According to the US Chamber of Commerce, which cited data by PwC, “nearly 69% of leaders have experienced at least one corporate crisis from 2014 to 2019, with an average of three crises per company.” Moreover, PwC’s Global Crisis Survey 2021 revealed that more than 70% of respondents reported that their businesses were negatively impacted by COVID-19, which certainly qualified as a crisis. Notably, while 95% of the respondents believed they would face a crisis in the next two years, the list of possible crises did not include a pandemic.
PwC observed, “But the challenge of crisis management is not to predict or measure every specific incident that could impact your business. Rather, as 2020 dims in the rearview mirror, the inevitability and unpredictability of disruption have never been more clear.” Businesses that prioritized resilience and built a foundation upon which they could address any type of crisis will be best prepared to respond to the next crisis.
Crisis Communications Best Practices
Here are five crisis communications best practices that will help any organization prepare for and respond to a crisis:
- Plan ahead: Develop a strategic crisis response in advance that is flexible. This will involve creating a crisis response team that can quickly act when a crisis strikes. “A crisis communication plan acts as a blueprint for leaders to guide their company through any negative situation.” Leadership should also make sure there is one “consistent voice who speaks on behalf of [the] company throughout the crisis, rather than several different people attempting to be spokesperson.”
- Control the narrative by responding in a timely manner: It is important to have a thoughtful response soon after a crisis strikes. This means taking the time to think through the organization’s response and the implications of that response and then releasing that statement as soon as possible. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, your organization risks losing control of the story. “If you don’t jump in to provide the facts and control the narrative, the news media and your competitors will be more than happy to fill the void.”
- Be transparent: Be honest and take responsibility for any mistakes or wrongs. As Purdue University notes, “We’re all familiar with the Enron, AIG, BP, and VW debacles; we’ve seen, time and again, how subterfuge and lies destroy organizations. . . . Never engage in cover-up, deceit, or unethical behavior of any kind. Remember that bad behavior will always find its way to the headlines – eventually.”
- Consult with professionals: Talk to crisis management professionals as well as lawyers before issuing a statement to the public. This will help to ensure there is no unexpected backlash (legal or otherwise) from the communications.
- Review and refine your response: As we mentioned in last week’s post, organizations should monitor their response to a crisis in real-time and assess its effectiveness or ineffectiveness afterwards. They should be willing to learn from past successes and mistakes and adjust their future crisis responses.