CRISIS COMMUNICATION AND

MANAGEMENT  PAPER PRESENTED AT THE

 MEDIA WORKSHOP

19TH -21ST NOVEMBER 2012 AT

MOMBASA CONTINENTAL RESORT AND SPABY

DR. MJOMBA MAJALIACOMMUNICATION CONSULTANT & TRAINER

INTRODUCTIONIn any organization—It’s always highly likely that some kind of crisis is going to hit. No organization should be without a Crisis Communication Plan (CCP).CCP includes:1. A list of whom to notify in an emergency2. An approach to Media Relations3. A strategy for notifying employees4. A location to serve as crisis headquarters5. A description of the Plan

RESULTS OF A CRISISFearn-Banks (2007):

1. Business is ruined; it runs out of business, it is sued and the CEO is charged.

2. Organization exists but has lost some image, respect and financial position.

3. Wins, in a hard fought battle, and it is seen as favorably as before or perhaps more

A crisis in an organization, real or pending, means its reputation is on the line.

COMMUNICATION PROCESS

A B

A B

Communication is transactional1. Share Meaning2. Create Understanding 3. Develop Relationship

COMMUNICATION MODEL

Key Skills for Better Communication1. A Large Repertoire of Skills2. Ability to Perform Skillfully3. Empathy/Perspective Taking

SENDER MESSAGE RECEIVER

COMMUNICATION SKILLS (I)The Art of Listening: an active process that involves paying close attention to, and making sense of what we hear.

1. Use their eyes as well as their ears—to decode a speaker’s nonverbal and verbal cues.

2. Listen for main ideas—lntroductions, transitions, and conclusions to alert you to the main points.

3. Watch for the speaker’s nonverbal cues—body language is an excellent source of information.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS (II) Negotiation & Conflict Management: Before a crisis there is always an embedded conflict which must be managed. As a good leader and communicator to be able to:1. Recognize the causes and nature of conflict2. Effectively negotiate and resolve conflicts without

damaging relationships3. Mediate conflicts and bring them to a successful

resolution4. Remove many of the barriers that prevent conflict

from being resolved effectively5. Recognize the different positions that parties within

a conflict may take and the positive and negative effects of these positions

CRISIS COMMUNICATION Issue: a concern about an organization

decision that may involve a point of conflict. For example privatization of the port, employees demand for higher pay or change of employment terms etc.

Crisis: requires not just decisive but also immediate action (Cornelissen, 2008). For example a workers strike or oil spill in KPA or petrol leakage at KPLC etc.

DEVELOPMENT OF A CRISISDevelopment of an Issue into a Crisis Graph1. Latent2. Active3. Intense4. Crises

1 2 3 4

STAGES OF A CRISIS

Fearn-Banks (2007); FIVE STAGES: 1. Detection2. Prevention/Preparation3. Containment4. Recovery5. Learning Phase

PRO-ACTIVE COMMUNICATIONEmployees must learn: 1. What positive performance is and how it will

benefit the organization and the employees.2. What the job priorities are.3. Positive Performance should be rewarded.

Employees perform well when their work is recognized and rewarded.

4. Poor performance must be punished.5. Help employees to cope with personal

problems. Management should be able to recognize the symptoms of a personal crisis. ( e.g. drug abuse, living beyond one’s means etc.)

MANAGING THE CRISISThe media is always looking for a good story with victims, villains and visuals (Argenti, 2009), and a crisis has all these sensational elements. 1. Never say, “No comment!” to the public—

appears to be an admission of hiding information or even guilt.

2. Do not assume that the crisis story will go away. The media can do their stories without you.

3. The media can also use computer files and call up long-forgotten problems and mistakes and in a few seconds.

The people thus hear the negative story.

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

The spirit of cooperation must be established. In a crisis,1. We know and here’s’ all the information2. We don’t know everything at this time. Here’s

what we know. We’ll find out more and let you know

3. We have no idea, but we’ll find out and tell you.Give the media access to the material they need, background information, statistics, photographs and spokespersons.

MEDIA KPA

WHAT THE MEDIA WANTS1. What happened?2. Were there any deaths or injuries?3. What is the extent of the damage?4. Is there a danger of future injuries or

damage?5. Why did it happen?6. Who or what was responsible?7. What is being done about it?8. When will it be over?9. Were there any warning signs of the

problems?

MEDIA INTERVIEWDos

1. Do listen to the whole question before answering2. Do use everyday language3. Be courteous4. Do understand the reporter’s job. Respect deadlines

and return phone calls promptly.5. Do try to treat a reporter as a partner, an ally in

maintaining or restoring the company’s good image. – hence this conference’s theme: “ partnering with the media….”

6. Do tell the truth – misleading or omitted facts are also forms of lying.

7. Do use your crisis communication plan8. Do keep employees informed about the crisis. They

may be volunteer good ambassadors.

MEDIA INTERVIEWKey Don’ts

1. Do not guess or speculate. Either you know or you don’t.

2. Do not stick to a story if it has changed, just to be consistent.

3. Do not be trapped in predicting the future

CONCLUSIONCrisis communication is a predictive—make correct assumptions and determine appropriate course of action within a very short period of time.1. Research, polling of the audiences, which

includes crafting thorough and compelling statements, known as “key messages” is crucial to effective handling of a crisis.

2. Proactive media outreach to get the message and context to the media and identify and recruit third party allies who can attest to KPA’s side of the story is a must.

3. Finally, striking first not to be hit is key to effective handling of crisis at KPA.