INTERNATIONAL, PUBLIC & CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
Quarterly Digest of Public Affairs News Issue # 2 - 2014
FOREWORD This newsletter is aimed at providing Public Affairs practitioners with a short selection of recently published stories, papers, etc. which may be useful to remain abreast of new trends or to stimulate a debate. External sources are linked and any copyright remains with the authors.
In this issue: Guidelines on Crisis Communication Plans: Introduction
p. 2
Phases
p. 3
Planning
p. 4
Audiences
p. 5
Communicating during a crisis: the real test
Principles
p. 5
Key messages
p. 6
For this issue I selected again a single main theme: crisis communication. The opportunity to research the matter was given by a crisis communication workshop I recently participated in, in Oslo, Norway.
Use of Internet and Social Media
p. 8
Establishing an Information Center
p.10
Evaluating your plan
p.10
Communicating during a crisis requires additional skills and preparations. Planning is essentiasl even if it is often like shooting in the dark. However, even to shoot in the dark you need to prepare weapons, ammunitions, procedures in advance… and train yourself and your team to do it with maximum chance to hit the target and without shooting each other.
Crisis Communication Life Cycle
p.13
Crisis Comms Plan Check-list
p.14
Crisis Comms Do’s and Dont’s
p.16
Since every crisis is different I am not offering a blueprint but only a compilation of tips on selected aspects. And a couple of check-lists that may fit most cases. Those who need to actually produce a crisis communication plan may find several samples on the net. The editor
Quarterly Digest of Public Affairs News – 2-2014
Edited by ComIPI – www.comipi.it
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Guidelines for Crisis Communication Plans Crisis communication is when an individual or organization communicates a message to the public, usually through the media, during a threatening, tragic or fatal accident that is unplanned or unexpected
The following notes represent a selection of tips from several publications available online. Sources are linked. For more complete guidelines links are listed at the end.
“The one thing that really encourages crisis is the silent treatment. If you don’t communicate, it will spin out of control.” David Umansky
A crisis may be defined as a time of danger or as any development of a large scale that requires immediate and coordinated action and which has the potential to jeopardize lives, property and reputation. Different types of crises call for different responses. In any case, even if it is impossible to anticipate the specifics of the next crisis, the best think to do is to do is to assess
which kind of crises may affect your organization and prepare plans (or even skeleton plans) to face them. In the worst case you will have a template to look at to verify if you are properly managing the situation. As a minimum, you will have produced check and contact lists that will be impossible to put together under the pressure of a crisis. You will also have a tool to train your organization and selected individuals to properly behave if crisis communication erupts. Any Communication plan should be prepared keeping in mind the communication strategy which aims at: improving communication guaranteeing transparency; “closing the gap” between your institution and the citizens through the improvement of dialogue and listening. During a crisis1 the communication aspect can be just as challenging and as desicive as the crisis itself. Your communication will affect the crisis and the crisis will affect your communication. It is therefore important that communication becomes an integral part of all analyzing- and decision making processes. 1
From a presentation by Specialist Director Communication, MoD Norway, Kaare Helland-Olsen
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In a security crisis the «communication war» will often be fought ahead of, and sometimes instead of, military confrontation. It can therefore be necessary to establish the crisis communication organization before other parts of the organization is put on crisis alert. The crisis communication teams must be organized so that everyone envolved understand their tasks as well as the communication goals. Crisis communications begins in peace time
area of communication. Here five phases are distinguished, as follows: 1) Preparation This is the most comprehensive and decisive preparation phase . It takes place when everything is still routine and the possibility of the crisis may seem remote. The challenges in this phase are: -
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Trust is key in crisis comms Leader’s responsibility: Trust must be established before a crisis occurs What do journalists and the public think about your organization? How do you change/shape their opinions?
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To identify the likely scenarios and studying them. To know audiences and stakeholders and the most effective ways for communicating with them To develop a comprehensive plan for a communication strategy which will include the organisational and interorganisational infrastructure and the human and technological resources required. To enhance the preparedness of organisation, including periodic training and drills, educational campaigns, and the ongoing testing of messages and their effectiveness.
