakes cost us dearly.

Examples of a crisis include a natural disaster, an executive’s sudden departure without a clear succession plan, a public official being caught in a lie, allegations of wrongdoing by a CEO, the leak of highly sensitive internal documents or video footage, or an embarrassing conflict of interest for an elected official. A crisis has the potential to derail an organization’s mission, alienate donors and supporters, and tarnish the leader’s or organization’s image and public standing. While potentially debilitating, a crisis can be greatly exacerbated by the response. Often, the response to the crisis can determine whether it lives on in perpetuity or is quickly resolved.

For a fire to thrive it needs three elements: heat, oxygen, and fuel. A crisis is a figurative fire. When confronting a crisis, you want to zap the oxygen at the source to put an end to the problem. Below are eight steps to extinguish the fire and get your organization back on track to fulfilling its mission. You will note that the main principles in play in crisis management are being responsive and being credible; that’s because it is your organization’s reputation on the line, and the only way to protect it is to act swiftly and honestly.

STEP 1
Avert a Crisis before It Begins

There are usually telltale signs that an issue, if left unaddressed, could snowball. It is always better to directly confront it rather than allow it to escalate. If left unchecked, these issues have the potential of wreaking havoc not only on executives and leaders but also on the institutions they represent. Bob Filner, anyone?

Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner resigned in 2013 after more than eighteen women came forward and accused him of sexual harassment.¹ At least one of the victims sued Filner, as well as the city of San Diego. I’m hard-pressed to believe no one knew of the former mayor’s unwelcomed sexual advances before news of them spilled into the public domain prompting his dramatic fall from grace. Did anyone try to put a stop to the harassment or hold the longtime elected official accountable? Did the people around him deflect their gaze due to his status and position?

The victims of sexual harassment could have been spared, Filner could have saved himself public humiliation, and the City of San Diego could have saved precious resources, had he owned up to his behavior and sought help prior to being forced to do so. (Sources estimated the special election to replace him would cost anywhere from $3 million to $6 million.)

HOW TO DO IT

BE RESPONSIVE. Waiting until a crisis begins before you think through how you’ll handle unforeseen problems is too late. Sure, there is no way to predict every possible crisis, but if you have a plan in place, you are better prepared to deal with the challenges that will come your way. Every organization should have a crisis communications plan that identifies the overall crisis management plan, protocols, and contact information for key leaders internal and external to the organization. Planning for a crisis means you’ve assembled a skilled internal team charged with thinking through policies for handling difficult situations. The crisis management team could include legal counsel, the senior communications team, the management or leadership team, as well as the organization’s executive director. You might also consider people in non-management positions to ensure diversity of thought and experience.

STEP 2
Outline Your Goals and Objectives

No one plans to have a crisis, and when they occur, they usually come on suddenly. Prior to setting out on any communications task, public relations professionals should first identify the overarching goal. In my experience, controlling the narrative, shifting from defense to offense, and working to regain the trust of your constituents are often the main goals when dealing with a crisis.

HOW TO DO IT

BE CREDIBLE. Suppose you’re left in the unenviable position of controlling your narrative while also dealing with the problem at hand. While this is difficult, it can be done; however, you must be disciplined about using the narrative your team has developed. The narrative should include your organization’s and leader’s values, principles, and mission statement. You’ll want to outline a specific statement for the issue at hand, recite the statement, and then pivot back to the broader narrative. This will help you to frame the issue in the most beneficial light.

Be creative. Next, you want to shift from defense to offense. With jarring revelations, you’re often left scrambling, though you must address the crisis at hand. Then you can think strategically about ways to move to offense, where you’re no longer responding but working to help your company regain the trust of employees, board members, clients, and the public. One way to shift from the defense to the offense is to strategically engage surrogates to speak on your behalf. Another way to move to a more favorable position is to announce a major report, policy initiative, or campaign that would shift the focus from the undesirable issue to one that allows you and your organization to shine.

STEP 3
Tell the Truth and Apologize

Few things are as frustrating as feeling one is being purposely misled, and nothing sinks credibility faster than being caught in a lie. It’s best to tell the whole truth—and nothing but the truth—prior to being forced to do so. A refusal to be honest only fuels the story, keeping it alive in the media day after day. Explain the situation as best you can; tell the truth and apologize. Once you’ve done that, the story’s shelf life is significantly reduced.

HOW TO DO IT

BE CREDIBLE. Lay out the situation on your own terms. Put it out there and give people an opportunity to process it. It will be embarrassing and it may be painful, but being honest is almost always the best course of action. Think about the revelations involving former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice, who was found to have pummeled his then fiancée Janay Palmer in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino. In February 2014, TMZ leaked a video showing the Ravens’ star player dragging Palmer’s seemingly lifeless body out of an elevator. While many speculated Palmer was the victim of domestic violence, those fears were confirmed when TMZ released yet another video showing the muscular Rice knocking Palmer unconscious, then standing over her with seeming little concern for her well-being. The release of the videos left fans reeling and wondering why a more severe punishment was not meted out—Rice initially received a two-game suspension following the release of the first video. When the public sensed a cover-up, embattled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s public image deteriorated. There were repeated calls for his ouster. While Ray Rice abusing his wife was troubling in and of itself, the NFL’s handling of the situation created an unnecessary PR disaster. Now there were at least two competing narratives in the media: the domestic violence involving Rice and other NFL players, and a potential cover-up by Goodell and the league.

