The First 24 Hours of a Crisis Management Situation
THE FIRST 8 HOURS of a Crisis Communications Situation
The first 8 hours are any corporate business crisis must focus on the implementation and formation of teams qualified individuals who can handle the problem. Making sure that everyone understands their individual role in the successful mitigation of damages is also essential to the development of a lasting strategy. Leadership must play to the strengths of every member of the team while keeping team members focused on working together effectively and efficiently. Finding the easiest way to identify the root cause of the crisis is also an essential part of making sure that there is not long-term damage to the reputation of the company as a whole. Working together as a cohesive unit should be the emphasis of every team member.
HOURS 9 TO 16 of Crisis PR Strategy
Clear communication between all members of the team must be maintained at all times. Whenever possible meetings to discuss further strategies should be delayed until the last third of the experience. Double checking that all information is the same for every person on the team is essential to the instrumentation on a solid action plan which will gain results. The development of a hierarchy among the leadership will also be important so that team members can be used to efficiently. Preliminary efforts should be made in order to assess the long-term possible damages to the public image of the company as a whole. Having a basic skeleton of any public information release is also important so the formation of these documents can be completed properly.
HOURS 17 TO 24 of Crisis Public Relations
The final hours of the assessment should be handled in a group mentality. The referencing of potential complications should be done in a manner which enables everyone to be on the same page. All information that will be released to the public should be displayed in front of all members of the team so that there are no miscommunication which may lead to public image or corporate image problems. The language of any public statements must be checked multiple times for clarity so that customers are not confused by the information they are receiving. Keeping the information concise will also allow for the development of genuine interest on the part of loyal customers who want to know the basics of what truly happened. Keeping all documents that pertain to how the image of the company will be maintained significantly secure will also be an important part of the final stage of development.