2) Warning
1. Phases3 It is customary to divide a crisis into several distinct phases. Each phase has its own challenges, demands and needs, which are manifested, among other things, in the 2
From a presentation by Frode Overland Andersen, Norwegian MFA Public Affairs 3
In many crises, it is possible to identify a specific threat expectancy period before that threat materializes and becomes a crisis. In all other situations the crisis will erupt without further warning. Therefore, if the warning phase does appear, the first challenge is to utilize fully this precious and sometimes brief period, motivating the public to take the proper measures, which might increase the public's motivation to prepare itself properly.
A CRISIS COMMUNICATION GUIDE FOR PUBLIC
ORGANISATIONS by CrisComScore
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3) Crisis Response (Emergency) This is the core phase, in which the crisis actually breaks. The main challenge of crisis communication managers is to mobilize themselves for the task of saving lives, to motivate the public to take specific actions for self protection and assist the rescue operations, and to help minimize damage and uphold public resilience. This can be achieved by listening carefully to the ways in which various groups in society perceive the crisis, by identifying their needs for information and empathy, and by efforts to meet these needs as fully as possible, among other channels by connecting to the leadership and social networks.
2. Planning Why do we need a specific communication plan for crisis communication?4 a. If something can go wrong, it will go wrong. b. Deciding how to respond after the stuff has hit the fan results in impulsive, bad decisions that can’t be undone. c. With today’s “always-on” news cycle, there’s literally no tomorrow. d. A mistake will make the situation worse. e. Social media has changed everything. Within minutes, the news may be already spread. f. Social media also makes it much easier today for people to organize boycotts and protests. g. Winging it doesn’t work. Most people aren’t accustomed to talking to the news media. Anticipating and planning for a high-profile crisis gives an opportunity to train for the media spotlight. h. Experience counts. A crisis communication expert who has gone through a variety of crises can act as a pre-crisis doctor, helping prepare for the worst long before a crisis escalates. i. A good response to a crisis can actually enhance a company’s
4) Reconstruction (Recovery) The crisis has just ended. Some people may have lost their lives, while others may have suffered physical, mental or financial damage. This is the time for physical and mental recovery on the way back to routine. The first challenge is to assist the immediate recovery and help society get back on track, to participate in the recovery of the damaged region and reinforce the resilience of society as a whole. 5) Evaluation The main challenges in this phase are to conclude learning the lessons based on the data collected in the former phase, to implement the required changes in a determined and systematic manner, and prepare for future crises accordingly. 4
Eight Reasons Why Every Company Needs a Crisis Communications Plan
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reputation. With every great crisis comes great opportunity. A good crisis communication plan will help you: • Distinguish between an actual crisis and a negative “event.” • Assemble a crisis team, including legal counsel. • Learn how to play offense vs. defense during and after a crisis to minimize negative impact on your company or brand. • Routinely monitor traditional and social media channels for messages that could harm your reputation or brand, and develop an appropriate response.
• Tier 1: These people are most affected by the event or involved in the response and will need information that enables them to take immediate action. •Tier 2: These people are not immediately affected by the event but will need information about safety and the facts of the event. •Tier3: These people are not affected by the event but still need information that will provide reassurance and enable them to plan for their own safety. Each of these Audiences will be looking for a specific message. Prioritize the development of messages for each audience based on their involvement
• Choose which communications channels to use to reach specific audiences. • Develop a message strategy, before and during a crisis. • Conduct a post-crisis review so you and your team learn and share valuable lessons from the crisis
4. Principles
Centralize information flow – Create a crisis center with fax and telephone lines so the truth has a place to call home. Use this center as the sole voice speaking your company’s messages loud and clear. Make sure your
3. Audiences5 You’ll need to communicate with several different audiences. Who they will be will vary depending on the event. We can think of these audiences in three tiers: 6 5
Crisis Communication Planning Workbook
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CRISIS COMMUNICATION: A COMMANDERS GUIDE TO
EFFECTIVE CRISIS COMMUNICATION
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employees, suppliers and friends have the official information they need to support you. Develop a crisis team. Isolate a multidisciplinary task force from your daily operations.Let this crisis team run the crisis and let everyone else run the business. Allow no one to second-guess the crisis team.
