Page 20 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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Introduction

Senior management and leaders within companies, organizations and
governments embroiled in a crisis have learnt the hard way what
happens when the unthinkable becomes reality. An accident results in
death or injury; a failed takeover causes the share price to plummet;
toxic food, medicines or drinks lead to mass hysteria. All attention
focuses on the guilty parties.
Inevitably, these crises are made public and are often grossly exag-
gerated by the media. If an organization produces a defective product,
has an accident, a strike or an environmental disaster, the media can be
expected to make this headline news within a matter of hours.
Every day, organizations run the risk of being affected. The fact that
we live in an age of transparency means that no company or organiza-
tion is immune to the threat of a possible crisis. Companies have
become glass houses in which nothing can remain hidden. Everything
is expected to be visible.
A crisis does not necessarily have to turn into a disaster for the busi-
ness or organization involved. This book discusses how to limit
damage effectively by acting quickly and positively. Moreover, it
explains how to turn a crisis into an opportunity by communicating
efficiently.
How an organization communicates when hit by crisis can often
make or break it. We can all think of examples of this at both national
and international level. Ironically, it is the very transparency referred
to earlier – which many senior managers find so difficult to practise –
that enables a company to create an image of openness. This is what
stakeholders appreciate and trust the most. Preparation, speed, trans-
parency and efficiency are the concepts that form this book’s theme.