Crisis communication in the company

How does crisis communication work?

Crisis communication encompasses all measures carried out by an organization during and after a crisis. The goal of all these measures is to minimize damage to the company while simultaneously preserving confidence in its capabilities and public image. It is crucial to pursue internal and external communication. Clear messages should be communicated not only to the public but also to employees and other stakeholders.
The entire crisis communication process can be divided into four phases.

Pre-crisis phase

The pre-crisis phase refers to the period before a crisis occurs and is characterized by crisis preparation. The aim is to identify potential crises and come up with preventive measures. Tasks in the pre-crisis phase include developing emergency plans, conducting risk analyses, and training crisis communication management. Special attention should be given not only to thorough preparation but also to minimizing risk.

Breakout phase

As the name suggests, this phase occurs as soon as a crisis becomes apparent. This is where all aspects of crisis training come into play. It’s crucial to respond quickly and effectively to the crisis and implement the appropriate crisis communication measures. Information is communicated to the relevant individuals and departments, and emergency measures are put into action.

Main crisis phase

This term describes the peak of the crisis, when all the necessary crisis management levers are set in motion. All measures from the crisis communication manual are put into action, with the goal of managing the crisis and minimizing the damage.

Post-crisis phase

The acute crisis situation has been overcome. Now is the time to analyze the events and determine which measures worked and which did not. In short, this is the primary phase for acquiring crisis communication skills. The company is focusing on learning from the crisis and determining how to manage future crises more effectively. The evaluation of all measures is absolutely paramount.

Examples: Crisis communication is required in these situations

If you’re questioning the relevance of crisis communication for your company, let us make this clear: a crisis can strike from any direction and at any time. This is evident in practice – just look at large corporations like PepsiCo. We have gathered the following examples and crisis scenarios to highlight the importance of crisis communication!

Product returns

Imagine that one of your company’s products fails a crash test during production, leading to a recall of the entire batch. We often see this when shopping at our favorite stores, where a product recall notice is displayed at the checkout. This remains the worst-case scenario for any company, as it can significantly affect its reputation and, most importantly, trust. This is where your crisis communication comes in, because communication to customers and the press must be quick and transparent. These measures are the key to averting reputational damage.

Company sales & plant closures

A situation that is painful for managers, experts and, above all, employees. In your crisis communication, it’s essential to address everyone: employees, partners, suppliers, and customers. It is important to pass on information in a well thought-out and, above all, sensitive and transparent manner. Quick decisions should be avoided at all costs when dealing with such a sensitive topic! By communicating openly with everyone involved, especially the press, you can help prevent the spread of fake news. Employees should always receive information about the next steps directly from the company, rather than from the media.

Unforeseen crises

The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear to everyone: no one could have anticipated a crisis of such global scale at the outset. The developments of such an unforeseen crisis can be frightening. Nevertheless, it’s important to stay calm and begin by creating a crisis plan with clear structures. It is crucial to establish a crisis team, develop focused crisis communication, and ensure a rapid flow of information.

What is a good guide for crisis communication?

In a corporate crisis, several factors must be considered in crisis communication. These can be summarized in a guideline of measures:
Proactivity
Don’t rely solely on reactive crisis communication; also implement proactive measures. In short, take action before the damage becomes unavoidable.

Information

As you have learned from the examples of crisis communication scenarios: information is key! Collect as much information as possible about the crisis and, most importantly, its background. You should document the findings from your crisis communication to better prepare for future situations. You should also not withhold this information from the press – to prevent false reporting.

Comprehensibility

Crisis communication aims to present this information to the public and your employees in a structured and clear manner to avoid overwhelming them with an information overload. Only convey messages in short and concise messages.

Target group-oriented approach and empathy

Speaking of messages – be sure to address your target group appropriately. Your employees are impacted differently by corporate crises, such as insolvency. In this case, an individual and empathetic tone should be used. When communicating a crisis, you should also consider what information is needed by which type of group of people. Your intuition is crucial: especially in cases of insolvency, you should express genuine compassion to those affected.

Honesty

We all know the saying. Honesty is the best policy. This holds true in any crisis situation, where nothing can provoke a backlash more quickly than dishonesty. Your honesty in communication gains you trust – not just with the public, but especially with your customers.

Critical faculties

Anyone can make mistakes – including your company. If these mistakes lead to a crisis, it’s important to acknowledge them openly and not shy away from criticism. Even better, take the initiative proactively and engage in active communication during the crisis!

Sense of responsibility

A crisis is never a trivial matter and should always be taken seriously. Take responsibility for the consequences that arise from it. It’s crucial to remember: never shift blame onto others. Instead, acknowledge your shortcomings and demonstrate a willingness to improve.