Use direct communication. Deliver messages to your most important audiences directly. Don’t depend on the media if you want it done right. Your corporate identity is on the line
Define the real problem and objective. Define the short and long term problems and articulate objectives for their solutions. Contain the problem. Despite proof of your blamelessness, you may be well served by a gesture of acquiescence, such as a product recall or an out of court settlement. Better for a crisis to cost money that ruin the company and cost money. Concern — Get the bad news first and get it out yourself so it doesn’t look like a cover up. You are on the witness stand and the jury is watching your behavior and attitude. Assume the worst case will happen – Realize those people in your company closest to the problem may well be the ones who created it. Hold back your complete trust of the people who seem to know the most. Answer what happened through an articulate spokesperson – Be consistent about what happened and why. Don’t change spokesperson and tell them what you’re going to do to solve the problem.
5. Key messages7 A crisis has hit. Your business or organisation is embroiled in a media storm. You have been nominated to front up any interviews with the press. How do you handle them? Remember: your two key objectives if you are doing a crisis interview are to take control and deliver your key messages. This is all about presenting your organisation in a positive light – as prepared to take responsibility and as proactively resolving whatever problem has occurred. If you are doing an interview in a “crisis situation”, your key messages should incorporate the above three thoughts:
7 How to handle a crisis interview Rough House Ltd
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Care: that you are concerned about what has happened, that it matters to you that something has gone wrong – especially in the case of injuries. Your tone, and the manner in which you incorporate this into your answer is vital – it MUST sound sincere and genuine Action: that you are taking steps to rectify what has gone wrong, to investigate what has gone wrong, to co-operate with the authorities, to review your procedures so that it cannot happen again, to recompense those that have suffered as a result of any problems Context: that this is unprecedented for your organisation, that this is the first time such a thing has happened, that you have an excellent safety record, that it’s an issue which occurs across the industry These interview tips and techniques should help: 1. Be very clear about what your key messages are, especially if you are doing an interview in which your organisation might be culpable, and know what you can and cannot say. 2. Take the opportunity presented by the first, often open question, to deliver your most important point about the incident. 3. If someone has been injured or hurt, you have to express sympathy and sound concerned – no matter whose fault it is and making sure your response is in proportion to the circumstances. Make sure you sound genuine and try to integrate what you are saying into your answer. The “before I answer your questions, I just want to say that our
thoughts are with …” approach, sounds hackneyed. If you are doing a soundbite, the reporter simply won’t use that part of your answer. If you know the injured person personally, then you should mention this. 4. Do not pass the buck or blame others. Remember that if you talking on behalf of your company, in the listeners mind, you ARE that company, and if you are talking about something done by contractors or suppliers on behalf of the company, it is still your responsibility. If you do mention or even blame (either implicitly or explicitly) other businesses/organisations, before reviews and investigations have taken place, it could not only prove damaging to your business relationships but will also open the door to the reporter going to them for comment/reaction, and you have no control over what they say. 5. Be aware of the legal implications of what you are saying 6. Never talk about issues you don’t know about, never guess, never speculate and never comment on breaking stories. 7. Try not to repeat negative points put to you by a reporter, as they tend to reinforce the idea in the audience’s mind, when what you want to do is move onto the positive points you want to make as quickly as positive. Some people repeat negatives to give themselves thinking time, but there are other ways to do this such as pausing or clearing your throat, both of which are perfectly acceptable, even in a live interview. In a print interview or a recorded one, such as a 7
soundbite, there’s nothing wrong with asking for a minute to think about it (unless it’s a fact which you ought to have at your finger tips). 8. Consider scheduling a press conference if there is likely to be a succession of interviews. 9. If it helps, rehearse and practise your interview with your PR team, other senior members of staff, or media training experts, such as Rough House. We are always happy to rehearse interviews at short notice – we’ve even done this at 10pm in a quiet corner of a pub the night before a spokesperson was on BBC Breakfast
6. Use of Internet and Social Media
itself in the midst of a crisis. Pre-crisis, a dark website is equipped with the appropriate legal and other documentations that your corporation may feel will be needed, but not have the opportunity to acquire during an attack. In the event of a crisis, the dark site is set live and the appropriate information and details are added to it - such as communications to the public, direct information and news concerning both the crisis and the brand, etc. There are three ways a dark website tends to be used: 1.The regular corporate website is removed and the dark site is temporarily set live in its place. (e.n.: not recommended) 2.A link is added from the corporate website’s home page, attracting viewers to the dark site - which is set up as an extension of the corporate site. 3.The dark site is set live on its own unique URL, based on the most likely search terms.
