Issues and crisis management plans are often developed within a company’s communications department—sometimes in tandem with the legal department or the general counsel’s office, but in my experience, this is not as commonplace as you would expect. While communications teams typically recognize the importance of developing a response strategy for potential issues and crisis, many organizations do not prioritize this over other priorities that seem more timely or important to an organization’s bottom line. So, why aren’t they more proactive? Because most leaders are not thinking about the implications of external issues on their organization, don’t see the value in preparing for something that might not happen, and/or think issues can be handled on the fly or assume that it is someone else’s responsibility. This type of thinking can leave the organization exposed to:
- Uncertainty among decision makers about whether to respond to an issue
- Pressure from the loudest voices to engage
- Issuing a statement that is watered down, does not have a distinct point of view or does not reflect the views of the entire organization
- Missing the window to respond in a timely manner
- Creating a public divide among key constituents
- Unwanted media attention
By nature (or based on a previous and/or negative experience) communicators like to have a plan in place that provides a roadmap for activation and allows them to be nimble when faced with an external issue or crisis that needs to be addressed quickly and publicly.
When it comes to addressing an external issue (specifically a national or global crisis) having clear guardrails in place not only makes it easier to execute quickly, but also provides rationale to defend the course of action to important stakeholders such as leadership, members/staff and the board. Established criteria makes it clear whether the organization should or should not respond, and also provides some cover for an individual or department with any unhappy or disappointed constituencies who do not agree with the approach.
One of the easiest ways to avoid disappointment or disagreement when it comes to commenting on external issues is to engage the leadership and those with a vested interest in your organization before any issue surfaces. If possible, you should:
- Include them in the development of the issue response workflow
- Make sure they understand how it works and what their role is in its execution
- Socialize it within your organization and among your key stakeholders, so everyone is aware of the process, what it entails, who the decision makers are, and most importantly—what to expect when it’s activated
- Review the process on a biannual basis to refresh (or educate) the team and update, as necessary
- Remind all stakeholders of the process the minute an issue hits, so they are aware it has been activated, and the issue is being addressed in a thoughtful and expedient manner
- Conduct an after-action review once the issue has been addressed to assess the process, the results and any follow-up or adjustments needed as a result
Every organization is different when it comes to determining who should be part of the workflow, but it is often led by a senior member of the communications team in conjunction with someone from Legal or the Office of the CEO. In addition to the team leader who is accountable for the execution and success of the process, it’s important to have an organizer or someone who supports the team leader be responsible for the administrative side of things, as external issues tend to move quickly and organization and responsiveness are critical to success. Additional members to consider come from Human Resources, the Board of Directors, DEI leadership, Government Relations, Alliance Development and leaders of ex-U.S. Offices or critical business units, to name a few. There is no set number, but I have found keeping it to around 7-10 for a large organization and 6-8 for a smaller one seems to be the ideal mix to ensure critical components of the organization/business are included and you have the ability to mobilize quickly, align on an approach, and be nimble throughout the process.
Not sure what to do first or who to engage from your organization? Or do you have a process in place that needs to be updated and would benefit from a fresh set of eyes with experience? We can help. We love nothing more than partnering with a team to develop an approach that will work for their organization—including assembling the right team, creating an easy-to-follow workflow, socializing the process so everyone understands how it works and sees the value, running through real-life scenarios to test the workflow, and serving as a sounding board throughout development, implementation and after-action review.
Ready to engage or have a question? Send me an email at jen.young@curastrategies.com. I look forward to connecting.
In case you missed it, this is the final installment of my blog series on Issues Management in Today’s World. Be sure to check out my other two posts: Part 1: Navigating Crises Beyond Your Business and Part 2: Three Steps to Establishing a Workflow.
Jen Young
Senior Vice President
CURA Strategies
