Crisis Management: The essentials we should never forget
Are you ready to face the next crisis?… It’s not a matter of if it will happen, but when. In corporate communication, managing a crisis is a trial by fire that separates effective strategists from the unprepared.
Although crises don’t come with a warning, what you can anticipate is how you’ll respond when your organization’s reputation is at stake. Therefore, it never hurts to review the key concepts and strategies that will help you identify risks, anticipate scenarios, and design effective plans to minimize the impact.
A well-managed crisis doesn’t just solve a problem: it strengthens trust in your organization and expands your leadership.
Keep reading and make sure you’re prepared for the inevitable.
Crisis and its Management Model
Crises often evoke unexpected and negative events, with serious consequences that disrupt an organization’s normal operations and jeopardize its future viability. Additionally, their effects can extend to other areas and social sectors.
A crisis can originate internally, stemming from deliberate or negligent actions or omissions by members of the organization. It can also be caused by external causes, such as natural phenomena, criminal acts, authority acts, or a contagious social environment.
The most complex crises arise when internal and external variables converge. For example, an internal problem can detonate the pressure of latent social causes that find an opportunity to activate. Similarly, external pressure, such as the vindication of a social cause, can expose corporate malpractices and generate consequences such as the removal of executives or severe damage to the organization’s reputation.
Crises and the Media
Almost every crisis attracts the attention of the mass media because of its sudden nature, its destructive potential, and its impact on various social sectors. In some cases, crises even give rise to social and environmental tragedies that become major news.
Some crises, however, remain hidden from public scrutiny. If not handled appropriately and in a timely manner, these crises eventually come to light, amplifying their negative effects. A crisis that becomes public immediately generates a reputational impact. The larger and more recognized the affected organization, the greater the media interest. Companies, brands, public figures, politicians, and celebrities are often the subject of constant attention, and their actions become news, especially during crises that affect their reputation.
Impact and management of crises
Beyond the interest and media scandal, crises are often tragic phenomena with devastating consequences. Initially, they affect the organization, but depending on their magnitude, they can cause damage to social groups, economic sectors or even entire regions. Crisis management is based on two fundamental aspects:
- Technical attention to the emergency, to solve the problem at its root.
- Communication management, to control the narrative and reduce the negative impact on reputation. Crises are dynamic phenomena that can escalate and give rise to secondary problems, often more serious than the initial event if not handled promptly.
Distinguishing a Crisis from Other Events
The term “crisis” is frequently used in different contexts, which has trivialized its meaning. It is essential to distinguish between a minor incident, a problem, and a real crisis, as the latter entails significant repercussions.
The first step in managing a crisis is to accurately assess its magnitude. Overreacting can aggravate the problem, while underreacting can encourage its growth and prevent a timely response. Every crisis, regardless of its severity, has the potential to destabilize multiple areas of the organization.
Although there are no foolproof recipes for managing a crisis, each one requires a specialized approach based on its unique characteristics.
Risks and preparation
Talking about crises is talking about risks. The operations of any organization have inherent risks that can lead to crises.
A risk, according to the Diccionario de la Lengua Española (Spanish Language Dictionary), is any contingency or proximity to damage. In the organizational context, a risk is any event or circumstance that can interrupt operations, negatively impact public perception, and compromise the corporate image.
Although crises are inevitably disruptive, many can be avoided or mitigated through surveillance and prevention systems that detect warning signs. However, those that cannot be prevented must be addressed quickly and accurately to limit their negative effects.
Each organization has its vulnerabilities, derived from its operation, culture and context. These can include operational, economic, legal or social problems. Additionally, certain sectors face risks inherent to their activity, such as crude oil spills in oil companies or product contamination in the food industry.
Phases of a crisis
Every crisis goes through different stages:
- Peace period: Operations occur normally. It is a stable period, characterized by growth, good corporate practices, and a positive public image.
- Latency period: Warning signs appear that can be ignored or recognized by members inside or outside the organization.
- Activation period: Moment in which various factors converge, creating the situation that triggers the crisis.
- Irruption period: Outbreak of the crisis, with immediate impacts on the operation and reputation that put the viability of the organization at risk. Sometimes, there can be serious damage to the population or the environment.
- Expansion period: Collateral damage is identified. The crisis management committee makes decisions to avoid the escalation of negative events.
- Resolution: Solutions are sought and the recovery plan is activated. Damage control until operations are normalized.
- Accountability: Plans are established for repairing the damage with the affected publics and their demands are addressed.
- Conclusion: The end of the crisis is declared.
- Learning: Evaluation of the actions taken, highlighting successes, errors, and opportunities for improvement to prevent a similar event from happening again.
No organization is exempt from facing a crisis during its existence, so a period of peace is key to preparing and building a culture of prevention and shared responsibility.
Once a crisis breaks out, time is a fundamental variable. Decisions must be made under pressure, often with limited information, with the aim of minimizing damage and returning to normality as soon as possible.
Communication in times of crisis
Communication during a crisis should not be improvised. During periods of calm, it is essential to establish communication policies, train spokespersons and form interdisciplinary teams that can manage the relationship with different key audiences.
A well-executed communication strategy can prevent the crisis from worsening due to misunderstandings, lack of information or negative perceptions. Transparency and coherence are essential, while burying one’s head and not giving explanations (“ostrich strategy”) is the most damaging option.
Prevention and proactive management
The best crisis management is that which manages to prevent them. This requires an organizational culture focused on prevention and continuous improvement. An effective model includes:
- Vulnerability audits
- Risk scenario design
- Specific action plans to mitigate possible impacts
- Corporate policy on communication and crisis management
- Internal awareness-raising communication campaigns
- Crisis management workshops and risk simulations
Although each crisis is unique, preparation allows organizations to respond with agility and professionalism, limiting its negative effects and efficiently returning to normality.
In conclusion, crisis management begins before the crisis occurs. A comprehensive risk management model must be part of the organizational culture, ensuring that all members are prepared to face eventualities and communicate effectively with key audiences. Prevention, preparation, and agility are essential to minimize impacts and efficiently return to normality.