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Crisis ManagementPre-Planning and Fire
PreventionFor Managers and Property Owners of High Occupancy
VIDEO CLIP
West Hills Apartment Fire – It can happen to you
People don’t judge
good guys on whether they’ve made
mistakes, but how they’ve fixed them.
-Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol.
Objectives1. Logistical and practical media relations tactics to
help communicate during a crisis, like a fire2. Suggestions for communicating with internal
customers, key business leaders and associates 3. How to predict and prepare for crises 4. How to gather facts and quickly centralized the
information flow, providing on-scene media with frequent news updates and responding to other media inquiries by telephone
5. How to develop a working plan to help execute and track results of the crisis communications plan
6. How to generate buy-in and support from CEOs and executives for developing a crisis communication plan
Operational Priority 1: Limit the problem.
I.This is our job.
Operational Priority 2: Communicate with those most affected - victims, families, relatives, etc.
I.Take action quickly to resolve or stabilize victim issues
II.Address the needs of victims and begin repairs or remediation of destroyed or damaged property ASAP
III.Vocalize and act with empathy and sympathy constantly
Operational Priority 3: Communication with
employees.
Operational Priority 4: Communicate with those indirectly affected
I.Government, Neighbors, community leaders, customers, suppliers, etc.
Operational Priority 5: Communicate with the self appointed
I.News media
Crisis?A significant
disruptionwhich
stimulates extensive news media coverage
and public scrutiny that disrupts the organization’s
normal business activities.
-Institute for Crisis Management
Common elements of a crisis?
• Sudden• Demands quick response• Interferes with organization
performance• Uncertainty / stress• Threatens reputation, assets, bottom
line• Escalates in intensity• Scrutiny• Alters organization
Some Types of Crises
• Sudden - Without warning• Smoldering - “goes public”
• 63% Smoldering• 37% Sudden
Why have a CC Plan? 1. To provide a brain for moments when you
might not have one.2. Ensure accurate, timely, consistent
information3. Eliminate and minimize rumors and
misinformation4. Protect your org’s reputation with
stakeholders5. Maintain credible relations with
community, officials, media6. Identify and clarify responsibilities
AHEAD OF TIME throughout the org7. Provide guidance for decision-making.8. Initiate change / preemptive strikes and
reputation insurance
Technology’s roleReputations are made or
lost within the first 24 hours. Now – the first 5
minutes.
Be prepared
• It is possible to list and prepare for those potential negative scenarios
• It is possible to set up a communication system that can be activated in almost any emergency situation.
General principles that can positively affect your actions and communication in a crisis
situation:
Before the crisis, successful communication will depend,
in large part, on the preparations you make long
before the emergency occurs.
Having a system in place will allow you to deal with the situation at hand, and not
waste precious time trying to decide how to communicate.
An effective crisis communication plan puts you in control of what may be a very volatile and confusing
situation.
Elements of CC Plan• Executive summary• Objectives• Target audiences / stakeholders• Crisis team roles and responsibilities• Crisis audit/inventory/research
Crisis Audit• What crisis situations have similar
organizations had in the past year?• What are the prospects for lawsuits,
government investigations?• How long will it be before they get the
problem behind them? • How would we have done if it had
happened to us instead of them? • What can be learned from their
experiences? • Have we made any changes in the way we
do business as a result of what happened to them?
Elements continued
• Appropriate lists• Key messages• Strategies• Drill and rehearsal plan• Drill feedback and
improvements• Evaluation strategies
Tips and Techniques: Crisis Planning and
Management
Before the Crisis
Develop a crisis management team
• Determine in advance a team to deal with crisis communication situations.
• Assign at least one individual to be a crisis communications team leader and have a back up.
• Decide which team members will gather information, notify families of victims, deal with emergency officials, and communicate with volunteers and staff.
• Determine a primary and secondary spokesperson to communicate with the media in crisis situations.
• Give these spokespeople media interview training if possible.
• Appoint people to monitor coverage in specific media outlets.
Organize Your Team
• Designate a crisis communications team • There are many audiences to whom you
will need to simultaneously communicate your company's messages, and time is limited.
• Organize a group of knowledgeable personnel and divide your team by audiences, such as employees, customers, partners and media.
• Consider front line employees for phones, message, etc.
Reputation Management/Community Relations
• Build your reputation within the community.
