How to Handle Crisis Communication the Right Way

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been under a lot of scrutiny lately as news that he took performance-enhancing substances was leaked to the public. In an interview with ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Rodriguez admitted to taking “banned substances” and expressed his regret and apologies for lying to his fans. However, the damage has been done and as local and national media and bloggers continue to speculate about his drug use, his team of PR experts and agents are working to resolve this crisis.

According to a recent PRWeek article, Rodriguez is currently working with several PR and communications specialists to manage this situation. Outside Eyes, a Newport Beach, CA-based agency has been brought onboard to handle the crisis communications.

So what can we all learn from A-Rod’s mistake? Whether you’re a celebrity, athlete, Fortune 1,000 company or startup, crisis communications plans are crucial. The Institute for Crisis Management (ICM), a crisis management consultancy, groups crises that businesses encounter into four broad categories.

1. Acts of God (storms, earthquakes, volcanic action, etc.)
2. Mechanical problems (ruptured pipes, metal fatigue, etc.)
3. Human errors (the wrong valve was opened, miscommunication about what to do, etc.)
4. Management decision or indecisions (the problem is not serious, nobody will find out)

The key to successfully handling a crisis is to prepare for it before it happens. If handled correctly damage to the company or person can be minimized. However, if handled improperly a minor crisis can quickly turn into a devastating event and ruin your company’s reputation.

In order to develop a comprehensive and successful crisis communication plan, consider the following:

Organize a crisis communication team. The team should include key stakeholders such as the company CEO, public relations representatives, vice presidents and team managers. The team will need to identify what steps to take when a crisis occurs and how to alert key audiences such as board members, stockholders, employees, news media, etc.
Be as transparent as possible. Don’t lie about the situation – that’ll only make it worse. Be upfront and reinforce your commitment to solving the issue at hand.
Don’t ignore the situation. Ignoring the situation won’t make it go away. In fact, it may cause a snowball effect and issues that could have been resolved before they happened may threaten the integrity of the company and hinder efforts to solve the crisis.
Learn from the crisis. We’re all human and mistakes are going to happen. But if you or your company makes the same mistake more than once, the public and key stakeholders may not be as willing to forgive you the second time around. Learn from the crisis and put measures into place to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

If you’d like to learn more about how to develop a crisis communications plan, contact us at info@communiquepr.com