Report on Crisis Communication: Definition, Steps, and Examples

This report provides a comprehensive overview of crisis communication, defining it as a series of undesirable events causing disruption and agitation within an organization. It emphasizes the importance of early warning signs and the need to alert staff against adverse outcomes, highlighting the impact on both smooth operations and brand reputation. The report outlines a crisis communication process, including the importance of engaging with external parties, media, and stakeholders, while demonstrating care and avoiding blame. It stresses the promotion of efficacious communication, easy access to authorities, accurate information dissemination, and the role of crisis communication experts in rapid decision-making. The report also discusses ethical considerations, the steps involved in crisis communication (anticipation, team selection, spokesperson choice, monitoring, and stakeholder involvement), and the ethical duties of enterprises before, during, and after a crisis. It covers pre-crisis preparation, the collection and distribution of information, and post-crisis evaluation and follow-up communication.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION
Definition of Crisis
Crisis indicates a series of undesirable events at workplace that can
result to disruption and major agitation amongst staffs. Crisis
commonly occurs abruptly ad triggers a feeling of insecurity and fear
so in simply words crisis directs to unpredictability and brings in major
disturbances within enterprise and staffs. Hence it is necessary to
sense the early warning of crisis and alert staffs against its adverse
outcomes as it not impacts smooth operation of firm but also directs
risks to brand name.
Crisis Communication process
Staffs should not neglect any of the external parties and significant
clients and should come out, meet and talk about the concerns with
them. If required they can seek for help and media should not be
neglected. Their questions need to be answered as ignoring media can
make condition worse.
Individuals should not be criticised and a sense of care and concern
should be demonstrated. They should be encouraged to not loose hope
and should be motivated to put in their best efforts. They should be
respected and blame games should be avoided.
Efficacious communication should be promoted at work during urgent
conditions. Staffs should have ease to access their authorities to discuss
complex situation and reach to mutually accepted solutions.
Inputs should disseminate across all department in expected form and
decisions should not be based on assumption. All relevant information
should be accurate.
Crisis communication experts should recognise and learn to take
immediate decisions to respond rapidly and efficaciously during unsteady
situation and should think of alternative plans for smooth operation of
firm.
Information should be kept confidential and serious actions should be
taken against staffs who share inputs and data to external agents as
these events should be determined unethical and damaging to repute of
the firm.
Top authorities should examine performance of staffs on regular basis and
should ask for feedback and reports to learn about updates and carry out
audits for monitoring.
What is crisis’ communication?
Crisis communication signifies a special aspect that copes with
recognition of individuals as well as enterprises and crisis
communication is an attempt which aims to secure the repute of
enterprise and maintains its public identity. Different elements like
criminal proceedings, government probes, media investigation etc
can stain image of firm. So with help of crisis communication, experts
confront against different challenges that tends to damage the repute
and identity of a firm.
Crisis communication can be described widely as collection,
processing and distribution of inputs needed to resolve a crisis
condition and is an emerging aspect in domain of applied
communication studies that includes dealing with negotiating
messages and different kind of audiences during event of immense
pressure. Ethical questions are significant reflection when a crisis
occurs and during such conditions corporate values that are relevant
during normal times and stability may not be essential. Example
general concentration on cost saving would no longer be adequate
when it is essential to take immediate steps to save lives during
natural disaster.
Steps in Crisis Communication
1. Crisis anticipation: evaluate different rationale and problems behind
crisis and choose best way to possible risks
2. Select crisis communication team: a proactive team can be formed to
deal with crisis situation
3. Choose spokesperson: suitable expert should be selected to
communicate to talk with external parties in any crisis condition as
they have appropriate skills for the job
4. Setting up monitoring and notification system: all information should
be updated with proper notification system and should be monitored
for accuracy
5. Involving stakeholders: stakeholders should be involved to encourage
crisis management
References
Claeys, A. S., and Coombs, W. T. (2019). Organizational crisis
communication: Suboptimal crisis response selection decisions and
behavioral economics. Communication Theory. Available at
https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtz002
Coombs, W. T. (2018). Crisis Communication: The Best Evidence from
Research. In The Routledge Companion to Risk, Crisis and Emergency
Management (pp. 51-66). Routledge. Available at
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315458175/chapters/10.4324/
9781315458175-6
Enterprises have ethical duties before, during and after crisis situation
and in pre-crisis phase, crisis communication surrounds around tracking
crisis uncertainties, making decisions on how to cope with possible
crises and training individuals who will be engaged in crisis
management procedure. Crisis communication involves collection and
processing of inputs for crisis team decision making along with
establishment and distribution of crisis messages. The urgency
characteristics of crisis between higher uncertainty provokes already
complicated decision making with the emergency need for
management to make decisions quickly. Post crisis communication
includes examining the crisis management practices and offering follow
up crisis messages as required. The firm needs to publish updates on
recovery procedure, corrective measures and/or investigate crisis.