• A solid reputation can also serve you well in times of crisis.
• The public is more apt to forgive missteps if a company has made an ongoing effort to be a good landlord.
• Communicate with your tenants.
Decide on Spokesperson Strategy
• Comfort level• Skill• Appearance
• Know other Spokespeople• Train and practice
Who would be our spokesperson(s) in a crisis
situation?• Who would be the alternate if they were not available or not appropriate for that kind of crisis situation?
• How good would they be in handling tough questions from reporters?
• How much confidence do we have that they will be credible and convincing?
• How would disclosures be handled at one of our facilities if they had a crisis? Who would be the designated spokesperson?
Other Considerations
• How much information would we give out if we had a crisis?
• Who would decide what to say?
• What would be the approval process? How long would it take?
Develop policies
• Minimize crisis situations• Try to anticipate potential
emergency situations and develop policies to avoid them.
• In many crisis situations you will be asked by the media what policies you have on that particular situation.
• You do not want to be put in the uncomfortable situation of stating that you have no policy.
Identify potential issues
• Conduct Crisis Audit / Inventory
Identify potential crises
• Hold a brainstorming session with key members of the organization to identify those scenarios that might result in unfavorable publicity for your chapter.
Assemble and organize resources
Have up-to-date and accessible information. • current list of crisis team members and
alternates with work and home telephone numbers
• each team member should carry the list• updated media lists• insurance company contacts• lists of emergency services such as fire,
police, hospital and ambulance• a means to communicate with volunteers and
staff (fax lists or a telephone network)• copies of policies for potential crisis
situations.
Coordinate planning with other crisis planners in the
organization
• Every organization should have three crisis plans: • A crisis operations plan• A crisis communication plan• A business recovery plan.
What is our corporate emergency response plan
like? • When was it last updated?• Has it ever been used or
tested to see if it works?• How well does it tie in with
the response plans of our other facilities?
How would we contact our management and
employees so they would hear from us before
learning about it from the news media? • How about our customers,
suppliers and other key audiences?
• How would we do it, and how long would that take?
Have a Plan!
• Make it personal to your organization
• Use as an outline• Goal – minimize damage• Get your staff working
together• Recognize the role of
communication
VIDEO CLIP
BBQ Fire Footage
During the Crisis
Bring the situation under control, if possible. Always
protect people first and property second.
During the crisis
• Focus on the situation• gather accurate information• communicate quickly.
Example:
A careless employee leaves oily rags in the
storeroom/laundry room of an apartment
building. Spontaneous
combustion occurs. Luckily the fire is discovered and
extinguished quickly by one of the building
maintenance men.
Level 1
Can be handled by on-duty personnel
responsible for responding to and managing this kind
of situation.
Level 2
Can be handled by the personnel who
respond, with support from other employees on duty or who may have to
be called in from their homes.
The fire is out but heat and smoke damaged equipment and furniture in the storeroom.
The employees and tenants are upset.
Level 3
Requires additional resources and people beyond the regular personnel. These
managers and employees may be
from other facilities or the Corporate office,
and may be supplemented by
outside vendors or consultants
The fire was not discovered in time and spreads outside the storeroom/laundry room.
The fire department is called and puts out the blaze but it has severely damaged the rooms and four units.
Two TV news stations cover the story and report that the fire was thought to have been caused by a careless employee.
Level 4 The situation is out of control and will impact an extended area and numerous people indefinitely. Business will have to be curtailed or discontinued and employees diverted from their normal duties until it is resolved. Other employees may have to be furloughed, vendors ordered not to make deliveries, etc.
Tenants will need to be relocated.
Note:Local emergency response agencies will be actively
involved. State and federal agencies also may be called in.
•The fire spreads throughout the office building. High winds send cinders into nearby neighborhoods causing additional fires and forcing the evacuation of residents in the area. The fire department calls in all available equipment from the city and surrounding areas to control the numerous fires.
TV stations feed the story to their networks and it is carried on the evening news programs, with the suspected cause of the fire mentioned in the reports.
Do the right thing
• put the public interest ahead of the organization's interest.
• Your first responsibility is to the safety and well being of the people involved.
• Face the public and face the facts.• Never try to minimize a serious problem
or "smooth it over" in the hopes that no one will notice.
• Conversely, don't blow minor incidents out of proportion or allow others to do so.
