MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS DURING A CRISIS
| Jurisdiction | United States |
(May 2008)
MANAGING COMMUNICATIONS DURING A CRISIS
National Mining Association
Washington, D.C.
Crisis situations have the potential to undermine years of successful operation and can affect a company's financial viability, its license to operate, its legal liability and that of its officers and directors, and relationships with investors, regulatory agencies, employees, the surrounding community and policymakers. Communications during a crisis--both with external audiences and those internal to the company--can dramatically influence how well an operation weathers the crisis storm.
While crisis communications relies on some of the tools of effective day-to-day media and investor relations or employee communications, it is unique in many respects because of its high stakes, its sporadic nature, the intensity and duration of the event, the demand for information from multiple audiences, its emotional and physical toll on all involved, and the high premium placed on sufficient preparation and coordination within the operation's management and advisory structure. The relationship between the communications and legal team is especially important. This paper focuses on how that relationship works in the preparation phase, during a crisis and in its aftermath--albeit from the perspective of a communications professional.
The National Mining Association (NMA) has developed a Media and Community Crisis Communications Template that is available at www.nma.org and can be customized for individual use. This presentation draws upon the template and the author's experience in mining-related and other crisis communications situations. Readers will find additional helpful information in Crisis Management Guidebook, which is published annually by PR News Press and available at www.prnewsonline.com. The guidebook offers basic pointers on crisis communication in various circumstances including litigation communications, risk management, etc., and contains brief articles by crisis communications consultants.
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The Five Stages of Crisis Communications: The Legal and Communications Roles
1. Assessing Vulnerabilities
Years ago, I asked the head of corporate communications what was the most important lesson Exxon had learned from the Exxon Valdez incident. His answer: "Don't have oil spills." At the time, I thought he was not being very forthcoming. In hindsight and with experience, I have better appreciation for his advice. The most important lesson anyone learns from a crisis is the overriding need to prevent the incident in the first instance.
Crises generally are borne of an operation's vulnerabilities. Conversely, an assessment of vulnerable areas, practices and conditions can foster remedial action or extra precautions that head off the crisis-inducing incident. Short of this ideal outcome, a candid assessment can lead to greater preparedness by the crisis management team should something bad happen.
Hence, the first potential tug-of-war between the legal staff and other members of the crisis management team: Is an assessment of vulnerabilities tantamount to an admission of guilt for shoddy practices or violation of laws and regulations? It should not be. NMA's planning template provides a set of worksheets for operations to list whether they have, for example, wastewater or tailings impoundments; whether they store and use explosives or toxic chemicals; whether they use, handle or produce materials of high value. And the list goes on. All of these circumstances have the potential to contribute to a crisis. All are vulnerabilities.
2. Preparation
Preparation is the heart of crisis management. Good preparation reduces mistakes in execution, which reduces risk. Good preparation also reduces stress within the crisis management team during the actual event. This preparation stage includes the following:
• Setting up the crisis management team - At a minimum, the team should include the CEO or senior manager, media and investor relations, legal, operations and expert(s) appropriate to the nature of the crisis, e.g. safety and health, environment, human resources, financial, engineering and geology. This is the core group. Depending on the nature and degree of the crisis, a family assistance coordinator, a VIP coordinator, an IT specialist, security and others will be needed. In multi-day, high-level crises situations, alternates and support for all of these team members will be needed.
• Establishing procedures and protocols - These should be tailored to the operation or company. They should be written down in a crisis
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management manual that is reviewed and updated on a regular basis. The manual should be available in hardcopy and electronic versions. It should cover team members and contact information, how public statements are approved, who...
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