Communicating in a Crisis

“Whenever there’s a crisis, there’s an information void. You can fill it or I can get my information from someone else. Which would you prefer?”

—Former NY Times reporter and Wharton Professor Stuart Diamond

A crisis is a situation that is out of control, one that is adversely affecting normal operations—whether those operations consist of running a government or manufacturing chemicals, offering financial services, or operating an airline.

A crisis is also a call to action. The immediate action, of course, is to take steps to solve the problem; e.g., the corruption, the fire, the hemorrhaging of red ink, or the cancellation of your flights because of faulty maintenance.

“But you also have to communicate about those actions. And you have to do it promptly, caringly, carefully, and truthfully.”

—Buck Benedict

Why do you have to communicate? If you don’t, the only news about the event will come from people outside of your organization. Some, like governmental agencies, might be objective and give the facts. But others, like activist organizations, concerned citizens, or disgruntled shareholders may have their own agenda—not your interests—at heart. Besides, you are the authority on your business or organization and your credibility and reputation are at stake. You need to speak for yourself and not let others do it for you—not even your lawyers. Silence is often construed as having something to hide. Or a sign of guilt.

What do you communicate? First and foremost, the truth. The Watergate burglary didn’t bring down an American president; the cover-up about the break-in and the administration’s role in it did.

Tell people all that you know about the situation. Answer what happened; when and where it happened; who was involved and/or who was affected type questions. And, as well as you can, answer the question: how or why did it happen? But don’t speculate on causes if you don’t know them or it’s too soon to know them. Despite the pressure that the media will apply to find answers to the how/why questions, the people watching the news will understand you can’t know everything immediately. They’ll accept, “We don’t know yet, but we are investigating….” But they will not tolerate prevarication or procrastination about getting to the cause and communicating about it when you have found it. There is a strong sense that the public has a right to know. If you’re seen as interfering with that right, a reasonable public will turn into an angry one and your reputation will suffer as you make a bad situation worse.

On the other hand, you can bolster the public’s perception of you and your organization if you’re seen as open and concerned in your handling of and communicating about the crisis. One of the best examples of crisis management occurred in 1982 when some bottles of the popular pain-reliever Tylenol were laced with poison. Despite seven deaths, the brand actually came back and regained its market share because of the prompt actions Johnson&Johnson took to get it off the market and because it communicated in such a forthright way about the crisis.

“Take advantage of a crisis to grab an opportunity.”

—Rahm Emanuel, Former White House Chief of Staff

In a crisis, communicate as quickly and as often as possible.

Initial Press Statement

What you want to communicate in your initial statement in a crisis is this:

• Tell the people in as simple and as direct a way as possible what happened or what’s going on.
• Next, tell them what you’re doing about it: What steps are you taking to bring it under control so that you can resume normal operations?
• Let them know when you might be able to return to normal operations. But avoid speculating. Don’t raise false hopes; they’ll only come back to haunt you if you’re wrong.
• If casualties or physical losses are involved, show concern. Apologize if it’s appropriate. And convey compassion for the victims. (Clearly, you never identify the injured or dead until you’ve been assured that the next of kin has been notified.)
• Finally, let people know that you’ll keep them informed. And do.

Follow-up Communications

Keep communicating as long as there’s interest in the incident or action that’s being taken. Usually, all that’s required is a short statement to provide the current status and a willingness to answer questions.

Summary

No one likes to communicate bad news. We also have a tendency to want to wait until we have “all” of the information before we say anything. You never have all of the information until long after the crisis is over. Therefore, you have to communicate the limited information you do have. The sooner you communicate the better. By communicating you show your concern. You also prevent others from filling the “information void” with inaccurate, or worse, misleading or false statements. Keep communicating until people seem to be satisfied that you’ve fulfilled their right to know.

Good communications can’t substitute for or explain away bad actions, but they can go a long way toward rebuilding relationships and credibility when accidents happen or mistakes are made.