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How a company reacts during a crisis will determine how long the issue will carry on and how much harm or benefit it will cause.

Although PR practitioners don’t “solve” crises, they do play an important role in conveying information on how organizations are solving the crises. There are several things a PR practitioner can do to help solve the crises and prevent further damage. Some of the more important factors include:

1. Plan

Before a crisis even hits, companies should have a clear and defined plan. The plan should include:

• Who is in charge- a chain of command that dictates what responsibility belongs to whom.
• Who has the information- Create a list of the types of information needed and where it will have been stored in anticipation of a crisis.
• Who will speak on behalf of the organization- Designating a single spokesperson can help to avoid confusion and mistakes when it comes to speaking to the media. The spokesperson should be knowledgeable, composed, careful with words, and confident.
• Prepare a website-Create a “dark site" that can be launched at any time. Post to the site information the company’s publics would find important and interesting.

2. Promptly inform ALL publics

• The media will want all the facts and numbers right away. Give them whatever you may have at the time and tell them you will report back with updates as soon as more information becomes available.
• The employees should not be forgotten in the time of a crisis. They can be a company’s best line of defense and/or offense. Keeping employees informed will keep them from speculating and spreading rumors.

3. Be accessible

• Although one’s first reaction in a crisis is to run and hide, keeping the media in the dark will only add fuel to the fire. Between a company’s spokesperson and dark site information should be streaming throughout the entire crisis. Accessibility can help to cut down rumor mills that might get started through all the different social networks out there today.

Companies never look forward to a time of crisis. However, when they do occur and a company reacts well, it can come out of the crisis looking better than before the incident occurred.

By following the three steps I outlined above, a company will build trust and a positive reputation with the media, its employees, and its audience.

To build a strong, stable, and positive reputation a company must be strong, stable and positive even during the most critical of times.

^d

Katie Keane