Part 2 of 2: Pre-planning and preparation for a crisis: Building “holding” statements before the crisis; using them during a crisis
By Dr. L. Darryl Armstrong APR CCMC CAMT
www.ldarrylarmstrong.com
1.888.340.2006
In the last article I explained the importance of pre-planning for a crisis. For many years, prior to understanding the value of pre-planning, advance preparation and practicing for a crisis, I worked as many crisis managers trying to put out the “proverbial forest fire and forgetting to manage the forest itself.”
In this part two of the article, I will explain the importance of pre-planning, writing and getting approved “holding statements” and their value in working with the media.
Accurate, meaningful responses must be thought about as soon as the issue appears to be evolving into a crisis. When you first hear that your organization has had a data breach, a lawsuit filed, pending layoffs being discussed, an act of fraud or executive misbehavior, a government investigation or customer complaint the time to act is upon you. It is at this stage that you can prepare a “holding” or “standby” statement.
Such statements help relieve the tension and angst associated with a crisis and place you into at least a modicum of control. The all-important first story must be acknowledged by your organization quickly before it goes “viral.” This “standby or holding” statement is simply a tactic that places you and the organization into a state of being ready to act, respond and to be used immediately when needed.
Think of these statements, which are always prepared in advance, as “insurance policies” that provide your executives time to be thoughtful and reflective from that 10,000-foot level. Your initiative to “think forward” as a crisis manager will earn the respect of your management and maintain your integrity as a crisis manager with the media.
How do you prepare a “standby or holding” statement
Think of yourself as a reporter, as many of us were before going into our current professions, and understand what a reporter needs are. The process of a reporter’s questioning goes like this:
What has happened?
When did you know it had happened?
Who is responsible?
Where did it occur?
How will you resolve the situation?
Why did you choose this course of action?
Here are some examples
You may recognize many of these examples. Some of them I have used as a professional, others are shared here and are the work of Joan Gladstone, a colleague and an accredited public relations professional.
Injury or death – immediate crisis
An accident on Lake Barkley injures one and results in the death of another person. The media will appear on the scene and will want details. A preliminary investigation and notification of next of kin is essential prior to the release of detailed information. This is the holding statement used for that event.
”We are extremely sorry to hear of this tragic accident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and those involved. It is our current understanding that there has been one injury and a possible death related to the collision of two fishing boats on Lake Barkley. The event occurred at 2:50 p.m. this afternoon. Personnel from the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Kentucky Water Patrol are on the scene along with the Lyon County Rescue Squad and Emergency Medical Service personnel. Specific details of what occurred are not known at this time. Names of those involved are being withheld until next of kin can be notified. An active investigation is underway. We plan to hold a media briefing at 5 p.m. this afternoon at the Ranger’s Headquarters at 1101 Route 31 in the Corps of Engineers office.”
Fast food – foreign object – evolving crisis of several weeks
A customer claims she found a foreign object in her food at a fast food restaurant and files a lawsuit. This is the statement Ms. Gladstone prepared.
“We take our customer complaints very seriously and immediately began an investigation. We retained an independent investigator on Saturday the 4th when we first learned of this incident. This investigator has concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing by an employee. We contacted Miss Jenny Jones and her attorney numerous times of the past six weeks to request the foreign object be sent to an independent laboratory for testing. Seven weeks later, the foreign object was provided to the independent laboratory and tested. Because Miss Jones had taken the foreign object with her we could not establish if it was the same object that was delivered to the lab. The independent investigator has thoroughly reviewed all the security videos from the day of the alleged event and all the claims of Miss Jones. We don’t believe the lawsuit has any merit and we intend to vigorously fight this allegation.”
Environmental accident at an industrial site – an issue that can develop into a crisis due to public records
A large environmental contractor discovered a leak of a chemical from an underground tank and reports it to the regulating government agency. Such notifications are public records and readily accessible to the media and the general public as well as activists. This is a holding statement that was prepared to respond to any media inquiries.
“Safety of the public, our neighbors and our employees is the cornerstone of our environmental values. Following confirmation of the accidental release of diesel fuel from an underground tank at our ABC Facility in JohnMade, NY, we have been working around the clock to clean up the accident. We have in cooperation with US-EPA and the state regulators carefully monitored for any water and air quality issues and we have all agreed that impact has resulted. Soil contaminated with the diesel fuel has been dug up and moved to a licensed hazardous landfill in SharePoint, NY. The underground storage tank is currently being drained and removed. We will continue to cooperate with the federal and state regulators in this cleanup project.”