Appreciation

Emotions can run high during any crisis, so be prepared for both internal and external outbursts. This is why it’s crucial to be respectful in your crisis communication, consider all opinions – regardless of how different they may be – discuss them objectively, and avoid personal attacks.

Diligence

Impulsiveness will definitely not help you in crisis situations. Avoid impulsive actions and focus on your communication strategy: ensure structured information transfer and seek additional expertise.

Regularity

In a crisis, you act as the spokesperson for various groups and the press. Never forget this: keep your crisis communication ongoing – ideally across various channels, such as social media.
Make sure to internalize the mantra of crisis management and stay calm! By delivering well-considered messages with authenticity, you can prevent panic and instead provide crisis management that offers reassurance to everyone affected.

What does crisis PR mean?

Crisis PR is usually used as a synonym for crisis communication. Unlike traditional PR, the goal of crisis PR is not to enhance a company’s image but to inform relevant stakeholders during a crisis, alleviate concerns, and establish a foundation of trust.
In addition to providing information to the press, the checklist for crisis PR tasks also includes the continuous updating of background information. Existing information material as well as questions and answers must be adapted and supplemented in the event of a crisis. It is also the task of crisis PR to brief employees in line with the updates.

What types of crisis are there?

Both private individuals and entrepreneurs cannot protect themselves from crises. The diversity of crises goes much deeper than most people realize – they can therefore be categorized into different types. Here, we provide an overview.

Traumatic or acute crisis

Traumatic or acute crises occur when a person is suddenly confronted with a threatening or painful situation that cannot be overcome with current strategies. Acute crises are usually caused by strokes of fate, accidents, violence and natural disasters.

Crisis of change

The start of a new phase of life can be exciting. For some, however, these developmental crises can trigger a crisis of change – whether in the form of a move, a divorce, the birth of a child or a wedding.

Protracted crisis

Protracted is of Latin origin and means delayed/prolonged. In a protracted crisis, an acute traumatic experience is thus delayed. Or a change crisis remains unresolved, potentially turning into a chronic issue.

What crisis models are there?

As you can see, a crisis can be comprehensively structured. While the different types focus on personal crisis experiences, crisis models describe the stages of social crises. These can also be precisely divided into four categories.

Turmoil/Panic: “I have to act”

You can easily find yourself in these different categories – just think back to the beginning of 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is getting closer and closer, and the first effects are being felt. Restless behavior, disordered emotions, and short-term survival reactions are typical of the first stage. Perception is heightened, and all information related to the crisis is absorbed. However, the attention span is narrow, as only the most recent developments concerning the crisis are focused on.

Regression/Comfort: “We can’t do anything”

Once the panic subsides and the reality of the new circumstances sets in, a sense of relief is often felt. Inevitability and delegation are predominant feelings. And perception also becomes somewhat more diffuse as the excitement of new information diminishes. You can even start looking beyond your immediate concerns, and the focus of attention broadens.

Hyper Strength: “I can act”

New strength is drawn during this phase. One behaves heroically, displays intense emotions, and shows a strong capacity to handle the situation. People are no longer panic-stricken, but solution- and control-oriented. The feeling of solidarity increases enormously and the calls for cooperation become louder and louder.

Neo-Normality: “We are allowed to act”

In the new normal, a sense of calm and humanity emerges. Empathy also increases enormously. People are starting to actively shape their lives in the new normal.

What are the characteristics of a crisis?

We have now explored the crisis in all its theoretical aspects. But what are the characteristics of a crisis that distinguish it from normal business challenges? After all, not every problem immediately turns into a crisis. We have compiled a checklist of characteristics for you that will help you recognize immediately that you are dealing with a crisis.

Urgency

Is there a program on your company network that is not working? Sit back and wait, the IT department will sort it out. Has a hacker infiltrated your system? Then it has to be a quick solution! It is precisely this urgency that defines a crisis. Quick action is required to limit the damage. This level of urgency is often associated with a high degree of certainty, because you often have to act quickly even though you do not yet have all the information about the trigger.

High complexity

Think of your crisis in the form of a hacker attack. As is typical of a crisis, this can impact several aspects and departments of your company at the same time – suddenly you are faced with financial, legal or operational challenges. The consequences can be serious and have long-term effects.

How do you draw up a crisis plan?

Come on, let’s get into practice with you and immediately start with the most important element: drawing up a crisis plan. In the event of a crisis, it is already too late for this. As an entrepreneur, you must have designed your strategies before the worst-case scenario occurs. In a nutshell: not only do you need to ensure you have crisis prevention in place, you also need to have your crisis communication manual ready in order to be properly equipped for an emergency.
Your emergency plan is the backup strategy for your company, so to speak. In it, you define how to proceed if unforeseen events occur. This proactive strategy not only enables you to anticipate a crisis, but also to ensure the continuation of business operations.
A crisis plan can be drawn up at various levels and hierarchies within your company. However, your managers in particular should draw up contingency plans for all situations that could affect the entire company.
Most importantly, you should assess the probability of occurrence and severity of each scenario in order to categorize the plans accurately.

