Responding to Crisis

Communication Guidelines for Shipping and Airline Industries in the Caribbean

Monday, October 18, 2010

Guidelines for responding to crisis


Some guidelines for responding to crisis in shipping and airline industries are as follows:

Spokesperson:
The research study has established that before the crisis communications messages are ever released to the media there should be an appointed spokesperson on behalf of the organization/company. This may be the communications or public relations manager or someone authorized to speak on behalf of the company or organization. It is useful to recommend that the official spokesperson appoint a crisis team and be trained in public speaking on how to interact effectively with the media.

Plan ahead:
Equally important is that this spokesperson and his/her team needs to plan in advance to be able to be contacted if an emergency or crisis is unfolding. Crises do not always occur during work hours so emergency contact information should be left on the voicemail greeting of the company’s telephone system or auto reply emails after work hours or this information should be placed on the company’s website so that the spokesperson is reachable at any time and is the first to know when a crisis is unfolding. It may be useful that the spokesperson develops a good friendly relationship with key personnel in the media, fire and police departments so that he or she can be contacted if a crisis is developing.

Create a crisis comunication plan:
Once potential crises have been identified, the crisis communications plan can be formulated. A crisis communications plan for an organization in either airline or shipping industries can be part of a larger crisis management plan. Notwithstanding, the crisis communication plan may be a document by itself to assist the nominated communicator to handle the crisis communication more effectively. Elements of a crisis communication plan to guide the process as a whole are discussed further however in essence, it is a hypothetical guide of what is to be done in case a particular situation develops for example, the plan of action to be taken if an airplane after landing, overshoots the runway and crashes off the site of the airport. The communications plan would therefore have as many scenarios as may be predicted to be the worst case scenarios of crisis for the particular organization.

Central to the communication plan are the guidelines determining the timing, technique and tone of the key message, the crisis communication response for shipping and airline industries in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Timing:
In terms of timing, it is suggested that, as soon as a situation of crisis that may attract negative attention to the organization occurs and is reported by the media, the first press release should be issued to the media houses on the same day, or as close as possible to the when the event occurred.

Technique:
In terms of technique, the communication response should be released to the media/public via email, television, radio or online newspapers, since to do so by print would not be immediately available. It is recommended that this press release also be placed on the company’s home page of the website for easy updates. The first press release should briefly state the facts of what is the nature of the crisis that occurred and the time it occurred and if all the details are not yet known it should be stated that investigations are ongoing.

The technique becomes more challenging when the response is being directly delivered for example live on television or on radio than a written message via online or print. In that case it is important in delivering the message live that the spokesperson remains calm, courteous, positive, concerned and if apologetic that the crisis has occurred. The most important recommendation is to be honest and depict the organization as such.

Whether it is via live broadcast, face to face, or written, the organization’s spokesperson must be mindful of what techniques to use in the delivery of the message. In answering questions posed by media personnel, the spokesperson must be mindful of the confirmed available facts and repeat them if necessary but avoid speculation and predictions. The spokesperson must also be trained to detect trick questions and leading questions from a reporter eager to get a sensationalized story and hence be able to ask the reporter to rephrase questions if necessary. If the spokesperson does not know the answer for a question, he or she should say so but under no circumstance say that he/she will not comment because the connotation it gives is in itself a commentary.

The Key Message:
In terms of the tone of that actual message released to the media in the initial press release, exhaustive details are not necessary at this stage. Nevertheless, the first key message on behalf of the company requires careful calculation to ensure that the tone of delivery is intentionally balanced for the specific purpose of damage control. During a crisis, this message has to be quickly constructed with very little time to ponder it so it is the spokesperson trained for crisis communication response that will be able to quickly deliver a message that will be strategically effective towards damage control. Subliminal messages as earlier highlighted in the theoretical framework with the use of pictures and background music may be even used on the company’s website to portray certain themes like symbols of peace in the midst of a civil disturbance affecting operations or symbols of patriotism and resilience in the case of terrorism. A recent case example of this is in May 2010 when civil unrest caused the ports to be closed in Jamaica, Seaboard Marine, a shipping line with locations in all the Caribbean islands posted an advisory on their website with a picture of a peace candle in its background.

The recommended approach in constructing the tone of the company’s key message is to appear in its delivery to be co-operative, open and honest. This will inadvertently reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation or misrepresentation which may occur with an otherwise damaging "no comment" response the media. In the very first press release, it may be likely that all the information is not available or has not yet been confirmed. It is important to highlight this in the message. It is important to work along with the media instead of against it. It is also useful to have a few media kits/brochures about the company if background information on the organization is requested.

Press conferences should never be held unless the media requests it. The press release with company’s key message should suffice as the initial crisis communication response.

Tone:
Fearn-Banks (2007) highlighted that the Apologia theory is an approach taken to defend reputation and protect image without necessarily making an apology. She explained that the organization’s effort may deny, explain, or apologize for the action through communication discourse. Because, apologia may manifest itself by the organization either contradicting, totally denying the charges, it is not recommended to take this approach. The probable tones for crisis communication response have been coded in the research for the analysis of the case studies and it was found that in all crises, regardless of whose fault it is, the company should become ‘human’ and express regret and apologize that the crisis has occurred in the key message in the first press release. This communicative response style of becoming human is useful in any situation; whether the media is involved or when the media is never involved. In a random case of an internal crisis within the organization where no media attention is ever attracted; whether negative or otherwise, management personnel must nonetheless offer a response to staff for the sake of damage control.

Become 'human'
The company’s becoming human is based on the theory of Semiotics which highlights the significance of using the symbol of language to convey meanings and impressions. Symbols conveying emotive messages which are uplifting and optimistic are useful in the midst of crisis. This reason that becoming human is necessary for the company is because the first day of crisis response is definitely not the time to point fingers and become defensive. Therefore, denying and contradicting the details of the crisis should not be the main characteristic of the message. Messages should instead reflect the organization’s mission statement and should attempt to reinforce optimism and be solution-oriented if possible.

Be aware:
There are cases in which crisis is exaggerated by the media for the sake of sensationalism. This highlights the suggestions put forward by Cohen (1963) on Agenda Setting in which he stated that the press and the media do not reflect reality; they filter and shape it and that media concentration on a few issues and subjects leads the public to perceive those issues as more important than other issues. The organization involved in the crisis has to be mindful of this scenario and deflect negative attention if reports suggest that the issue has been blown out of proportion. Likewise, the organization must however be careful not to be intentional trivializing the situation merely to avoid the spotlight.

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