Crisis management is part of the life of any communication director (dircom) or senior agency consultant. Anyone who has not had to manage a crisis has not come of age in this profession. And even those who have managed them a thousand times will continue to learn every time a new crisis situation arises. With ten years’ experience as BBVA’s Dircom and another ten years as founder and managing partner of ViewPoint Communication, I have dealt with numerous reputational crises. And, moreover, I have done so on the ground – not from a theoretical position – which I believe adds to my track record in these matters. But every day I learn something new about crisis management. When my colleague and friend Silvia Albert asked me to write a post for her blog at Agencia comma, I found this topic very appealing. The aim is to give some tips that may be useful, both for those who are more initiated and for those who are waiting for the advice of a specialist. All crises are the same, but they are all different. There are one-off crises (for example, a profit warning) and crises that become chronic, such as, for example, BBVA’s current takeover bid for Sabadell. In all of them, certain situations are repeated which, in part, allow us to establish premises of what is advisable and what is not, but each stressful situation must be faced with an open mind and with flexibility, and a tailor-made management for each case. The tailor-made suit is always part of the essence of good communication.
10 keys to effective communication crisis management.
1. Reality always trumps fiction.
Some people think that not talking about the crisis means that the crisis does not exist. This is a serious mistake. The first step in dealing with a crisis is to recognise it, to be aware of its dimension and to take action. Crises exist, they must be managed and overcome. Hiding and not taking risks will not solve them. And as a general rule of prevention, anything that can happen is likely to worsen any baseline scenario.
2. To make an omelette, eggs must be broken.
Crises require continuous decision-making and the adoption of concrete measures and actions. Trying to make it go away without doing anything is a mistake and in many cases it is the communication communication manager is the one who has to push for action. This defensive situation is often adopted by legal or financial managers who hope that the crises will not spread, who hope that the crises will not spread. Pure voluntarism, perhaps because we don’t quite understand how the media and social networks work.
3. People management comes first.
Managing a crisis is about managing people. Not only the team involved in crisis management. But also all the people who are part of the organisation and all those who are directly or indirectly impacted through multiple channels. those who are directly or indirectly impacted through multiple channels. The personal management of relationships with top executives of companies, with their boards of directors and with all employees is critical. Hence the need for effective internal communication protocols. Likewise, it is essential to manage all the people who will be aware of the crisis, from investors and shareholders (financial management) to customers (commercial management). And society in general, to whom the information can be passed on, usually through the media or networks (communication direction ).
4. Maximum transparency is necessary, but there is no need for a full striptease.
Transparency is nowadays a basic principle in any company in the eyes of all stakeholders. Today’s society does not accept concealment and the best way to gain credibility in a crisis is to turn transparency into an asset. credibility in a crisis is to make transparency an asset. It should therefore permeate any crisis plan. But this transparency must have its limits: it should not be confused with full nudity.
5. Anticipation makes the difference.
Anticipation is essential. We have to try to ride on the crisis and not let the crisis dictate the times. For this we need a good analysis with scenarios and alternatives; a good list of ‘questions to answer’; all the documentation that can support our line of defence, and a very concrete action plan, which we will be able to deploy with agility in case it is advisable.
6. Crisis plans are there to be modified
Laboratory communication management is useful for a university lecture -without detracting from the academic world- but not for real life. Any company should have a Crisis Communication Plan that establishes a series of steps and rules to be applied in the event of a contingency. But this, which is necessary, is not enough. The most important thing is the practical, flexible implementation, which must be tailored to the specific crisis, even if this means changing the theoretical crisis plan we have already adopted.
7. The need for leadership
The leadership of the company’s chief executive is key in dealing with a crisis. His or her role means that all divisions report to him or her and a crisis committee can be created at the highest levels, which will facilitate open debate with the different sensitivities (legal, commercial, financial, etc.) on the table to adopt the most appropriate measures. And it will have to be assessed at each moment whether this top executive will face up to public opinion or the different stakeholders, or whether this responsibility will be taken on by other executives. But his leadership is fundamental.
8. Prepare a unique story and segment it by audience.
Thinking that different audiences are independent silos is a mistake. Today, any communication – from a letter to a court to an email to investors, for example – runs the risk of circulating openly, for example-, runs the risk of being circulated openly. It is therefore very important , It is therefore very important that in the face of a crisis there is a single, common narrative from all perspectives. And that , according to each audience, we should tell it in a way that is closest to their specific interest.
9. Don’t expect to win by a landslide: a draw can be a victory.
In crisis situations , there is a risk of getting carried away and thinking that once explanations have been given , everything will be fine. Once the explanations have been given , everything will be a bed of roses. Nothing could be further from the truth: there will always be a potential risk that not all wounds will be sutured. Therefore, it is very important to be realistic and to convey that, even if you are in possession of the truth and have done things right – which will not always be 100which will not always be the case 100% of the time, there is a match. It is very difficult to win by a landslide; if you win by the minimum or even if you draw, it can be a victory.
10. When you get over the crisis, get ready for the next one.
Take a day off, but start preparing for the next crisis, which is bound to come. Preparing for the next one is not just about reformulating the Corporate Crisis Plan, which is good to update and enrich it with lessons learned. The most important thing is to work on relationships of trust with stakeholders, which will allow us to build bridges and put us in a better position to face the next stressful situation. Everything we sow in good times will benefit us in the next crisis. I hope you will find these simple and practical rules useful. Every crisis is different and it is essential to deal with it with flexibility, agility and determination. It is necessary to take the bull by the horns and take the initiative through a realistic plan that is close to the ground and involves senior management. With these premises, it will be easier to deal with any new crisis situation.
