From our experience of working with companies on image and media crisis management for more than a dozen years, there are few who are aware that even their best-run organisation in the world also faces this challenge. And it is necessary to prepare for it.
It is far more often the case that a fire has already broken out and needs to be put out. And we are going to deal with extinguishing it, and conclude by talking about how to learn from crises so that they no longer occur.
In the first part, we talked about the moments immediately after an image crisis erupts: verifying information, credibility and expressing remorse. Now it is time for 3. Repair, 4. Learning lessons, 5. Application – implementing changes.
3. Repair
Introduce corrective action. The aim is to minimise losses as soon as possible and then return to the baseline situation.
It is important to show that the organisation knows and understands the cause of the crisis situation. The external environment (mainly the media) often considers that if ‘we know what happened’, then – thus – ‘we know how to deal with it’.
Present the recovery plan – the internal environment (employees, shareholders) and the external environment, i.e. the media and the public, are informed about the actions taken, the current state, what the recovery period will look like for residents and business partners, how long it will take to return to the pre-crisis state.
Remember to show the environment, where possible, the hard work your organisation is doing/has done to bring about normalisation. Be in constant contact with the media, provide the necessary information, talk, translate. The aim is to achieve a situation where no negative publications appear. Instead, neutral or positive ones showing that a state of normalisation has been achieved. Information should communicate:
- Responsibility
- Concern
- Commitment
- Credibility
- Effectiveness
- Professionalism
- Pursuit of solutions
- Openness of information
- Control over the situation
A good method by which the above messages can be presented is through personal evidence, the aim of which is to present the company as open, not hiding anything. To this end, journalists are invited to the company or the problem area (to which the crisis is related). Despite very limited time resources during a crisis, such a visit should be planned, prepared, and all employees informed.
This solution can be used to turn the crisis into a presentation of a company with the values we want: committed, professional, trying for customers, etc.
If employees’ attitudes were the problem, draw consequences towards them and show the environment what decisions you made. Act decisively and show it to the outside world.
This is also the moment when the environment needs to be shown what action will be taken to minimise the risk of a recurrence in the future. However, this is not a comprehensive analysis of the problem, but a reassuring and confidence-building message.
The mechanism is as follows: if the problem was with poor product quality – show what you will do to produce better, control quality, etc. If the problem was about environmental issues – say what you will do to make the organisation more responsible for the environment and the environment.
4 Study. Analyse and draw conclusions
A crisis strengthens organisations. It can strengthen the team, it verifies who can be relied on, who has proved themselves in a difficult situation. It also verifies procedures in the organisation, mistakes that will not be repeated again. As organisation and routine management may not work during a crisis, a crisis can contribute to the verification of management (including people). A summary, a post-crisis report, is the basis for diagnosis and lessons learned. It should contain the following elements:
- Course of action (what? where? when? how? what scale of action?)
- Source of the problem (why?)
- Remediation: actions taken and resources allocated (human, equipment) to minimise damage/normalisation
- Communication actions: internal and external environment (including monitoring of media publications)
- Conclusions and recommendations for implementation
- Update of the crisis management book
5. Apply
This is the second part of learning. Conclusions and analyses after the situation has been resolved should be applied to the company’s ongoing operation. An action primarily of an internal nature, the aim of which is to minimise the risk of another crisis occurring and, when it does occur, to manage its neutralisation more efficiently.
Depending on the nature of the crisis, it is also desirable to demonstrate to the environment that rectifying the situation and blocking the occurrence of similar ones in the future is important for the company. This can be done by using media relations, implementing an information or education campaign.
Actions that should be implemented:
- Update crisis communication procedure;
- Implement courses, training for staff;
- Conducting simulations of similar crisis situations;
- Other actions identified in the crisis summary report.
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