6 Tips To Effectively Manage Workplace Crisis Communication

Although it is easy to prepare for some crisis such as a mass layoff, it is difficult to anticipate some scenarios. You can, however, prepare how well to communicate about the crisis to your internal as well as external stakeholders. The moment you begin training the internal team, check what to communicate before, during, and after the crisis. Your crisis communication plan must include stakeholders, employees, employee family members, competitors, customers, and other news mediums.

Many times, companies consider taking professional help in the form of crisis communication service. They frame the strategy and plan, providing the information to the stakeholders at every stage of the plan.

Consider the following tips for handling crisis situations appropriately in the workplace 

Prepare employees: The people working in the organisation not only get affected by the crisis, but they are also the employees responsible for picking up the pieces. One of the reports suggests that employees react to crisis in different ways – frustrated, insecure, betrayed, and panicked. Due to such a scenario, employees tend to lose motivation, leave the organisation, and need more information. Before the crisis occurs, make sure the employees are aware of the terms and conditions of the company.

Form crisis communication team: Form a team of senior executives and make sure to include public relation and legal experts in it. If you are a small organisation and do not have in-house experts, you can choose to work with an agency or hire consultants who provide crisis communication service. Regardless of the size of the company, have a crisis communication team in place.

Train the team: While every employee is expected to know the terms and conditions, the top leaders and communicators should know how to respond. One of the effective ways to prepare for a crisis is by learning from others. You do so by creating case studies based on recent events. Your crisis management team could play the card of, ‘what if it was us?’ You should also train the potential spokesperson. They need to know what and how to communicate with the press and how to maintain decorum in the organisation during the tough times.

Develop the plan: Use all the channels of communication and determine how you can use all the channels in the best possible way. These could be the company or departmental meetings, intranet, emails, or a combination of all.

Balance of accuracy and efficiency: Owing to interconnectivity, customers, employees, competitors, and media, stories get published instantly before your internal team is ready and regardless of whether these stories are accurate. At the time of crisis, it is essential to respond promptly, but accuracy is equally crucial. Do not publish incorrect information only because you want to be at the top.

Be honest and follow-through: If you are unaware of the truth and the organisation is not ready to respond with a detailed message, communicate the same. Inform the stakeholders that the company is forming a formal response. Spokespeople should weigh the legal counsel’s recommendations along with the nature of the crisis.

Make sure to remember these tips while framing your crisis communication plan.