Computing & Communication

needs for Crisis Management

Prof Dr. Adel Rayan

Dean FIBH
Crisis communications
is the process of managing the
strategy, messages, timing and
distribution channels necessary to
communicate effectively with the
media, employees, core constituencies,
clients, customers and stakeholders.
The benefits of managing
crisis communications
Managing crisis communication is of
great deal in overwhelming the crisis.
It helps the manger in all stages of the
crisis.
Facilitate rapid de-escalation of the
immediate crisis, and – To restore
public order and to return to normal
operations.
As a crisis is underway:

- To position the organization as capable

of managing the actual incident, event
or allegation which has triggered the
crisis in the first place.
- To ensure that all decisions and public
statements are made from a common
up-to-date base of information, and to
prevent crisis escalation.
As crisis fades: · -
To rebuild, recover, re-establish public
composure and repair relationships.
To prevent recurrence or development
of a chronic crisis, - And to enable the
organization and its representatives to
emerge with the highest possible
credibility. `
The First Line of Defense is a
Good Offense
Try to anticipate the various types of
crises that could impact your organization
and determine before hand the necessary
steps to manage them.

Analyze your strengths, weaknesses,

opportunities and threats (SWOT).
The First Line of Defense is a
Good Offense
The more prepared you are, the “luckier”
you’ll be in handling them.
You won’t always have time to make a
prepared statement or stage a news
conference. But the media will want a story
now.
So, you need to be prepared to speak
intelligently to the issue, acknowledge what
happened even if it’s already obvious to
everyone, and what steps you’re taking to
remedy it.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
1. Communicate Proactively: If the initial
issue isn't put to bed in the first 24 to 48
hours of a crisis, the tendency is for the
hot issues to mutate as the media shifts
their focus to other aspects of the story.
The best way to avoid new issues
emerging or "mutating" is to drive the
communications process proactively rather
than in a merely reactive manner.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
You need to act immediately to turn the
story into what you are doing to ensure
that it doesn't happen again.
Be sure that inaccurate or misleading
reporting is always corrected immediately.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
2. Designate a Single Spokesperson: It is
critical to get the message out with
credibility in the beginning of a crisis.
Your spokesperson should be technically
knowledgeable, in a position of authority,
have strong professional credentials, be a
quick study,
Have an even temper, a reasonable tone, an
honest face, an ear for a good sound bite,
and get along well with reporters.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Tight control should be maintained over
who speaks on behalf of the
organization.
All media and public communications
should be limited to one spokesperson
wherever possible.
In the early stages, the more senior the
spokesperson the better, as it implies
that you take the issue seriously.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Later on, as the crisis fades, the public
affairs or Corporate Communications
Director is sufficient for routine regular
media briefings.
Be sure to communicate internally
before you make public statements.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
3. Communicate Early, Often and
Consistently The first few hours after a
crisis or allegation arises provides the ideal
time to develop credibility with the media
and the public, and shape the media
coverage.
By communicating early on, and in a
straightforward manner, you show that you
have nothing to hide.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Rigorously brief key officials prior to any
announcement and role-play all awkward
questions to ensure consistency of
messages and the possibility of making
accidental news. Throughout the crisis, if
you communicate on a regular basis, you
avoid the creation of an information
vacuum.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
By so doing, you reduce the tendency of
the media to fill the vacuum with minor,
irrelevant, yet possibly "juicy" items, which
merely serve to keep the story in the news.

When you communicate accurately and

regularly, you become the source of
credible information, rather than others.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Silence and invisibility are signs of
unwillingness, incompetence and fear,
which reinforce the perception that the
crisis is under control, not you.
Demonstrate empathy and caring about
people; recognize public anxiety - don't
dismiss it
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Keep public and key stakeholders
informed, such as regulators, partners,
customers, suppliers, local, state and
federal officials and politicians.
Stay in contact with victims’ families. If
they get all their news first from the
media, then their trust in your abilities
and honesty rapidly
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
4. Encourage the "Front Door"
Approach Be as convivial as possible by
anticipating and meeting the needs of
journalists and the public.
If they don’t feel welcomed through the
"front door," they will try to get the
information through the "back door."
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
This includes ex-employees, unnamed
accusers etc. Besides being up-front
and forthright, you can literally welcome
them through your front doors, and
provide them with a prepared media
room near the sight of the crisis and
brief them there regularly.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
Set up and operate channels for public
input such as toll-free phone lines, on-
line communications, fax-back systems,
and public meetings.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
5. Be Prepared: Be prepared by anticipating
every conceivable crisis situation or
allegation.
You will also create a better opportunity for
accurate reporting from the outset if you
prepare standard fact sheets,
backgrounders, news releases, media
statements and announcements ready to
go to support your pro-active media
relations.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
6. Announce Bad News first & announce it
All at Once: Ensure that all the news- good
or bad- but particularly the bad, is
communicated as soon as you can confirm
it.
If the news media or another party reveals
the bad news about you, the perception
will be that you had tried to hide it.
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
If you are the one to announce it, you can be
sure the facts are accurate, and the story is
in context.
And if you can anticipate bad news down the
line, and it’s confirmed, give it to the media
all at once.
You’ll have a really bad day, but if you
announce them one at a time, you will, in
effect, be conducting a public "striptease" of
bad news, and you will be guaranteed a bad
Keys to Effective Crisis
Communications:
This is how media feeding frenzies are
developed, as the bad news continues
to whet the public’s appetite.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
When the organization faces a crisis
and has to deal with the media, the
manager should consider the following:
(1) Have a Crisis Team. Be sure to have
a strong leader who has the authority
to make important decisions, or make
sure they can quickly contact someone
who can.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
Have Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
from within different areas of the
company who can help with each type
of crisis that could potentially occur.
This includes representatives from
human relations, operations, security,
environmental resources, and of course,
public relations.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
Be sure to have a notification policy so
that employees at all locations know
whom to notify immediately after a
potential crisis takes place.
Be sure you know what your individual
responsibilities are in a crisis.
Even minor tasks shouldn’t be taken for
granted, because every second counts
in a crisis.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
(2) Have your answers ready. Consider all
potential communications crises that could
arise. Prepare a series of written
statements and press releases dealing with
each potential crisis you can anticipate.
Create a list of detailed questions and
answers so that you’ll be ready to answer
some basic questions from the media about
all of those crises.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
These questions include:
- What happened?
- What caused it?
- Is your company taking responsibility for it?
- How could you let this happen? - Who is
responsible?
- Why didn't you take precautions to prevent
this from happening?
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
- What are you going to do about it
How dangerous is it?
- Who is to blame?
- Was anyone hurt or killed?
- Are you going to compensate the victims?
- When will the situation be under control?
- Can it happen again?
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
(3) Media training: Ideally, you will
schedule media training and rehearsal
sessions before a crisis occurs.
This way you can practice your crisis
communications and media interviews
based on actual scenarios that you’ve
identified.
Bring in instructors with knowledge of your
industry and not just your local operations.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
They should have hands-on experience
in answering questions in crisis
situations, as well as past news media
experience in asking tough questions.
Naturally, no matter how well prepared
you are, no one plan will magically
avert all the situations you may
encounter.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
(4)Crisis simulation: This can take
months of work, but you will have
valuable information on how to improve
your plan.
Stage it on an evening or weekend to
test your notification procedures.
Preparation for Crisis
Communications
Hire former professional journalists to act
as reporters, have plenty of them and let
them do their job.
Record the whole event on television
videotape so you can critique it later.
When you consider the potential public
relations fallout from a mishandled crisis,
increased emphasis on planning and
training may be a small investment.
THANK YOU