Crises are unpredictable, but not unexpected. Crisis are threats, meaning that they actually do or have the potential to create negative or undesirable outcomes. Threats can often translate to mean damages, which at most times include financial losses, injuries, death, structural or property damages, sullied reputations and/or environmental harm.

An organization – any organization, be it a corporation, a sole proprietor or a society – should always have a plan in the event of a crisis. In this article, our focus is on the communication aspect, rather than the technical or disaster recovery aspect of a crisis.

Q. What are the types of risk, threats or crisis that an organization may encounter?

A. The main categories of risk include Operational – day-to-day, accidents, abuses, intentional; Strategic – company direction, vision, ambition, goals; Sales & Marketing – execution, post-sales; Brand reputation; Financial; Intellectual Property ; Technology and e-business;  Legislative; Supply-chain related or Safety and Security – include physical and Information-security

Generally, a crisis may be internal or external to the organization. Internal risks may be due to organizational issues, operational issues, strategic issues or management issues. External risks may be one or more of the following: environmental issues, social issues, political issues, economic issues or technological issues.

Q. How can a company prepare for a crisis?

A.  Prevention is the keyword here. An organization need to be vigilant and prepared by ensuring the following is done:  Issues can be identified earlier, completely and reliably;  Early anticipation widens the range of options; Early anticipation permits an understanding and a positive orientation; Early identification identifies the stakeholders (ie: shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and general public) and the opportunity for the organization to supply information about the issue earlier

Q. What kind of messages can be communicated in a crisis?

A. In the area of communication during and after a crisis, an organization may adopt one or more of these crisis communication strategies:

• Full Apology.  Apologize sincerely and propose corrective actions to be done.
• Corrective Action. Communicate to the publics the corrective action to be taken only.
• Justification. Provide a rationale and logical explanation to the incident.
• Denial. Plead ignorance. This seldom work, so don’t try it !!
• Digress. Change the subject by finding fault elsewhere.
• Diffuse the situation. Downplay and soften the crisis by trivializing the situation.

Q. How can the messages be communicated in a crisis?

A. In a crisis situation, it is of utmost importance that the organization use the correct and appropriate mode of communication and ensure the stakeholders or media has access to its management.

For transmission purposes, use the telephone, face-to-face interviews, media announcements, workshops, seminars and conferences. Websites and emails can also be considered only if no personal contact is required. In most cases, a personalized communication is needed to assure the stakeholders.

For access purposes, use all possible media available to make your organization contactable. This includes social media, telephone hotlines, mobile phones, fax and customer helpdesk.

REMEMBER, a crisis is inevitable and usually unwelcomed. An organization that takes excessive precautions may be regarded as paranoid and may waste resources. On the other extreme, an organization that takes no action in preventing a crisis stand a high risk of failure should a crisis occurs. The trade-off is midway, to ensure the relevant teams or departments are prepared by putting sufficient resources to ensure the essential areas are covered.