What is a crisis? According to the dictionary, it’s defined as:
1. A time of intense difficulty or danger.
2. A time when a difficult or important decision must be made.
In this context, a company in the face of a crisis must go through different management strategies in order to recover from it.
More often than not, people think that corporate communication strictly relies on high-end press conferences in fancy hotels with dinners inviting the media as well as stakeholders, but there’s more to it. Press releases and annual reports are important to put forward, but the most important thing is how the organization itself deals with the crisis at hand. This determines how well the press and the public view the organization that is facing the crisis. Two good ways to handle a crisis is through speed and credibility. Speed is so that you’re in control of the story that is being put out, and credibility is using the media connections you have developed to share the story. Trial by media is a real thing that everyone faces and the stakeholders of your organization will use it against you unless you have control over the narrative. In this era of media being read and produced 24/7, the media itself will run with whatever story sounds the juiciest in order to get more views without fact checking.
The communications team needs to be the first ones on this story, as well as making sure they get approval to run the accurate version of the story. Sometimes a crisis can catch an organization off guard because of the speed in which news travels. With social media being the biggest tool of communication nowadays, it’s crucial for a crisis management team to look closely at what’s being said across all platforms. Since the statement needs to go through several stages before it’s released, a crisis management team needs to begin working on it the second they catch wind of the situation. Along with these stages, it needs to be approved by various stakeholders in the organization as well as external agencies (such as media houses and governmental authorities).
Now there are several models a crisis management team can use in order to keep the situation handled. We’ll be discussing four today in this article.
Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt Model
This model identifies 3 different stages of crisis management.
- Diagnosis of Crisis
This is when your organization first begins to detect the early indicators of a crisis. Workplace leaders and managers must sense the warning signals. Helping to prepare their employees against the potential consequences and encourage them to face it with courage and determination.
- Planning
Once a crisis has been detected, its up to the crisis management team to jump on top of it before it gets out of hand. The first steps of this plan should always be calming down your colleagues and creating strategies that align with your company values. Doing so will allow everyone to move forward in this crisis with a clear head. After doing so you should be moving to discussing with related members of the company to come out with a solution. Your team needs to be patient as well as have the ability to make quick decisions. As you’re making these decisions, make sure that you have facts and figures and not just working off assumptions. This will cost you later on.
- Adjusting to Changes
Your employees need to be able to adjust to situations that are happening around them as this will help with the general functioning of the company after the crisis passes. The best way to start is analysing the causes of the crisis in the workplace. Once you have found these mistakes, then it should be announced that they cannot be repeated. New rules and policies, as well as process to handle them should be put in place to make sure that this crisis doesn’t happen again.
Structural Functions Systems Theory
This theory relies on communication playing a pivotal role. This means that there is a correct flow of information being exchanged between all levels of hierarchies in the most transparent way possible. Using this theory is important when dealing with a crisis.Management needs to be able to communicate with their employees by providing them with the needed information about the situation. Ignoring people will only make the situation worse. Superiors must be in constant communication with their subordinates, and leaders must come into their roles and tell their employees to give their best.
Diffusion of Innovation Theory
Just like the previous theory, this one is also based on sharing information but especially when dealing with a crisis. Each employee should be trying their best to think out the box for solutions. They also need to come out with an innovative idea that can help the crisis be resolved, as well as a plan B. Effective communication is important to pass on ideas and information, so the second someone has a plan/idea (whether they are an employee or in management or a leader) they must discuss it with other people in their team.
Unequal Human Capital Theory
This theory is a little less dealing with a crisis, and more so how to avoid a crisis. We all know external problems can be a headache, but what if the problems are internal. The most prominent workplace crisis is inequalities between employees. When this occurs at the work place, it will automatically lead to big problems when people find out. Discrimination between different demographics (i.e. gender, race, ethnicity, etc.), job profiles, and earned salary leads to employees who become frustrated. These frustrated employees will naturally play with the company name, as well as spread baseless rumours, which will earn a bad reputation for the company.
As we can see from this article, there are a lot of ways that you can keep control over a crisis. The main way to do it though will always be through communication. No matter what kind of problems your company is facing, whether or not the conflict is internal or external, you need to make sure that everyone is communicating on all levels and is always being transparent. Don’t forget that your team is made up of people, who would want to help your company if you treat them well. Start with that, and every crisis that comes through, you all should be able to handle it with no problem.