On August 5th, the test center for science and environment (CSE), an activist group in India focused on environmental sustainability issues, issued a press release stating “12 major cold drink brands sold in and around Delhi contain a deadly cocktail of pesticides residues”.
Results of this press release became a major crisis for Coca-Cola India. Sales had dropped by 30-40 percent in the two weeks on the heels of a 75 percent five-year growth trajectory and 25-30 percent year-to-date growth. Many leading clubs, retailers, restaurants, and college campuses across India had stopped selling Coca-Cola. This crisis threatened the momentum gained from a highly successful two-year marketing campaign that had given Coca-Cola market leadership over Pepsi.
A crisis for organization will be defined as “A major catastrophe that may occur either naturally or as a result of human error, intervention or even malicious intent. It can include tangible devastation, such as destruction of lives or assets, or intangible devastation, such as the loss of an organization’s credibility or other reputational damage. The latter outcomes may be the result of management’s response to tangible devastation or the result of human error.
Natural disasters like tsunami cannot be avoided, but there are many crisis – those caused by human error, negligence, or, in some cases, malicious intent – that planning could have prevented in the first place.
One type of human-caused crisis includes cases in which the company is clearly at fault, for instance cases of negligence. One example of this was the June 2000 sinking of a Panamanian tanker, the treasure, which spilled 400 tons of heavy bunker oil off the west coast of South Africa and threatened 40 percent of world’s African penguin population. Financial or accounting frauds constitute another example of man-made crisis.
Second type of human-caused crisis includes cases in which the company becomes a victim, such as Barclays, Citibank, eBay, and other major corporation targeted by online information theft attempts.
CRISIS CHARACTERISTICS
The element of surprise: - such as Philip Morris finding carcinogens in its filters or Pepsi learning of reports of a syringe found in diet Pepsi can.
Insufficient information: - the company doesn’t have all the facts right away, but very quickly finds itself in a position of having to do a lot of explaining.
The quick pace of events: - things escalate very rapidly.
Intense scrutiny: - executives are often unprepared for the media spotlight, which is instantaneous, as answers and the results normally take time.
7 Must-have Elements in Every Crisis Communications Kit
That's why it is vital that you develop a crisis communications and management plan that prepares you in advance for this eventuality.
In preparing this plan, keep in mind that this crisis may allow you to continue business as normal, or it may result in a situation where you aren't able to get access to the tools you normally use to do your job (natural disaster, lockout, etc.) so your crisis communications kit needs to provide the capability for you to provide the appearance of normality even in the most abnormal situations.
Thus it's important for your crisis communications kit to not only be duplicated in some offsite location, but to also include information, disks, graphics, computer files, photos, etc. that are normally readily at your fingertips in your office.
Here's a list of seven items that should be included in any crisis communications kit:
1. A list of the members of the crisis management team, which should include, at minimum, the CEO, a trusted assistant/top manager from the CEO's office, heads of each department, public relations and marketing team members, legal and security. In case of actual crisis, this team will be focused down to the group applicable to that specific crisis.
2. Contact information for key officers, spokespeople, and crisis management team members including company and personal phone numbers, email addresses, cell numbers, pagers, faxes, instant message handles, addresses, even spouse's cell numbers.
3. Fact sheets on the company, each division, each physical location, and each product offered.These should be in camera-ready condition, plus available on a disk in a generally-accepted word processor format (Microsoft Word) so they can be revised and printed out if necessary on a computer external to your facilities. Photos should also be included.
4. Profiles and biographies for each key manager in your company, again in camera-ready condition and on disk.
5. Copies of your company, division and product logos, your press release format and the scanned in signature of your CEO on disk in a format that works on your internal word processing program (plus one in Microsoft Word in case you have to work on a computer that isn't tied to your network.)
6. Pre-written scripts answering key questions that you have generated through your crisis scenario analysis. Included in these scripts should be the words you use to say "we don't have that information yet, but will let you know as soon as it becomes available."
7. Contact information for each of your key media contacts both locally, nationally, and if appropriate, key financial press and analysts. Contact information for your appropriate political, regulatory, and union leaders should also be included. Don't be afraid to go overboard here - if you have a large chemical release, your CEO will probably want to call not only the Mayor, but the Governor and congressional representatives.
A crisis can happen to any company at any time. When it does your hard-earned reputation is at risk. Sometimes you can see a potential crisis coming, it slowly builds until an event - possibly minor in itself, explodes the issue and it becomes critical. Sometimes a crisis comes out of the blue.
Ten Things You Should Do
1. Gather the facts. Know what happened, do not speculate or allow others to speculate.
2. Relay the known facts openly and honestly. If some facts are not yet known, say so and explain what is happening to discover them.
3. Show humanity and concern for any injured or aggrieved parties. If possible ensure relatives and those directly concerned are contacted before making public announcements.
4. Offer practical help if you can. Lawyers may argue that to offer money to an injured party is to admit guilt. But to show concern is a sign of humanity. Concern can be expressed via a hardship fund, help-line, or similar temporary emergency channel. The words "without prejudice" may keep the lawyers happy but creates an impression of defensiveness and unfeeling.
5. Co-operate with investigators or regulatory authorities. They are only doing their job. Being obstructive will be interpreted as 'something to hide'.
6. Have a senior person as your authoritative spokesperson. Make sure this person is briefed continuously and maintain one consistent message.
7. Brief all stakeholders. Employees and unions, shareholders, investors and brokers, trade bodies, the community, the media will all need to know the facts as soon as is possible.
8. Have a dossier of relevant facts to hand that could support your case. Health and safety records, training practices, quality systems and accreditation's, test reports and so on can help refute any early claims of negligence.
9. Issue regular updates as more facts emerge. Tell the media or group concerned when the next statement will be available.
10. Monitor the media and the web. This will help you see how the issue is being discussed, and if necessary, issue messages to reduce speculation, misreporting or mischief.
Five Things You Should Not Do
1. Don't speculate about events or causes. This will be reported and repeated as fact and will be difficult to erase.
2. Don't close communication. If you adopt the "No comment" approach, the press will find comment from elsewhere - possibly, for the cost of a few pints - from the person you sacked last week.
3. Don't speak ill of any injured party. Naturally, sympathy is always with the victim so don't shift blame. Formal proceedings will uncover true causes and events leading up to the crisis.
4. Don't put out contradictory messages. Remember what you say will be recorded or written down. Any contradiction will be exploited by sharp journalists.
5. Don't go on holiday while it blows over! This perhaps perceived to be one of the greatest sins of all. Be prepared to abandon your family holiday if you are already away - you can always go on another one.
Reference: -
Argenti, Paul A. (2007). Corporate communication (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill Irwin, ISBN: 0072990546
Argenti, Paul A. (2007). Corporate communication (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill Irwin, ISBN: 0072990546
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