Crisis Communication PDF

# **Crisis communication** ## **#RECAP** ### **Crisis communication** - [email protected] ## **Main topics** - Definitions - Typologies - Crisis & stakeholders - Crisis analysis - Principles - Crisis communication - Prepare for the crisis - Crisis communication in online - Crisis sim...

# **Crisis communication** ## **#RECAP** ### **Crisis communication** - [email protected] ## **Main topics** - Definitions - Typologies - Crisis & stakeholders - Crisis analysis - Principles - Crisis communication - Prepare for the crisis - Crisis communication in online - Crisis simulation ## **Crisis communication in online ecosystem** - Social media gives audiences powers never seen before. - These powers do not necessarily convert into sales. - High negative coverage does not necessarily lead to a sales drop. - We know that information is spread instantly. - Bad/wrong messages spread fast and are difficult to repair. - Mistakes are juicy and spread quickly. - Good communication/the appropriate crisis response spreads less compared with the mistake. - Official information fails to get peoples' attention. - It is important to tell the story first. ## **Definitions** - **Perception of an event that threatens stakeholders' expectations.** - “A crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact on organization’s performance and generate negative outcomes.” - *Coombs, 2012* - **Last phase from a series of problems that may threaten organizations' business and reputation.** - “Last phase from a long chain of dysfunctions and problems that threaten organizational reputation and stability.” - *Libaert, 2008* - **Triggers uncertainty and makes the organization unstable and affects the strategic objectives.** - “Creates high levels of uncertainty and threatens or are perceived to threaten high priority level objectives of the organization.” - *Schultz, Utz & Göritz, 2011* - **Situation that impacts the business operations.** - “Event that breaks into current operations and that may danger the way the organization runs the business." - *Fearn-Banks, 2016* - **The unaddressed issue may lead to a crisis.** - **Creates an unexpected level of negative media coverage, addresses the past mistakes and leads to trust loss.** - **Threatens the relationship with stakeholders.** - “Disrupts interactions with stakeholders.” - *Schultz et al., 2011* ## **Characteristics of crisis** - **Triggers uncertainty & leads to trust loss.** - “Sources of uncertainty, disruption, and change” - *Bundy & Pfarrer, 2015; Kahn et al., 2013* - “Negative impact on the organization - stakeholders’ relationships and on their expectancies” - *Fediuk, Coombs, & Botero, 2012; James et al., 2011; Kahn et al., 2013* - **Social constructs.** - “Social constructions, meaning is being built” - *Coombs, 2010, 478; Gephart, 2007; Lampel et al., 2009* - “Forces an immediate decision or reaction from the organization, and thus provides an effective arena to study technical translation as a way to achieve uncertainty reduction.” - *Stephens et al, 2016* - **Characteristics of crises** - Tend to create emotional reactions such as frustration, anger, and sadness. - *Claeys, 2017; Coombs & Holladay, 2012; Lim, 2017* - Affect how stakeholders attribute crisis responsibility - *Coombs, 2007* - Trigger online firestorm as they quickly escalate and spread without giving organizations enough time to respond. - *Coombs & Holladay, 2012; Lim, 2017, Lee, 2020* ## **Typologies** ### **Types of events & consequences** - **Crises | Types of events** - Event (accident, injury, fire, explosion, death etc.) - Bad communication / poor strategic communication - Actions - Production fail/problems with the products, services, fraud - **Crises | consequences** - Unable the organization to properly run the business - Unable the organization to properly communicate - Threatens and affects the public trust - Triggers instability ## **Organization-stakeholders relationship in the context of a crisis** | **ORGANIZATION** | **Communication** | **STAKEHOLDERS** | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Products & services | Direct messages | Stakeholders' perception | | Resources | Messages in MM | **Key/core stakeholders** | | Internal stakeholders | Messages in SM | | | Organizational culture | | | | **Brand promise** | **Boycott** | | | Values | **Media confrontation** | | | Trust | Unappropriated topics & messages | | | **Organizational dimension** **Physical dimension**, **Symbolic dimension** | | | ## **Organization-stakeholders relationship in the context of a crisis** | **ORGANIZATION** | **MESSAGES** | **STAKEHOLDERS** | | :------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **PHYSICAL dimension** | **COMMUNICATION** | **PERCEPTION** | | Symbolic dimension | **MEDIA** | | | Recalls | Internal & external comm | Core target expectations | | Accidents | | | | Values & mission | Media & social media | Negative perception of the way the organization keeps its promise | | Strikes & errors | | | | Goal & strategic objectives | Crises that do not affect the product/service, but link with messages & communication products/outputs | Significant negative impact on the way the core target perceives the brand | | Suppliers, transporters, & dealers | **MEDIA & SOCIAL MEDIA CRISIS** | **IMAGE & REPUTATION CRISIS** | | **ORGANIZATIONAL CRISIS** | | | ## **Communication during crisis** - **Understand