Communicate quickly and accurately
• Focus attention on the most important aspects of the problem and moves process forward
• Media have an obligation to provide reliable information to their audiences
• They will get that information whether or not you cooperate.
• If you won't comment on the situation, you can be sure someone else will.
Analyze the situation to judge its newsworthiness. Don't
create a crisis by jumping the gun.
Good crisis management calls for
open, honest communication with
various target audiences.
Avoid panic
• control the flow of information.
• establish and maintain your credibility as an information source by communicating openly and honestly.
Part of the challenge and opportunity of the crisis is to show those affected that the organization is using a reasonable, caring process
to resolve the crisis.
• You can show this process best when you are willing to communicate openly.
What kind of information?
• You will need to find answers to some basic questions including: what happened? when did it happen? where did it happen? how many people are involved? where are those people now? how dangerous is the situation? What happens next?
Notify the families of those involved
• Handle with the utmost kindness, sensitivity and discretion - always in person.
• Members of your crisis communication team should be assigned this task.
• Never release the names of dead or injured to the media before informing members of their immediate families.
Keep internal public informed
• Communication with members of the organization.
• The best policy? • release information to people in
the organization before, or at least at the same time, it is released to news media.
Communicate with Media
Communicate with the media
• Release information about the situation as quickly as possible.
• Comments should be of a general nature until all the facts are in, but then it is far better to get the full story out as soon as possible.
Your spokesperson
• should be forthright in dealing with media questions.
• Tough questions: • money estimates of damage• insurance coverage• speculation as to the cause of
the incident• allocation of blame• anything "off the record"
Your spokesperson
• Avoid "no comment" because this answer can imply a lack of cooperation, an attempt to hide something or a lack of concern. There are more appropriate responses when he or she either doesn't have or is not at liberty to give certain information.
Some examples might be:• "We've just learned about the situation and are
trying to get more complete information now.“• "All our efforts are directed at bringing the situation
under control and taking care of our tenants, so I'm not going to speculate on the cause of the incident.“
• "I'm not the authority on that subject. Let me put you in contact with…”
• Keep a log of media calls and return calls as promptly as possible. A log can help you keep track of issues being raised by reporters, and give you a record of which media showed the most interest.
Some Strategies
• Return calls first to radio and television stations, then to newspapers.
• Reporters provide few surprises in a crisis situation.
• They want to get the basic information easily and quickly, usually with some kind of human interest angle.
Print vs. Broadcast Reporters
• Print usually will need and use more information
• Print more interested in basic facts for today's edition and background and implication for tomorrow's edition.
Broadcast journalists, on the other hand, will want less but will be in more of a hurry and
will seek more updates.
More strategies
• Sometimes the media will be on the scene. In other situations you will need to initiate contact.
• This should be done as soon as the basic facts are in hand.
• The initial contact should be followed with a formal statement, including any updated information and plans for what happens next.
Media will expect:
• complete honest information• background material• some indication of how the
you plan to proceed• information about the impact
on your staff and tenants• regular updates and after-the-
crisis follow up
Many times the situation doesn't warrant media
attention.
Gather the facts - who, what, where, when, why, how, what
next.
If necessary, activate your crisis management team. Act quickly; spare no expense to
distribute the information you determine the media and
others should have.
Give the media as much information as possible;
they'll get the information (perhaps inaccurately) from
other sources.
Don't speculate. If you don't know the facts say so and promise to get back to the media as soon as possible.
Then be sure to do so.
Protect the integrity and reputation of the
organization.
Report your own bad news. Don't allow another source to
inform the media first.
Media Policy / Procedures
• Briefing area considerations• Visuals• Ground rules• Control the interview process• Id a logger• Treat equally
On Location Considerations
•No pre-interviews•Don’t show up early or late•Limit time•Repeat questions•Advise when it’s the last question•Have notetakers
•Space - trucks/ppl•Environment
•Incline/ barriers, backdrop
•Safe and central
Post Crisis Debriefing
• Good Interview/Bad Interview • Identify all the WRONGS• Review the RIGHTS
After the Crisis
VIDEO CLIP
Reunited with Rescuers – the long-term impact on
victims
Perform an act of goodwill during or immediately after a crisis when appropriate and
possible.
Follow up
• Make amends to those affected and then do whatever is necessary to restore your organizations reputation in the community.