A. Preparing a ‘Dark Site’:8 Dark websites are a social media crisis management strategy used in different situations by major corporations who want to position themselves as the leading source of information throughout the crisis. A dark website is a pre-developed site that is not set live until your corporation finds 8
Whether going the dark website route, or utilizing some other platform for crisis communications, in the midst of an attack, one of your main goals should always be to be the primary source of credible information, for both the public and the media. Note: your dark website should be hosted with a company that can handle extremely high amounts of traffic. The last thing you want is to have your dark website crash in the midst of a severe crisis.
Dark Websites as a Social Media Crisis Management Strategy
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Once the crisis is over the dark website should not be removed as it will remain as future source for information on the finished crisis. When to use this strategy: This, however, is a very important strategy to take when faced with a major crisis. I’m talking natural disaster, disease epidemic, terrorist attacks - severe disasters that involve a large portion of the population and call for high alerts and extensive coverage. Although a dark website makes perfect sense for those mega crises that involve alerting mass amounts of the population, they don't always tend to be the best solution for regular businesses and their social media attacks. For those brands who are faced with a social media crisis and wish to have the same advantages and benefits of a dark-site-done-right, setting up an FAQ is a highly affective alternative. In the event of a crisis, an FAQ should include - like a dark website - all appropriate company information, media contacts, and crisis details. Although setting this up on a dark site is a possibility, the most strategic way to go about this is to develop your FAQ on your company's corporate blog.
B. Using Social Media In the online era, it becomes critical for the business of any size to have a social media crisis management plan – or even better, a crisis prevention plan – in place for those times when things go wrong. And it is truly the matter of “when” vs. “if.”9 Let’s take a look at some of the ways to avoid social media disasters, prevent them from escalating, or handle things if everything goes sideways. 1)
Listen and Be Present
Sometimes social listening tools will pick up the chatter about a topic that you may not expect and will give you time to address it before it blows up within the social stratosphere. Most of the brand disasters could have been prevented just by picking up the early chatter and being prepared to address it before it escalates. There are commercial tools that can help monitoring social media, like Hootsuite. 2)
Set The Right Expectations
Set the right expectations upfront on the timing within which people should expect your response. 24, 48, 72 hours… Be specific and make that expectation visible to ensure it is seen. But always stick to it. 3)
Be Transparent
Trying to cover up or remove justified but negative comments can make you look as if you are ignoring a problem or, worse off, don’t care about the customers. It is critical to be honest and upfront about any issues you or your company may be
9 10 Tips For Reputation And Crisis Management In The Digital World
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facing. If you made a mistake, admit it, apologize, and do everything in your power to correct it. We are all human and humans make 4)
Respond Thoughtfully
It’s worth putting some effort into writing a thoughtful reply aimed at addressing your customers’ concerns. Showing that you care about their experience and are willing to address problems (or even go above and beyond) is a great way of actually winning around critics and turning them into fans. Caring really pays off. It builds trust and allows you to further nurture relationships with your current customers. Word-of-mouth recommendation from your current satisfied customers are much more influential than your own brand messages, and they will bring new customers in. 5)
7) Manage Access To Your Social Media Accounts Carefully There have been instances of employees posting personal updates to brand accounts not realizing that they haven’t switched to the right account. Making sure you are limiting access to only knowledgeable community managers who have appropriate training with avoid mistakes such as these. 8)
Post Moderation Guidelines
Most sites have their own Terms and Conditions, but you can also post your own moderation guidelines on your social media pages to make it obvious what behavior will or will not be tolerated within your social communities. Being upfront about your “house rules” makes it simpler to take down offensive posts by referring to your rules and pointing out how they were violated.