Create a list of risks

The first thing you should do is make a list of all the risks that could affect your company – preferably at business, department or program level. (Think of the hacker attack!) A brainstorming session with all those involved can serve as support here.

Weighing up severity and probability of occurrence

In the next step, you should assess the probability of occurrence and the consequences of these defined risks. After all, remember: you don’t have to draw up an emergency plan for every risk. Establish whether it is not sufficient to develop suitable strategies for some risks instead of declaring a crisis for them.
Evaluate the individual risks based on the severity of the consequences and the likelihood. A classification into high, medium and low helps here.

Recognize important risks and create emergency plans

Once you have assessed your risks, you should prioritize them. All parties involved have a duty to decide where to draw the line. Once you have defined which risks are important, you should draw up a contingency plan for them.
This plan should include all the steps that companies need to take to return to normal business operations. It is therefore vital that the plan contains information about the trigger that sets it in motion, the immediate response, who should be involved and informed, the main responsibilities and instructions for action, and the timeframe for the response.

Have the emergency plan approved, pass it on and maintain it

Make absolutely sure that your emergency plans are reviewed and approved by the relevant managers. This is the only way that all measures can be initiated immediately in the event of a crisis. The right people also need to receive the plans so that you make sure everyone knows what to do. It is therefore advisable to store the plan in a central location that everyone can access.
Once the emergency plans have been drawn up, the work of your crisis management team is not over yet – ensure regular checks, make sure that the plans are up to date, review new risks and opportunities and create new emergency plans as required.

What is crisis management?

We have used the term crisis management a number of times – but what does it actually mean? Quite simply, in times of crisis, crisis management takes over the lead, i.e. the planning, management and control, for the prevention, avoidance and management of survival-critical processes. Originating in connection with the Cuban Missile Crisis, crisis management describes a special form of leadership in dealing with all processes that potentially jeopardize the continued existence of your company and manages the handling of acute corporate crises.

Why is crisis management important?

You will already have noticed this from the potential scenarios mentioned above. Your crisis management is important in order to identify problems as quickly as possible, acknowledge the problems and overcome them. What is and remains important here is how you control the type of communication.

What makes good crisis management?

If we were looking for a guide to good crisis management, it would probably look like this. This is because many factors lead to a good assessment of communication and management in times of crisis:

• crisis management works at management level, i.e. exactly where decisions can be made,
• clear organization with definition of responsibilities and corresponding distribution of tasks,
• short response times,
• good crisis communication, for which all those responsible are trained,
• continuous evaluation of strategies in the event of an emergency.

Issues management as a further PR discipline

When it comes to crises and crisis PR, there is another model that can prevent them.

What exactly is issues management?

Issues management describes a management strategy aimed at the early identification of opportunities and risks arising from public debates. The focus here is particularly on risks. If relevant issues are identified, issues management should develop an appropriate position and justify it in a communicative manner. In short, the aim is to recognize emerging issues relevant to the company at an early stage and respond appropriately to them.

What are the individual steps of issues management?

Step 1: Issue identification

Monitoring should be used to observe broad topics, especially in social media.

Step 2: Issue analysis

The next step is to select the issues that represent a particularly high potential for damage or a major opportunity for the company based on evaluation rules.

Step 3: Issue prioritization

Based on their degree of development and the relevance of their impact, the issues are prioritized and divided into issues requiring urgent action, issues requiring planning and issues requiring monitoring.

Step 4: Derivation of measures

As soon as the categorization has been completed, a package of measures is created in which the timeline, the communication strategy and the required channels are defined.

Step 5: Implementation of issue management processes

It is worth developing a long-term issue management process that helps to protect the company from reputational damage, detect threats and seize opportunities. It is important to evaluate all steps on an ongoing basis – because the process is never completely finished and is constantly evolving.

What is the difference between issues management and crisis communication?

While issue management is a proactive approach used to identify and deal with potential problems, crisis communication describes the reactive approach to effective communication and damage limitation during and after a crisis. You can see that the difference lies in the timing and focus.
While issue management is used for long-term monitoring of trends and planning, crisis communication involves immediate communication measures, providing relevant information and restoring the company’s trust and credibility.
Crisis communication takes effect during or immediately after the crisis occurs. Issue management, on the other hand, carries out its monitoring and evaluation on an ongoing basis in order to identify potential risks and opportunities in good time.