|
by
Abbe
Ruttenberg Serphos
ABR
Communications
Suddenly
it seems that each day we learn of
a new accounting scandal leaving a
major corporation in
crisis and the futures of
shareholders and employees
uncertain. While this may be
a new wrinkle in the U.S.'s
corporate legacy, companies in
crisis are nothing new. As
we have seen time and again, from
Tylenol to Exxon to Firestone to
Enron, how you act and react once
a crisis begins often forms your
company's future.
Companies face crises all the time
- product recalls, plant closings,
tainted products, a crime
committed by an employee, a
branded item found at a crime
scene, a company leader making a
poor personal decision. The
fact that we only hear select
stories of this kind in the news
and at the water cooler
illustrates the power of effective
crisis communications.
Following are six steps toward a
positive crisis resolution.
Preparation
is key.
Consider
a crisis plan an insurance
policy for your corporate
image. With such a plan
in place, or at least a
cursory examination of
potential scenarios, if a
crisis hits, you can spend
crucial time implementing the
plan rather than trying to
figure out where to start.
Preparedness can include
developing a detailed crisis
strategy, creating media
materials in advance,
arranging media training for
key executives and
pre-establishing a crisis
team.
Make
sure you have all the facts.
Gather
as much information about the
situation as quickly as
possible and from a variety of
sources. Then talk with
your legal counsel and your
communications counsel to see
what information can be
released and what should
remain confidential. You
will need to share crucial
information while ensuring
that you do not jeopardize
your corporate image.
Continually talk through the
situation with your trusted
counsel. Stay in
constant contact with your
senior management or crisis
team.
Take
immediate action to minimize
danger to human life.
If
any lives are in jeopardy, be
sure to immediately address
those grave concerns.
Negligence with human life is
unforgivable.
Tell
the truth.
Be
sure that any information you
release to the media or the
public is truthful. If
something you say is false,
your credibility will be
irreparably damaged. If
the information you have is
potentially damaging to you or
your company, and no one has
specifically asked about it
(or it has not yet been made
public), you do not need to
divulge it, at least not
immediately. It is not
necessary to throw fuel on the
fire. If, however, the
information is in the public
domain, you must immediately
react with a truthful
response. If you do not
know the answer, say that you
do not know and that you will
try to get the information
being requested.
Show
you care and be sincere.
Do
your best to understand what
the public's concerns will be
and address those concerns
directly.
Linda
Lay, the wife of former Enron
chairman Kenneth Lay, likely
created more harm than good
when she tearfully said on the
nationally televised Today
Show, "We are fighting
for liquidity. We don't want
to go bankrupt."
The American public felt her
comments showed a lack of
sincerity and an acute lack of
sympathy for the many Enron
workers whose life savings had
just been wiped out. Be
sympathetic to those affected
by the issue at hand.
Never
overlook the power of common
sense.
Think
through the different crisis
resolution scenarios. If
your gut instinct is that they
are off the mark, get more
information and keep thinking.
Trust yourself and your
closest advisors.
While
no one can predict a crisis,
appropriate foresight and thought
can mean the difference between
maintaining a stellar corporate
reputation and the dreadful
alternative.
Abbe
Ruttenberg Serphos is president
of ABR Communications Ltd., a
full-service public relations
firm in New York City.
With over 12 years experience,
she has been involved in crisis
counsel for many high-profile
clients.
Website: www.abrcomm.com
Email:
abbe@abrcomm.com
More
Articles | Submit
Your Article | PR
Subjects
About
Public Relations Homepage
Contact Us
|