the situation** - Know what the problem really is and means - **Listen to your audiences** - Hear and listen to conversations - Who is interested and who is affected by the situation - What your stakeholders need & want to know - **Crisis response** - Build messages, take action - Responsibility & show you care - **Monitor and observe** - Listen to reactions/observe sentiments/monitor conversations - **Adapt** - Tailor, adapt, adjust - **Learn** - From mistakes, reactions and representations ## **Crisis communication** - Address emotions and show you care - Crisis communication navigates the tension between organizations and their publics to take responsibility, ensure emotional connectedness, and create certainty - *Littefield & Sellnow, 2015* ## **Crisis communication** ### **MAIN GOAL** - Keep the organizations's reputation by solving the situation and taking care of the ones affected by the events ## **Crisis communication** - Means acknowledging crisis may lead to important financial costs and loss of resources with the aim of keeping trust and reputation ## **During crisis, organizations must do all the efforts needed to maintain trust and show they care.** ## **General principles** - Crisis response means acting responsible - Crisis communication needs to start immediately - Take responsibility and act fast - Explain and offer support - Offer solutions for the ones in need/affected by the situation - Never speculate - Calm down the public - Have in mind audiences' emotions and feelings ## **Crisis response** - **Initial crisis response** - Communication and action to respond to events/crisis - **Reputational repair** - Strategies, methods and techniques to manage reputation and to regain trust/maintain trust - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ## **Initial crisis response** - **Quick, Accurate, Consistent** - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Quick** - In crisis communication, you need to be the first one who tells the story - Have in mind the information vacuum (other actors will try to give info and meanings) - Communicate the truth and never speculate - The organization positions itself as an INFORMATION SOURCE & TELLS THE STORY - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Accurate** - People expect accurate information - Risk of inaccurate information-> make sure to immediately correct in case mistakes are mad - Never release data / information that is unreliable / from an unreliable source - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Consistent** - One voice - Speak with one voice to maintain accuracy (however, have in mind that it will not always be possible) - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ## **Initial crisis response** - **Quick, Check, Consistent** - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Quick** - Be quick & give initial response as soon as possible (first minutes/first hour) ### **Check** - Be accurate by carefully checking the facts ### **Consistent** - Be consistent by keeping spokespeople informed of crisis events and key message points ## **Initial crisis response** - **Public safety, Channels, Empathy** - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Public safety** - Make public safety no 1 priority ### **Channels** - Use all available and relevant channels to communicate (BUT consider the gravity, problem and audiences) ### **Empathy** - Provide expression of concern/sympathy for victims ## **Initial crisis response** - **Internal communication, Counseling ** - *Coombs, 2007; 2015* ### **Internal communication** - Include employees in the initial crisis response ### **Counseling** - Provide stress and trauma counselling to victims of the crisis and their families, including employees ## **Exam** - Student card/ID - Pen (no papers needed) - Be on time - Individual assignment - Multiple choice and constructed response ## **Questions** 1. Considering a recent crisis, briefly comment on how the stakeholders of the crisis and the organization's stakeholders influenced the events. Discuss the roles of these two categories in the crisis escalation. 2. Among other elements, communicating during crisis implies: - Learning from previous crises and the organization's past performance - Monitoring, observing, and tailoring your messages for different stakeholders and audiences - Having various spokespersons to reach different stakeholders and audiences 3. Briefly comment on the following statement by referring to a crisis that took place recently. - “Crisis development patterns and stakeholder communication processes on social media are very different from those on legacy media." - *Lee, 2020* 4. Among other elements, organizational crises may be seen as: - A threat that puts the industry in danger due to bad management - An event caused by various spokespersons reaching different stakeholders and audiences - A last phase from a series of problems that may threaten organizations' business and reputation ## **Work in teams*** 1. Use the cards to write 5 sentences as key takeaways from this class. 2. Use the cards to write 2 sentences that may work as definitions for crisis and/or crisis communication. 3. Use the cards to create a rap song or any other type of rhyme. - Example: - When the brand promise is kept, the crisis has left! - Even if your negative media coverage has popped, not necessarily mean that your sales have dropped.