Crisis CommunicationsBG Workshop

Management personae (personal issues, mistakes made, separation from the company)

Industrial accident, incl. IT system damages (caused by technical malfunction, people mistake or both)

Third-party malicious actions (unethical competition, hackers’ attack, robbery, “putting on a show”…)

Customer’s or partner’s dissatisfaction From the environment (natural, socio-political incl.

protests) M&A

crisis

Media

Institutions

Employees

Political powers

Public attention

distractionAccident

Syndicates

Lobbies

Competitors

NGO

Crisis inf.

Media

Institutions

Employees

Partners Society

Syndicates

Customers

NGO (incl. industry organizations)

The crisis prevention plans are usually industry specific but all of them include:- Definition (it is a communication crisis if it has or

could have an impact over the reputation).- The crisis could be classified according to the impact

expected (emphasis on loss of life): small, middle or big (additional classifications exist for example A, B, C, D-crisis)

- The teams involved and the positions to be informed- Core point: Action scenarios depending on the type of

crisis- Information flows and whistle-blowing should be part

of the prevention, too

Small Medium Big

PR/Communications manager (incl. Internal communications)

Manager in charge for the field of operation where crisis occurs

IT Legal +

Compliance

PR/Communications manager (incl. Internal communications)

Manager in charge for the field of operation where crisis occurs

Middle Management IT Legal + Compliance Employees

representative

PR/Communications manager (incl. Internal communications)

Production director / operational manager

C-Management (incl. Speaker)

IT Legal + Compliance Employees representative Risk manager

Positions marked in black are in charge of the coordination and team leadership

Point of crisis: whistle-blow system (procedure for early recognition of issues and information forwarding)

Crisis team (constant information sharing and coordination)

Information about the crisis must be given to:- GM/CEO/C-Management Board- Risk management if not involved- Mother company- Institutions (depending on the crisis)

It is not always that we can foresee all possible threats to our organization but the reactions in situations that are not included in our crisis plan are often based on the planned ones:- Definition: if reputation risk exists or there is a need of

statement we should treat the situation as crisis or issue

- Crisis team is gathered depending on the expected impact

- When possible: templates of statements are used, ready-to-use actions are implemented

- Involvement of media and involvement of external partners

Schedule for public statements and interviews (internal and external audiences)

External consultant in specific situations (for example with expertise for social media)

Q&A for the management Prevention and training, regular revision and re-

briefing regarding the issue management procedures within the organization

Involvement of external partners Reputation management before any crisis occurs Development of healthy media environment and

support of the journalists’ expertise improvement