I would have advised both Rice and the NFL to immediately come clean, apologize for being untruthful and failing to adequately address domestic violence. From there, I would have urged the NFL to outline an aggressive plan to address domestic violence. I might also have recommended the impaneling of a watchdog agency or entity to steward the culture change.

BE RESPONSIVE. If you’ve ever witnessed an irate customer voicing his frustrations to a store manager or employee, you know it’s quite a sight. If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of such a call or encounter from a highly annoyed client or customer, you know how tense the situation can be and how delicately the conversation must be handled. You know that often the best way to diffuse the situation is to apologize.

When someone has been wronged, there is a natural desire for vindication, to experience some form of justice. It is often hard to forgive without recompense. There must be an attempt to right the wrongs. Kathleen Griffin, the author of The Forgiveness Formula: How to Let Go of Your Pain and Move On with Life, echoed this sentiment:

Children naturally have a strong sense of justice. They will often protest that an adult decision “is not fair.”. . . This sense of natural justice is a good starting place to teach children that they can deal with arguments in a way that leaves both sides feeling satisfied, and the most important key to that is for both of them to be heard. This idea of “things being put right” is central to justice and the possibility of forgiveness. This is something we need to learn early as children.²

In disagreements or when problems arise, people want two things: an opportunity to be sufficiently heard and an apology. If you or your organization has made a mistake, you owe your customers or client base an apology, as well as space to appropriately voice concerns and grievances. Don’t make excuses. And for the love of all things right, do not offer half-hearted or obscure apologies. An apology should always be sincere, not a shallow tactic to evade the public’s gaze. You’ve seen elected officials, celebrities, and media personalities fumbling over themselves to offer half-apologies for misdoings or offensive remarks. This is patronizing and self-defeating. Be sincere and offer an unequivocal apology.

STEP 4
Beware of the Drip . . . Drip . . . Drip

The danger of not disclosing the whole truth is the constant drip of new information and seedy details about what has been said or done. Your organization will take a beating with each new revelation. The constant drip, drip, drip of new details will give the story oxygen and keep it alive. Think back to the earlier example of the NFL Ray Rice scandal. While Goodell maintained his innocence, there was a steady drip of news articles and media reports suggesting his complicity in hiding the initial video or incompetence in failing to obtain it. The situation was handled poorly.

HOW TO DO IT

BE RESPONSIVE. Deal with issues or problems in one fell swoop. Otherwise you will get stuck in a tiresome yo-yo game, forced to react and respond as new details are divulged. Parsing out details piecemeal creates credibility issues, which can create a tiresome loop for your employees, board, customers, and other supporters. Sometimes it can even be helpful to preemptively release damaging information before someone else has an opportunity to do so.

STEP 5
Seek Professional Help

There is no shame in seeking help. Depending on the crisis, it may be wise to bring in outside counsel. Bringing in outside communications assistance to help during a crisis may be costly. However, how one manages a crisis will have long-term implications for the viability and reputation of your brand. If you don’t handle a crisis appropriately, you may not have an organization in the long run.

So there are multiple benefits of paying for crisis communications assistance. First, these are people who devote each day to handling sensitive matters with diplomacy and control. Public relations firms that focus on crisis communications are experts at managing difficult situations in a manner that preserves a leader’s legacy and an institution’s public standing, as well as resolving the issue at hand. When jarring things happen to organizations it’s easy to become stuck and immobilized with fear and concern. Bringing in outside help, someone who is not readily attached to the crisis and can be objective, is often very productive.

Have you ever attempted to do something on your own, only to find out after repeated tries that you would have been better off asking for help? Think about the person who believes he can fix anything but lacks the know-how to do so. Playing with wires and taking on housing repairs could end disastrously. Don’t be that guy. Ask for help. Don’t wait until a situation spirals out of control to request assistance. By that point, it may be too late. Do yourself a favor and seek help early. If you are faced with an unexpected crisis, and you, as well as the management team of your organization, believe you may benefit from extra help, immediately work to seek out help.

HOW TO DO IT

BE RESPONSIVE. How do you know when you’re in over your head? Ask yourself this question: is a new perspective and approach needed? Also, consider how empowered your current PR team is to make decisions, take over day-to-day operations, and map the plan to resolve the crisis. The less empowered you are, the more important getting outside counsel will be to move your organization back into the public’s trust.

Every section of this book is important. However, the crisis communications section is the insurance policy for your work. You could work like hell to build solid relationships with the press that generate favorable media coverage for your organization yet be undone due to an unexpected crisis. In the same way you wouldn’t purchase a home or car without insurance, take special care to insure your hard work by developing a crisis management plan before you need it. This enables you to respond to a crisis with confidence. The other benefit of outlining a crisis management plan and communicating it with your team before a crisis hits is that you may not have the time or clarity of thought to do this once you’re in the thick of things. And remember, even though you have a crisis management plan in place, don’t be afraid to seek professional help if you believe the crisis is outside the realm of what you’re able to comfortably handle.