Crisis communications management – 5 common mistakes 

As we explain to the participants on our crisis communications training courses, the first example of effective crisis communications is generally thought to date back to 1982. At this time seven people in Chicago died after taking cyanide-laced capsules of painkiller Tylenol. The manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, acted quickly and responsibly. They removed the product from the shelves not just in the area immediately around where the adulterated packets had been found, but across most of the state. They set up phone lines for worried consumers and placed advertisements explaining what was happening.

As a result, once the incident was over sales of the drug actually increased.

Effective crisis communications strategy 

However, over 40 years later organisations are still making simple mistakes with their crisis communications strategies. The good news is that a growing number of senior managers are realising that having an effective crisis communications strategy is essential. Even if it’s not a full-blown crisis, the risk of suffering negative headlines or becoming part of a social media storm are greater than ever. 

Organisations that don’t handle these situations well can find themselves suffering economically as well as finding it more difficult to recruit and retain talent and work with partners and stakeholders.

Here are five mistakes that organisations typically make with their crisis communications management. 

1. They’re slow off the mark. 

“We need to find out what’s going on,” or “We want to have all of the facts and talk to everyone concerned before we say anything,” might sound very reasonable and in many cases it is. However, during a crisis there just isn’t the time to gather all of the relevant information before making a statement. 

The media, both social and traditional, won’t wait. Journalists and others will be filing reports and news sites will be talking about the situation – all without any comment from you. Obviously, you can’t talk about what you don’t know, and you don’t want to make yourself a hostage to fortune in any situation.  Similarly, it doesn’t look good if you make a claim that you then have to row back on. 

However, during our crisis communications training courses, we look at what organisations can say as soon as an incident erupts and before they know anything about it. “You need to start talking before you’ve got anything to say,” might sound perverse but in crisis communications it’s essential. 

2. They fail to express sympathy for those concerned.

In our crisis media training workshops, we put our participants through realistic crisis scenarios. This includes working with them to decide what they’d say in a crisis. One message we advise them to put across immediately and clearly is one of sympathy. Whether it’s a crash, a fire or an accident, expressing concern for those affected is very important. 

We provide crisis communications for law firms and professional services firms where the crisis might involve a data breach or even an allegation of bullying. Here too, showing concern for those who might be impacted is essential. 

Organisations often feel the need to start by explaining or defending. This is useful – but only after you’ve expressed that sympathy.

3. They forget to inform everyone in the organisation about what is happening.

At the start of our crisis communications courses, before we’ve developed messages and carried out role play media interviews, we ask our participants about their internal audiences. Who do they need to inform about the crisis? Customer facing staff? Sales teams? Receptionists? Switchboard?

In our crisis communications courses for hotels, for instance, we advise our clients on how to ensure that everyone who comes into contact with a guest or potential guest is aware of the crisis and is briefed on what to say. Similarly in our crisis communications training for retailers we look at how our clients will inform shop staff and others. You’ll also want to ensure that your suppliers and any other clients are aware of what is happening. 

All of the media trainers in our crisis communications workshops are working journalists. They know that when an organisation is in trouble, whether it speaks to journalists or not, they will very possibly get a story from its suppliers, clients and other partners. That’s why this kind of coordination is essential in a crisis.

4. They change their story.

In our crisis communications training courses, we cover the case of United Airlines violently ejecting Dr. David Dao from one of its flights. Unfortunately for the airline, a number of passengers filmed the incident, and the video went viral.

It was a global PR disaster for United Airlines, especially since the company initially appeared to blame Dr Dao rather than apologising to him before changing its story a number of times. Not only was this embarrassing for United but it made them look weak and shifty.

We create realistic crisis scenarios for the participants on our courses, which we use as a basis for exercises such as role play interviews. We emphasise that whatever the participants say at the start of the exercises about the incident they will have to stick with. This is why it’s essential to avoid getting drawn into speculation or making claims or promises that you might later need to retract.

5. They hold something back 

“Tell it all, tell it quickly and tell it truthfully,” is what we advise people on our crisis communications workshops. The second two recommendations are pretty obvious but the first can provoke some interesting discussions. 

By this we mean, for example, an e-mail that alerts a senior manager that the incident was an accident waiting to happen. It could also be a report which flagged up the problem sometime before that it materialised and caused a media frenzy. There may have been an earlier, minor example of this incident that should have prompted action.

“Why would we want to reveal something that’s not already known, especially if it’s bad news?” a participant on one of our crisis communications courses for law firms asked us recently. This is very difficult, and we completely understand why people would not want to release this information. The fact is that it’s very likely that it will come out at some point. Someone will leak an email, or a whistleblower will speak to the media about it

Difficult issues for organisations

The problem here is that this merely extends the story and “gives it legs,” as we say. Our media trainers with years of practical experience of covering crises and difficult issues for organisations know that journalists love a story that keeps on giving, with more revelations.

The advantage of the organisation concerned revealing this information early are twofold. First it gets it out there quickly so that the whole horrible story comes and goes in a matter of days rather than dragging on. Second, it always looks better if the organisation concerned releases the information rather than it being leaked. The organisation looks transparent and proactive. It is cooperating with the authorities and actively working to determine how the incident occurred and how to prevent it from happening again.

It’s easy during the frenzied atmosphere of a full-blown crisis to make any of these mistakes. We highlight them not to point the finger or make anyone look foolish. Instead, we hope that this will serve as a useful checklist for senior business managers who will want to avoid then.

Crisis communication training

The best way to come out well from a crisis is to prepare for it and rehearse your plans regularly. Crisis communications training is also essential – come and talk to us about how we can help you manage any crises or difficult situations and minimise their impact. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.