Do Not Lose Your Cool – Ever
There may be times when you disagree with your customers. But being rude or attacking them in social forums is absolutely unacceptable. Provide the best information you can and do your best to satisfy every inquiry. If nothing helps and a customer insists on being rude and uncooperative, just ignore him/her and move on; in those rare times, no matter what you do, nothing will probably be good enough. 6) Have a Crisis Management Team In Place Form a team consisting of team members from PR, HR, legal, marketing, and other relevant teams that can come together to quickly craft and post a response that would quite down the chatter and will help solve the issue at hand.
9) Hire Experienced Community Managers A community manager should be experienced, know your brand in and out, understand your brand’s voice and personality, and, most importantly, love your customers. 10) And Remember… You Will Never Please Everybody Sometimes, as a leader and as a brand, you will have to be willing to be misunderstood. If you strongly believe in what you are doing or in a specific point of view, but some people don’t share the same opinion, you will have to be willing to stand by your decision.
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7. Establishing an Information Center The U.S. National Response Team Joint Information Center Model is a nearly 200page document that can give you everything you need to know before crisis strikes, during your response and what to do when the crisis is coming to an end. Here’s links to a few of the better, onepage job aids contained within the document, that you can print out and put into your plan, or load onto your mobile device for the go-kit:
Establishing the Initial Response - A simple checklist for any public information officer or professional communicator who needs to assemble an organization quickly to meet media and community info needs. Establishing a Joint Information Center - As an incident moves along, the initial public information officer often hands the reigns to someone else, who may need to establish information dissemination partnerships for the long haul. Incident Communications Daily Checklist - Tree-top level reminders for the myriad tasks that need to be completed by a public information officer or joint information center staff. Message Design - This job aid prompts the user to use empathetic brainstorming to determine the information needs of publics affected by crisis.
Media Analysis Worksheet - As more people work together to communicate incident information, record keeping becomes more vital. This worksheet is an effective way to keep track of media (or any other contacts), and track information requests and rumors. Risk Communication Strategy Sheet - A bare bones, but effective framework for constructing messages that address risk that may arise during crisis events. Pairs nicely with the message design job aid.
For an explanation of some of the acronyms in these job aids (there aren’t too many), or a more complete document to work from for your crisis communications plan, check out the entire model.
8. Evaluation At the end of the crisis (if it is a short one) or after a few days it is appropriate to review lessons learned and share these with other offices. Here are a few aspects to check, as a minimum: When the crisis occurred how prepared was your office: did you have a communication strategy in place? How quick was your response?
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What communications tools did your office use to communicate the crisis? How did the media and other external constituencies respond? Were they satisfied with the information they received and how your office reacted? Were your communications objectives met successfully and what would you do differently next time?
Recommended reading: - EU Guidelines for the drawing up Communication Plans for 2007-2013 programming period - Crisis Communication Guide for Public Organisations by CrisisComScore - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Model for a Joint Information center - How to handle a crisis interview by Rough House Media
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by JISC Sustaining and Embedding Innovations
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from Crisis Communication Planning Workbook
Crisis Communications Plan Check-list
A crisis communications plan should be in place well before a crisis hits. Effective internal and external communication are essential before, during and after a crisis. You can use this template as a guide in your crisis communications preparation, response and evaluation. This template can be tailored to your office’s needs. 1. Assessment What is the crisis situation? What are the facts surrounding it? Do you need to evacuate staff?
2. Establish a Crisis Task Force, including a Spokesperson, and Create a Crisis Communications Tree Name Title Mobile Work Phone Fax
Spokesperson: Communications Officer (External): Communications Officer (Internal): Web Content Writers:
3. Craft Crisis Communications Objectives and Key Messages Identify the key points that you need to communicate pertaining to the crisis: What happened? How will you respond? What are the key messages that we need to communicate?
