BY: LANITA THOMAS

While organizations are typically prepared for an anticipated crisis, public relations professionals understand that organizations also need to prepare for the unexpected crisis.

“It is not a question of if a crisis will occur, but when,” said Julie Fix, a University of Houston assistant professor at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication. As the former president of the Texas Public Relations Association, Fix is a 25-year veteran of the PR industry and specializes in crisis communications and PR campaigns.

According to Fix, a crisis can be defined as any interruption of normal business activities that affects the consumer. She places every crisis into one of three categories: an act of nature, an intentional act of violence or an unintentional crisis.

While the basic approach to any crisis will have similarities, it is important that businesses plan for the potential crises that could occur in their specific industries, said Lorrie Delk Walker, president of Lorrie Walker Communications, Inc., a Lakeland public relations firm.

“A university may be faced with a school shooting, while a grocery store’s crisis might be contaminated food,” Walker said.

Public relations’ role of maintaining the relationship between an organization and its constituents makes it an integral part of crisis communications, according to Kevin Lachlan, director of communication studies at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He has spent the past five years studying audience responses of crisis communications. According to Lachlan, preparing a crisis plan beforehand helps to better maintain relationships with consumers.

Before preparing a plan, Fix recommends seeking outside council. Professional crisis management companies are better inclined to find the weak links in an organization that could lead to a crisis.

“If your company influences the general public, you need a plan,” said Jason Maloni, vice president of Levick Strategic Communications. “We go over company concerns and the strategies of a plan.”

To create a plan, an organization must first identify the different groups potentially affected by a crisis and then identify the best way to get the information to them, said Lachlan. He recommends studying consumer demographics and the best way to communicate with those demographics.
Maloni suggests designating a spokesperson to make a public statement about the situation. A holding statement must be made to the general public within the hour, he said.

In her classes, Fix teaches her students to write holding statements that address the “Four C’s”: concern, competency, compassion and credibility. If the situation is at the obvious fault of the organization, Fix teaches her students to express the “Three R’s”: responsibility, remorse and remediation; an action that may not be supported by the organization’s legal council, but one that will keep the trust of the consumer.

Organizations should remember that outlets such as their Web site, text messages, Twitter and Facebook are viable options in communicating in a crisis, Fix said.

“If you don’t say something quickly,” said Fix, “there are so many others who will.”

Once a plan is created, a good organization practices the plan once or twice a year with different scenarios, said Fix. Drilling the plan prepares employees to act quickly without confusion.

After a crisis has been dealt with, Maloni reminds his clients to keep in communication with the consumer through polls or surveys. By polling consumers, an organization discovers if there are any problems with the crisis plan or if the consumer has a problem with the organization.

“It’s all about bulletproofing your brand,” said Maloni.