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Expect More Crisis Reporting: What Keeps You from Preparing for the Unexpected?
By Eric Seidel
News media coverage of business crises jumped dramatically last year, and recent events, such as the shootings at two Atlanta day–trading firms, make further increases a likely prediction for 1999. Still, some organizations resist the need for crisis response planning and preparation.
PRWEEK, a tabloid publication for public relations professionals, reported late last December than crisis business news coverage increased 25% in 1998 over the previous year. According to the Institute for Crisis Management in Louisville, it was the third year of global increases in crisis news stories.
News media reporting on workplace violence, the Institute said, accounted for the greatest increase, with a rise of 116% over the number of similar stories the previous year. For the third year in a row, one-third of the crisis events reported on were about sudden, unexpected events, two-thirds of the coverage concerned "smouldering crises," the Institute reported.
Five factors seem to be the most common reasons cited by business professionals for not having current, workable crisis communications plans.
Are you encountering these obstacles?
- Denial
"It can’t happen here," or "We don’t deal with anything dangerous," are two of the most common justifications for not having crisis communication plans in place. If you find yourself in denial, consider recent events and ask yourself this question: Why couldn’t it happen here?
- Fear
Perhaps the most basic demotivator. It’s also closely linked to superstition; "If we consider it seriously, then it’s more likely to happen."
- Procrastination
"We’re much too busy to spend time on what might happen."
- Cost
"The cost outweighs the potential benefit," and "We can’t spend that kind of money on a remote possibility."
- Lack of knowledge/resources
"I don’t have the know–how, nor does anyone else in the organization."
In some ways, recognizing the potential for a crisis and making the necessary preparations is not unlike drawing up a will. The chore requires that you consider dark possibilities. You must predict the worst possible occurrence, consider all the ramifications, and make plans to keep the organization in working order under dire conditions. Here are five suggestions for overcoming the obstacles to effective crisis preparation.
- Recognize that "It can happen here."
Conquering the denial factor, if it exists, is the first and most essential step in creating an effective plan for responding to the media in a crisis. You may work in an organization or industry that seems immune to public attention or media scrutiny. Believe us, you are not. Consider, for example, the leaders of the day–trading businesses involved in this summer’s Buckhead shooting incident. While business is operating normally, it may be difficult to imagine how you could be thrust into a news story of national interest within a few tragic moments. Yet, that’s precisely what happened. The incident then created a follow–on crisis as the nation debated whether the day–trading industry should even exist. Shutting down the denial factor requires recognizing that the nature of a crisis you face may be totally outside the scope of normal, day–to–day business operations. This is simply another way of saying "expect the unexpected," a difficult, yet necessary step in your preparations.
- Consider all your audiences
When you don’t know what’s going to happen, it’s hard to predict who will need information. Don’t let this difficulty prevent you from planning to address all potential crisis audiences. And don’t be tempted to toss off this important step by assuming that "the general public" is sufficient consideration of audiences. That’s just another way to avoid the issue. Push yourself and your crisis planning team to consider the full realm of people who: 1) will be affected by your potential crisis; and 2) will need information. This may involve customers, stakeholders of all kinds, regulators, community leaders, neighbors, suppliers, and elected officials at various levels, among other audiences. When you think about audiences, think about the faces of real people. Then you’ll be able to develop a realistic audience list.
- Rehearse your plan
All too often three–ringed binders containing detailed crisis response plans do little more than dress up office bookshelves. When your crisis happens, who is going to think about or have time to pull that binder off the shelf? You guessed it. By definition a crisis is an emotion driven, anxiety laden set of circumstances. Normal human beings do not naturally follow plans under such circumstances. They tend to take care of whatever happens to be in front of them at the moment. This is like learning to steer a car that’s out of control. Once in a crisis, you must look where you want to go, not where you’re heading at the moment. That means simulating the crisis and rehearsing it enough times that you react according to the plan rather than by instinct.
- Deal with reality
In a crisis situation, the news media will play hardball. Their questions will probably assume the worst and may even sound like accusations. Yet business managers and executives frequently practice for a crisis with only softball questions. When preparing for a crisis you must think from the emotional perspective of your audiences and be ready to address those concerns even when you are facing the news media’s toughest questions. Don’t let yourself, your organization, or your superiors off the hook on this one. Train the way you’ll implement.
- Get help If
You are like most business managers and executives, you are not in the crisis business. You are not expected to know the ins and outs of crisis preparation and response. But you will be expected to pull your organization out of the ditch when a crisis strikes. Congratulate yourself if you already have, in–house, the expertise you need to plan for a crisis response. Just make sure you listen to what they tell you. And if that expertise is not available within the organization, find it before the crisis occurs. You’ll thank yourself.
While most of us wouldn't think of leaving our families without the protection of a current will, we frequently defer the work of adequate planning for media response in a business emergency. Recognizing your own obstacles to planning for a business crisis is a first step in overcoming those limitations. Planning for a crisis will never be a fun chore for most of us, nor should it be. But the only thing worse is attempting to ad–lib a response when a crisis strikes.
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Eric Seidel is a partner in TMT/The Media Trainers®, LLC, an Atlanta–based firm that provides training in news media interview skills and crisis communication. You can contact The Media Trainers® at 770–971–6619.