“Mom and Pop” flower shop water main break – immediate crisis
A local well-known florist shop operated by Mr. and Mrs. Smith experiences a break in a water main that floods their shop two weeks before the local high school prom. This is a holding statement prepared for their use.
“Sometime last evening after we closed our shop, a water main leading from 5th Avenue into our building apparently burst due to a surge in water pressure, we have been told by the City officials. Our shop was flooded by the surge of water. We have crews currently working to clean up the shop and we understand the City is currently replacing the water main. We have removed all the orders from the shop that was to be delivered today and we want to reassure our customers deliveries of their flowers will be made on time today. There was no damage to any of these orders. We recognize and appreciate that the Smith Florist has been a provider of flowers for the annual Gilbert Grape High School prom for many years. We anticipate being back in service by the end of this week to continue and support our loyal customers at this special time of the year. We thank everyone for their calls and prayers and the assistance that the crew from Overnight Repairs and the City has given us in correcting this issue.”
Labor strike – potential public protest by union
A unionized local special delivery company is planning for a protest in conjunction with a potential strike of workers at the company. This holding statement reinforces the company’s belief that the proposed labor agreement was fair and reassures customers there will be no impact on service, says Ms. Gladstone.
“We are disappointed to learn that our union employees did not accept out five-year agreement and allegedly are planning to go on strike. We have today activated our crisis response plan that will ensure continued, uninterrupted service to all our customers in Dandy City. Our proposal offers a fair, a generous and a competitive compensation and benefits package in line with waqes, retirement and health plan benefits recently accepted by the union at five other local special delivery companies. We hope that the union workers reconsider the benefits and merits of this proposal and will end their strike soon. Customers that have any questions should visit our website at www.specialdelivery2#.com or call us at 1.888.555.5555.”
Four tips in developing “holding statements
We suggest there are four tips that will make the development of preapproved holding statements easier and quicker to write.
- Collaborate with your legal team. Many public relations people, and many lawyers cringe when they realize they must collaborate – co-labor – with each other prior to, during and after a crisis. Lawyers invariably counsel not to say anything and, of course, crisis managers must say something; better the reason to develop a collaborative working relationship in the planning stages. When the situation involves a lawsuit, by or against your organization gather all the materials available and read, study and analyze it thoroughly just as if you were a reporter planning a story. Once that lawsuit is filed in court, it becomes a public record and the media will seek it out. Read the materials and begin the anticipation of the “toughest” questions a reporter could ask you.
- Develop one statement that can be used for many different audiences. The initial standby or holding statement is particularly useful for the immediate media inquiry; however, recognize that with minor adaptations it can also be used as:
- YouTube message delivered by an executive or the chief organizational spokesperson
- Management team talking points
- Facebook posts
- Tweets
- Customer responses
- Website posting
- Stakeholder letters and emails
- Develop a list of the “toughest” and “most frequently asked” questions you can anticipate and then work with the legal team and your executives and management to develop simple sound bite answers. Start with the ten most important questions that a reporter or a customer could ask you. Expand that to the really “tough” questions, those which your management and executive team would rather not be asked. Keep your answers short, factual and neutral in tone. The most frequently asked questions and the answers can be posted to your Facebook and website. The “toughest” questions are for your internal use only. The “tough” questions demonstrate to your management that you are preparing them for the “worst” case scenario and you are cognizant of that need.
- When public or employee health and safety; or injury or death is involved always start your holding statement demonstrating in words and behavior appropriate empathy. A sincere empathy statement conveys understanding sympathy, condolences or an apology.
As Ms. Gladstone so rightly says, “What people long remember long after the fact is whether your organization’s heart was in the right place.”
END
Sources: www.ldarrylarmstrong.com and www.gladstonepr.com; The Strategist, Summer 2012
Dr. L. Darryl Armstrong is a crisis and emergency communications and management consultant. He can be reached at drdarryl@aol.com or 1.888.340.2006. Dr. Armstrong is available for speaking engagements and conducts training workshops. Visit his website at www.ldarrylarmstrong.com where you can find even more free resources including the FREE white paper The 11 Steps in Crisis Communications.