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Objectives:
Key Messages:
Q and A about the crisis for internal circulation:
4. Notify Key Actors (Internal and External) Name: Organization Title
Phone
Date notified and method:
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5. Alert the Media Below are some ideas of ways you can communicate the crisis and your organization’s response to the media.. Communication Tool
Date of Tool Use:
Contact Details of Media Distributed to:
UN Situation Report Email blasts Fact sheets Press briefings Web postings Social Media B-roll, video releases Interviews Other
*Adapted from a University of Washington Crisis Communications Plan
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CRISIS COMMUNICATING DO’s AND DON’Ts10 DO’S •Remember people come first —lead with empathy, compassion •Do your homework •Know your audience —talk from the viewpoint of your audience’s interest •Be as knowledgeable as possible about the issue •Anticipate likely questions —have answers ready, short and concise •Prepare, believing that the question you dread, will be asked •Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse •Take time to prepare, strategize and concentrate •Escort reporters to an established media space, outside any danger zone •Be sure and prompt with facts, cautious with conclusions •Release bad news completely, clearly, quickly —it’s worse if it comes out slowly, incompletely —then story lasts longer •Keep it simple •Speak from your experience —harder to contradict you •Support your statements when possible,: with facts, statistics, quotes from experts, comparisons, examples of real people •When uncertain, feel free to say: “I don’t know.” “Hold on a second.” “I’ll have (media person) get back to you on that” “Please repeat your question ” (you may get a ‘better’ question, on second try) •Always answer the question the reporter should have asked. If question is aggressive or negative in tone, or even if it’s off -base, but you know what he/she is getting at, your response should be to the question that should’ve been asked, and phrased more appropriately than the reporter may have asked it. •Remember —The reporter is not your Audience. The reporter is the interpreter and storyteller for your message —to readers, listeners or viewers •Speak in personal terms when 10
The Redwoods Group
possible, to enhance credibility •Use “I,” not the less personal “we” •If appropriate, take some responsibility, to become more believable •Talk and STOP. Let the reporter fill the silent spaces. These are vulnerable moments •Remember interview is never over while still in reporters’ company. There is no such thing as “off the record.” •Stick to your point •Suggest other sources —those who agree and your choice of opponents (to minimize space for extremists) DON’TS •Don’t release names of any victims without permission •Don’t give misleading information —when credibility is gone, it’s all over •Don’t play down what happened •Don’t bluff —instead, say “I don’t know —I’ll find out —I’ll get back to you.” (Then, do it.) •Don’t be a salesperson —Give well-thought out answers, backed by facts, friendly but business-like, and above all, authentic •Don’t do anything that can be interpreted as an attempt to influence or control the interview •Don’t request copy approval •Don’t give personal opinion •Don’t speculate or answer hypothetical questions—easier to prevent than correct •No jargon—speak plainly avoiding technical terms •No blame—take no sides, give no opinions on right and wrong •Don’t violate the privacy rights of individuals •No reporter favorites •Don’t feel you must answer every question •But don’t say “No comment.” Instead, decline with courtesy and tact — “Don’t want to answer that until we have all the facts ...until we’ve investigated further ...because it’s the subject of an investigation/litigation.” •Or “bridge away” –for example: “That’s an interesting question but I think the real issue here is ....”“ Do you think so? That’s not what we’re hearing. Facts seem to indicate that ....” •Don’t ever go “off the record” —If you don’t want it published, don’t say it! 17
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ComIPI is a no-profit study center aimed at developing and implementing advanced techniques to communicate with the public while respecting ethical principles. ComIPI uses its communications talent, skills and expertise also to help organizations to educate and to inform their target audiences; to develop communication strategies; to train their staff in communication skills; to monitor and analyze results of communication efforts; and, to assess media perceptions on matters of interest. Communications activities are also assessed taking into specific consideration inter-cultural aspects.
Edited by Franco Veltri info@comipi.it www.comipi.it read our Blog: http://comipi.wordpress.com/
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