ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 23
Curbing Crisis
A thorough communication plan can lead to the
best possible outcome
By Robert Bittner
"If you're just saying things - but
not actually doing the right thing
- people aren't going to find you
credible. But if you actually make
changes to your organization,
people will follow. You can rebound from these things."
Jeff Krakoff, president, Krakoff
Communications
of Pittsburgh. "If the public's safety or
employee safety is at risk, you've got to
communicate immediately. If it's going
to affect your reputation, then you've
got to communicate."
There is a natural inclination to wait
until all of the facts are in and there
is a clear path forward before making
any kind of statement. In Krakoff's
experience, waiting is a mistake.
"You've got to communicate quickly,"
he advised, "even if you don't have all
the facts. You need to state that something happened, this is what we know
about it, and we'll come back with
more details when they're available.
"A lot of people try to get all the
information before they speak," he
said. "So, when someone from the
media asks [about the event], they say,
'We're not ready' or 'No comment.'
That's one of the biggest mistakes
organizations can make. If it's a true
crisis, the facts will come in bits and
pieces; it may be a long time before
you have them all. You can't wait for
that before communicating. Talk
about your policies, your procedures,
what you do know and what you
don't know." Also, he added, "Never
speculate."
Another potential stumbling block
is assuming that the crisis event is less
impactful than it really is and that
it will quickly pass. This leads to the
notion that talking about the crisis will
somehow make it worse. "We have
these conversations with clients all the
time," Krakoff said. "When a crisis
arises, people will say, 'Oh, it'll blow
over.' But you're better off getting in
front of things and communicating,
so you can tell the story rather than
have your story told for you. It's much
harder to correct misinformation than
it is to get the right information out
there in the first place."
Ideally, you would communicate
with all stakeholders at the same time,
including your employees. When
employees know what's going on in a
given situation, they will be less likely
to be anxious and distracted by speculation. If approached by the media and
others outside the company, they will
have the right information and won't
rely on rumors.
"If you can't communicate with
everyone simultaneously, start by
communicating with whoever is most
affected by the situation," Krakoff
advised. "If something happens at a
plant location that could be harmful
to people in the community, start
there. Then let your employees know.
If it's not safety related, let the most
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ILMA Compoundings - June 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - June 2020
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - Cover1
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - Cover2
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 1
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 2
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 3
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 4
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 5
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 6
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 7
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 8
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 9
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 10
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 11
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 12
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ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 14
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ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 16
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 17
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 18
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 19
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 20
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 21
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 22
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 23
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 24
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 25
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 26
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 27
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 28
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 29
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 30
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ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 35
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ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 39
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - 40
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - Cover3
ILMA Compoundings - June 2020 - Cover4
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