CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Kelli Matthews University of Oregon | Verve Northwest Communications
‣ WHAT IS A CRISIS? ‣ WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF CRISIS? ‣ HOW CAN AN ORGANIZATION BE CRISIS READY? ‣ WHAT IS EFFECTIVE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS? WHAT WE’LL COVER
WHAT’S A CRISIS? “… a significant business disruption which stimulates extensive news media coverage. The resulting public scrutiny will affect the organization’s normal operations and also could have a political, legal, financial and governmental impact on its business.” -- Institute for Crisis Management
CREEPING CRISES SLOW-BURN CRISES SUDDEN CRISES TYPES OF CRISES
Most of what we call natural disasters (tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes) are indeed natural, though human contributions may increase their likelihood or intensity. But they aren’t disasters—they’re hazards. If a hurricane slams into land where no one lives, it isn’t a disaster; it’s weather. A disaster is when a natural hazard meets a human population. And often, that intersection is far from natural.
HURRICANE KATRINA
HURRICANE HARVEY
PARADISE, CALIFORNIA
TEXT STAGES OF CRISIS ▸ Pre-Crisis/Planning ▸ Crisis ▸ Continuing Crisis ▸ Post-crisis
PRE-CRISIS ▸ Crisis Forecasting ▸ Vulnerability Audit ▸ Crisis Planning ▸ Media Training
WHAT KIND OF “WORST CASE SCENARIO” SHOULD (OR DOES) YOUR ORGANIZATION PLAN FOR? CRISIS FORECASTING ACTIVITY
Confidential interviews of people at all levels of the organization. Looking for: potentially harmful trends, significant inconsistencies between answers, nonverbal cues, consensus of opinion regarding certain types of crises. Allows you to anticipate actual crisis scenarios. VULNERABILITY AUDITS
GET COMMITMENTS
DENIAL AIN’T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT… ▸ Outright denial ▸ Minimization ▸ Idealization ▸ Power ▸ Projection ▸ Intellectualization ▸ Compartmentalization
BUILD A CRISIS TEAM. MAKE SURE THEY’RE PREPARED, TRAINED & EMPOWERED
THE 8 PEOPLE YOU NEED ON YOUR CRISIS TEAM Local Emergency Director of Comms Government Manager/ Information Director Manager Director Services Public Health Director of Fire & Police Planning Manager/ Public Works Chiefs Director Director
YOUR CRISIS TEAM: INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE Incident Incident Employee Victim assistance Family Assistance Communications commander containment Assistance Assess state of Liaise with Recommends Dispatches to the Contacts WFF employees and Provide comm. officials onsite at ensure info needs level of response incident site and Chaplains advice & counsel hospitals, etc. are met Issues pre- Confirms Coordinates with Activates pre- authorized Activates/directs Coordinates with emergency law enforcement authorized statement CMT other chiefs contacts and next for next of kin statement assuring support of kin notification Coordinates with Coordinates Develops & Assigns family Briefs employees chiefs to gather arrangements for adjusts ops Relays info to IC within two hours return of deceased liaisons info; prep strategy or injured statements Assign one family Coordinates with Preps Coordinates on- Ensures “On the ground” liaison to each for support spokespeople for site counseling or coordination lead assistance organizations. other support interviews CMT: crisis management team. IC: Incident Commander. InCon: Incident Command. WFF= Wildland Firefighter Foundation. CCofA: Corporate Chaplains of America
A WORD ABOUT ELECTED OFFICIALS ▸ Provide training about their role, the manager’s role, the overall structure of incident command center. ▸ Develop a system to keep councilors and commissioners informed.
IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS, KEY MESSAGES & METHODS OF DELIVERY “No matter how much you plan, the unexpected is going to happen. You plan so that you can manage the unexpected. There’s not going to be a blueprint for it.” Harold Dominguez, City Manager, Longmont, Colorado
PREPARE MATERIALS AHEAD OF TIME
IDENTIFY A SEQUENCE FOR INFO SHARING
IDENTIFY & TRAIN SPOKESPEOPLE
PRACTICE!
CONTAINMENT INVOLVEMENT OF REGULATORS INVESTIGATION CONFIRMATION STAGE 2: ACUTE CRISIS
NOT EVERYTHING IS A CRISIS. AND NOT EVERY CRISIS NEEDS THE SAME RESPONSE.
Executive Team Responds. Frequent Communication Through all Channels. Heavy Monitoring Manager Responds. Executive Team Notified. Create Content, Provide Subsequent Monitoring Manager Gets Involved Directly Create Content (Media, Social, Web) if Necessary. Provide Subsequent Monitoring. Staff Responds with Manager Guidance Staff Responds
ISSUE VS. CRISES 1. Choice 2. Certainty 3. Urgency 4. Cost 5. Continuity 6. Outcomes
VALIDATED ACCEPTED WISDOM ACKNOWLEDGE FIGHT FIRE WITH WATER BE GENUINE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
ACKNOWLEDGE A K A , S T E A L I N G T H U N D E R
TELL IT FIRST. TELL IT FAST. TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
TELL IT FIRST, TELL IT FAST AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT! � What happened � How do you feel about it � What are you doing about it � Guidance to media
BE GENUINE. BE COMPASSIONATE. BE SORRY.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
ABOVE ALL, BE GENUINE. BE HUMAN.
HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTE TO A CRISIS? ▸ Wind ▸ Fuel ▸ Direction
WHAT ROLE, SOCIAL MEDIA? ▸ Disseminate Information ▸ Relieve media queries (via phone) ▸ Thought leadership ▸ Humanize & personalize ▸ Provide company’s point of view ▸ Create outlet for advocacy (if appropriate)
THE REALITY OF CRISES TODAY ▸ Erupt with unprecedented speed ▸ People have an insatiable thirst for news ▸ Anyone can break news ▸ Porous boundaries between social & mainstream media
CONTINUING CRISIS ▸ Chronic Stage ▸ Ongoing Management “The immediate crisis moment may last twenty-four hours and then you’ve got a period of four to five days cleaning up. Once that emotion dies down, you can lose sight that this thing is here to stay for months if not a couple of years. You must remind the organization that this is a long-term event and that we cannot let up; we have to remain focused.” Dan Paranick, City Manager, Ventura, California
RESOLUTION STAGE RETURNING TO NORMAL ASSESSMENT PREVENTATIVE PLANNING POST-CRISIS
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF & YOUR EMPLOYEES “THIS IS EASY TO SAY AND CHANCES ARE IF, GOD FORBID, YOU ARE FACED WITH THE SAME TYPE OF CHALLENGE, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ADVICE. YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF…” Tim Gleason, City Administrator, Gleason, Illinois
QUESTIONS? KELLI MATTHEWS KELLI@VERVENORTHWEST.COM @KMATTHEW (TWITTER)
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