• Change internal policies or institute new ones to minimize a repeat of the crisis situation.
• Revise your crisis communication plan based on your experience.
After The Crisis
• Declare an end to the crisis• Follow up - Stay in touch with the
community after a crisis, especially with those directly affected.
• Keep the media informed of any updates in the situation, or let them know the crisis has ended
• Review internal policies to try to avoid a repeat of the crisis situation.
Perform an act of goodwill
• Do this during or immediately after a crisis when appropriate and possible.
Have a formal debriefing
• Debrief members of your crisis communication team.
• Analyze the outcome and the media coverage - both positive and negative.
• Revise your crisis communication plan to reflect what you have learned.
Assessing the Severity of a Sudden Crisis
VIDEO CLIP
Archstone Apartment Fires – Victim Impact, Media
Public Information
• Process of informing the public about operations of and actions taken by fire department during emergency.• Media• Speakers• Presentations
Public Education
• Process of changing people’s attitudes and behaviors related to safety• School presentations• Community events• Speakers• News Stories• Public service announcements
Public Relations
• The process of developing positive relationships between the fire department, its members, and the people it serves.• News• Public service announcements• Articles• Presentations (school, public, etc.)• Events• Customer Service (day-to-day)
What is news?
• Whatever the media says it is• Hard News
• effects large number of people• departure from the norm
• Soft News• human interest, feature, changing
social values, social mores
Elements of News
• Conflict• Immediacy• Proximity• Scope/Scale• Oddity• Drama• Emotion• Action
Media wants to tell a story
• What happened?• Anyone hurt or killed?• What’s being done about the
problem?• How large will the problem get?• Who is at fault? What was the
cause?• How will it affect the rest of us?
The 5 W’s + H:
• Who• What• Where• When• Why• How
Things to Remember When Dealing with
the Media
•Always avoid being outwardly hostile
Things to remember...
Things to remember...
•Anything you say can and will be used against you
Things to remember...
•Let the cops do their job at a scene. •You focus on yours!
•Never give your personal opinion
Things to remember...
•Always convey to media that you are trying to help them
Things to remember...
Things to remember...
•Reporters generally don’t write the headlines. •“Grabbers” get attention
•Content of article is reporter’s focus
•Be careful of gestures and body language
Things to remember...
•Avoid the appearance of a cover up
Things to remember...
• Remember chain of command.
Things to remember...
• You Are Always “ON”• Assume all calls
from reporters are taped•Don’t feel
obligated to respond immediately
•Fulfill your commitments
Things to remember...
•Be careful of facial expressions and humor
Things to remember...
•Ask for clarification if you don’t understand the question.
Things to remember...
•Short and sweet. • But avoid Yes/No• Danger in rambling!
Things to remember...
•Be accurate•If you don’t know - say so.
Things to remember...
•Only speak to your own experiences, tasks, what you just did...
Things to remember...
•Don’t volunteer negative information or opinions.
Things to remember...
Things to remember...
•Don’t use phrases or words that will offend anyone.
•Be PC!
•Use analogies, anecdotes, to help people understand.
Things to remember...
•Use visualization.
Things to remember...
•Be aware of surroundings. They want action but not NOISE.
Things to remember...
•No OFF THE RECORD
“An open foe may prove a curse; A pretended friend is worse.”
-Farmers Almanac
Things to remember...
•You have the advantage•You have the information!
Things to remember...
Things to remember...
•No smoking, sunglasses etc.
•No meaningless expressions (etc. so on and so forth)
Things to remember...
•Remember … you’re always on camera/ record when reporters are around.
Things to remember...
•Posture
Things to remember...
•Sincere and enthusiastic
Things to remember...
•Look at interviewer - NOT CAMERA
Things to remember...
•Be careful of off-the-cuff comments. They could become part of a news story.
Things to remember...
•Treat reporters with respect - they’ll usually return the favor.
Things to remember...
•Avoid using jargon / lingo. Use common words that everyone can understand.
Things to remember...
•Don’t be defensive or lose your cool. • You may have the last word at
the interview, but they’ll have the last word in public.
Things to remember...
•If you make a mistake, tell them and then correct it.
Things to remember...
•Don’t be led down the “he said/she said” road.
Things to remember...
•Keep your sense of humor and perspective!
Things to remember...
Role Play Exercise
Questions?
Recommended