Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Elie Daher

Slide 2 Crisis: Any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business, significantly damage reputation and/or negatively impact the bottom line. Source: BERNSTEIN CRISIS MANAGEMENT, INC. Website (2013) Jonathan Bernstein Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher

Slide 3 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Policies for preventing potential crisis situations. Strategies and tactics for how to deal with each potential crisis. Identify who will be affected by potential crisis. Creation of effective crisis communication plan. Information about simulations and testing exercises management plan. Identify location of crisis management center. Create a crisis management plan. 1

Slide 4 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Available on premises when a crisis may occur. Trained in the duties of several members of the team. Willing to follow orders. Willing to accept emergency directives. Should be able to function under stress. Create a crisis management team. 2

Slide 5 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Necessary electrical amperage and outlets. Basic communication tools like telephones and computers. Layout for all equipment. Basic supplies such as food and water. Locate a crisis management center. 3

Slide 6 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Practice reveals holes and weaknesses to be addressed before a real crisis occurs. Once or twice a year to ensure recommendations from previous plan are taken up. Take account of changes in the business and movement of personnel. Practice simulations and exercises. 4 Image Courtesy of United Safety

Slide 7 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Employees are a company’s ambassadors. Employees are in a position to explain to customers, family and friends. Employees can be a very potent support force in your communication efforts. Develop good internal relationships. 5

Slide 8 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating Good deeds speak for themselves A favorable reputation can act as a shield to protect an organization from harm. A favorable reputation will lead key publics and stakeholders to wait to hear organization’s side of the story. Develop good external relationships. 6

Slide 9 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Anticipating A system that could reach each public to notify them of the crisis. Identification of crisis communication team members. Identification of the media spokesperson and specialist spokespeople. List of key media contacts. Pre-approved key messages for different crises. Create a crisis communication plan. 7

Slide 10 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: During Crisis Work with the press as an ally during a crisis. Be active rather than reactive to gain control of the message and have a greater chance of correcting misinformation. Reduce the possibility of a conflict about statements or organizational values and explanations. Communicate information about the crisis. 1

Slide 11 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: During Crisis Don’t over-reassure the public, show people how to protect themselves from the effects of the crisis. Messages should be valid, useful, and instructive in protecting stakeholders from potential risk. Focus on self-efficacy messages. 2

Slide 12 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: During Crisis Provide a prospective vision for recovery to reduce uncertainty post-crisis. Provide corrective actions as early as possible in the crisis response. Reduce psychological stress by reassuring stakeholders that their safety is a priority. Communicate corrective and preventive actions. 3

Slide 13 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: During Crisis Help reduce the turmoil, reassert order and control by being visible to employees, community, and the media. Oversee responses and help others understand and cope with the crisis. Reduce the impression that the company has something to hide. Establish strong leadership throughout the crisis. 4

Slide 14 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Aftermath of the Crisis Debrief and evaluate the crisis response. 1 Evaluate quickly and effectively after the crisis to check the accuracy of the crisis plan and make revisions if necessary. Eliminate any weaknesses, reinforce strengths to prepare for the next incident. Maintain positive organizational-stakeholder relationships. Update the stakeholders on the progress and results of ongoing investigations and the actions being taken to prevent a repeat of the crisis.

Slide 15 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Aftermath of the Crisis Communicate lessons learned from the crisis. 2 Figure out lessons learned from the crisis and communicate with stakeholders. Reduce vulnerability to similar emergencies in the future, or avoid repetition of the incident. Determine what was lost, what was gained, and how the organization performed in the crisis.

Slide 16 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Best Practices of Crisis Management: Aftermath of the Crisis Realize the positive aspects of the crisis. 3 Crises offer opportunities for renewal and future growth. Opportunity to assess strengths and weaknesses as well as vulnerability to external and uncontrollable forces. Take proactive measures with crisis management planning. Forces an organization to focus on moving beyond the event and provide a positive direction toward which organizational members can work.

Slide 17 Panel Session 1: Crisis Management A Review of Best Practices Dr. Elie Daher Potential Positive Results of Crises 1.Heroes are born. 2.Change is accelerated. 3.Latent problems are faced. 4.People are changed. 5.New strategies evolve. 6.Early warning systems develop. 7.New competitive advantages appear. 7 7

Acknowledgements / Thank You / Questions WORKS CITED Andriole, S. J. (Eds.). (1985). Corporate Crisis Management. Princeton, NJ: Petrocelli Books, Inc. Adubato, S. (2008). What Were They Thinking? Crisis Communication: The Good, the Bad, and the Totally Clueless. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Albrecht, S. (1996). Crisis Management for Corporate Self-Defense: How to Protect Your Organization in a Crisis. How to Stop a Crisis Before It Starts. New York, NY: AMACOM. Anthonissen, P. F. (Eds.). (2008). Crisis Communication: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival. London, UK: Kogan Page Limited. Breakenridge, D., & DeLoughry, T. J. (2003). The New PR Toolkit: Strategies for Successful Media Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Coombs, T. W. (2006). Attribution Theory as a guide for post-crisis communication research. Public Relations Review, 33 (2), Retrieved from Coombs, T. W. (2007). Ongoing Crisis Communication: Planning, Managing, and Responding (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Dilenschneider, R. L. (2010). The AMA Handbook of Public Relations: Leveraging PR in the Digital World. New York, NY: AMACOM. Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2011). Reputation Management: The Key to Successful Public Relations and Corporate Communication (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. Smith, K. (2012) Best Practices for Effective Corporate Crisis Management: A Breakdown of Crisis Stages Through the Utilization of Case Studies. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, USA. Slide 18