Crisis Communications — OCCMA Conference

Crisis communications presentation delivered to the May 2019 Oregon City/County Management Association Conference.

Transcript

1. CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS Kelli Matthews University of Oregon | Verve Northwest Communications
2. WHAT WE’LL COVER ‣ WHAT IS A CRISIS? ‣ WHAT ARE THE STAGES OF CRISIS? ‣ HOW CAN AN ORGANIZATION BE CRISIS READY? ‣ WHAT IS EFFECTIVE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS?
3. WHAT’S A CRISIS? “… a significant business disruption which stimulates extensive news media coverage. The resulting public scrutiny will affect the organization’s normal operations and also could have a political, legal, financial and governmental impact on its business.” 
 -- Institute for Crisis Management
4. TYPES OF CRISES CREEPING CRISES SLOW-BURN CRISES SUDDEN CRISES
5. Most of what we call natural disasters (tornadoes, droughts, hurricanes) are indeed natural, though human contributions may increase their likelihood or intensity. But they aren’t disasters—they’re hazards. If a hurricane slams into land where no one lives, it isn’t a disaster; it’s weather. A disaster is when a natural hazard meets a human population. And often, that intersection is far from natural.
6. HURRICANE KATRINA
7. HURRICANE HARVEY
8. PARADISE, CALIFORNIA
9. TEXT STAGES OF CRISIS ▸ Pre-Crisis/Planning ▸ Crisis ▸ Continuing Crisis ▸ Post-crisis
10. PRE-CRISIS ▸ Crisis Forecasting ▸ Vulnerability Audit ▸ Crisis Planning ▸ Media Training
11. CRISIS FORECASTING ACTIVITY WHAT KIND OF “WORST CASE SCENARIO” SHOULD (OR DOES) YOUR ORGANIZATION PLAN FOR?
12. VULNERABILITY AUDITS Confidential interviews of people at all levels of the organization. Looking for: potentially harmful trends, significant inconsistencies between answers, nonverbal cues, consensus of opinion regarding certain types of crises. Allows you to anticipate actual crisis scenarios.
13. GET COMMITMENTS
14. DENIAL AIN’T JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT… ▸ Outright denial ▸ Minimization ▸ Idealization ▸ Power ▸ Projection ▸ Intellectualization ▸ Compartmentalization
15. BUILD A CRISIS TEAM. MAKE SURE THEY’RE PREPARED, TRAINED & EMPOWERED
16. THE 8 PEOPLE YOU NEED ON YOUR CRISIS TEAM Local Government Manager Emergency Manager/ Director Comms Director Director of Information Services Public Health Manager/ Director Director of Public Works Fire & Police Chiefs Planning Director
18. YOUR CRISIS TEAM: INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE Incident commander Incident containment Victim assistance Family Assistance Employee Assistance Communications Recommends level of response Dispatches to the incident site Liaise with officials onsite at hospitals, etc. Contacts WFF and Chaplains Assess state of employees and ensure info needs are met Provide comm. advice & counsel Activates/directs CMT Coordinates with other chiefs Confirms emergency contacts and next of kin Coordinates with law enforcement for next of kin notification Issues pre- authorized statement assuring support Activates pre- authorized statement Develops & adjusts ops strategy Relays info to IC Coordinates arrangements for return of deceased or injured Assigns family liaisons Briefs employees within two hours Coordinates with chiefs to gather info; prep statements Ensures coordination “On the ground” lead Coordinates with support organizations. Assign one family liaison to each for assistance Coordinates on- site counseling or other support Preps spokespeople for interviews CMT: crisis management team. IC: Incident Commander. InCon: Incident Command. WFF= Wildland Firefighter Foundation. CCofA: Corporate Chaplains of America
19. A WORD ABOUT ELECTED OFFICIALS ▸ Provide training about their role, the manager’s role, the overall structure of incident command center. ▸ Develop a system to keep councilors and commissioners informed.
20. IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS, KEY MESSAGES & METHODS OF DELIVERY “No matter how much you plan, the unexpected is going to happen. You plan so that you can manage the unexpected. There’s not going to be a blueprint for it.” Harold Dominguez, City Manager, Longmont, Colorado
21. PREPARE MATERIALS AHEAD OF TIME
22. IDENTIFY A SEQUENCE FOR INFO SHARING
23. IDENTIFY & TRAIN SPOKESPEOPLE
24. PRACTICE!
25. STAGE 2: ACUTE CRISIS CONTAINMENT INVOLVEMENT OF REGULATORS INVESTIGATION CONFIRMATION
26. NOT EVERYTHING IS A CRISIS. AND NOT EVERY CRISIS NEEDS THE SAME RESPONSE.
27. Staff Responds Staff Responds with Manager Guidance Manager Gets Involved Directly Create Content (Media, Social, Web) if Necessary. Provide Subsequent Monitoring. Manager Responds. Executive Team Notified. Create Content, Provide Subsequent Monitoring Executive Team Responds. Frequent Communication Through all Channels. Heavy Monitoring
28. ISSUE VS. CRISES 1. Choice 2. Certainty 3. Urgency 4. Cost 5. Continuity 6. Outcomes
30. VALIDATED ACCEPTED WISDOM ACKNOWLEDGE FIGHT FIRE WITH WATER BE GENUINE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
31. ACKNOWLEDGE A K A , S T E A L I N G T H U N D E R
32. TELL IT FIRST. TELL IT FAST. TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
33. TELL IT FIRST, TELL IT FAST AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT! ! What happened ! How do you feel about it ! What are you doing about it ! Guidance to media
34. BE GENUINE. BE COMPASSIONATE. BE SORRY.
35. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.
36. ABOVE ALL, BE GENUINE. BE HUMAN.
37. HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTE TO A CRISIS? ▸Wind ▸Fuel ▸Direction
38. WHAT ROLE, SOCIAL MEDIA? ▸ Disseminate Information ▸ Relieve media queries (via phone) ▸ Thought leadership ▸ Humanize & personalize ▸ Provide company’s point of view ▸ Create outlet for advocacy 
 (if appropriate)
39. THE REALITY OF CRISES TODAY ▸ Erupt with unprecedented speed ▸ People have an insatiable thirst for news ▸ Anyone can break news ▸ Porous boundaries between social & mainstream media
40. CONTINUING CRISIS ▸ Chronic Stage ▸ Ongoing Management “The immediate crisis moment may last twenty-four hours and then you’ve got a period of four to five days cleaning up. Once that emotion dies down, you can lose sight that this thing is here to stay for months if not a couple of years. You must remind the organization that this is a long-term event and that we cannot let up; we have to remain focused.” Dan Paranick, City Manager, Ventura, California
41. POST-CRISIS RESOLUTION STAGE RETURNING TO NORMAL ASSESSMENT PREVENTATIVE PLANNING
42. “THIS IS EASY TO SAY AND CHANCES ARE IF, GOD FORBID, YOU ARE FACED WITH THE SAME TYPE OF CHALLENGE, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ADVICE. YOU MUST FIND A WAY TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF…” Tim Gleason, City Administrator, Gleason, Illinois TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF & YOUR EMPLOYEES
43. QUESTIONS? KELLI MATTHEWS KELLI@VERVENORTHWEST.COM @KMATTHEW (TWITTER)