No organization is immune to communication crises, whether it is a private or public entity, for-profit or nonprofit.

They can erupt from the inside of the organization—through poor morale and internal conflict—or the outside, a result of accident, fraud or scandal.  

Organizations increase the likelihood of landing in an unwanted media spotlight in hundreds of ways, such as: skimping on safety measures; ignoring customer complaints; suspending or postponing maintenance of facilities or equipment; becoming lax about accounting checks and balances, regular audits and so on. This article, however, focuses on ten communication gaffes that have the potential to exacerbate a crisis and bruise an organization’s reputation.

1. Neglect to plan ahead for crises typical to your industry.

 Even the best-run organizations are subject to accidents and employee errors or negligence. Being able to withstand the impact of a media crisis starts long before an incident occurs and requires working through potential scenarios common to your industry and planning who will respond and how.

2. Blindside employees with news of a major company change.

 Telling the media the corporate news before bringing employees up to speed about a change that affects their jobs is a sure way to create internal turmoil and perhaps unwanted media attention. The organization runs the risk of generating public backlash from employees, which could impact reputation, sales and perhaps even business survival.

3. Lose sight of an issue’s potential impact on the surrounding community.

Myopic focus on one or two target audiences, to the exclusion of others that seem less significant, is a media crisis in the making. Even though a company may do all of its business outside the community in which it is based, its actions still have an impact within the neighborhood or region where its facilities happen to be. Overlooking communication to the surrounding community may foster mistrust, misperceptions and long-term conflict, depending on the company’s operations and issues.  

4. Keep the board of directors in the dark about major issues that impact the organization.

Arrogantly assuming that a board requires only minimal information in order to maintain confidence in the CEO’s or management’s leadership is risky. Many organizations face crises of their own making when the board loses confidence in its executives for no other reason than that they failed to communicate effectively. Turnover at the top tends to weaken the organization’s reputation, encourage employee flight and diminish community support.

5. Fail to train all employees on their role should a crisis occur.

Executives who have been groomed to respond to a crisis situation may believe the organization is prepared. Some incidents occur, however, when the trained executives are unavailable and a well-meaning, lower level employee decides to speak to the media of his or her own accord.  Employees on the scene of an unfolding story sometimes find a reporter’s request for a comment or interview irresistible, and unwittingly misrepresent the company or mislead the community as a result. 

6. Assume the story will go away if you ignore the media calls.

 A surprising number of otherwise savvy executives naively assume the media will take “no comment” for an answer. Some have been astonished when the media go hunting and find former employees, uninformed bystanders or people with an axe to grind, to fill in the gaps of a story the company was unwilling to address.  Even situations that have legal ramifications need a media response. Attempting to turn the media away actually tends to encourage more attention, which can sometimes be more damaging than the lawsuit the company was hoping to avoid through its silence.  

7. Miss the opportunity to tell your side of the story.

 Organizations that fear going public on difficult issues or correcting erroneous information need to carefully consider the potential confusion and loss of confidence their mute response will create. Although a media response often comes with risks, when well crafted and carefully developed it can serve to improve the organization’s standing among the community and its stakeholders. 

8. Overlook the importance of keeping employees well informed during a crisis.

 Employees are too often at the bottom of the communication list when crisis strikes, especially if they don’t seem to be directly impacted. Disregarding such a critical audience can create unnecessary conflict, at a time when the organization needs the support of its strongest community ambassadors.

9. Rely solely on the media to get the message out.

 When immersed in crisis, some organizations forget there are more direct and effective ways to communicate with crucial target audiences than feeding the media. Giving key stakeholders the facts on an incident or issue takes more time and effort than putting out a news release, but it can help counterbalance negative publicity and protect the organization’s reputation over the long term.

10. Ignore the chance to learn from the incident.

 Organizations that survive communication crises should recognize the opportunity for growth.  Taking time to review the sequence of events and practice hindsight can be instructive at every level of the operation.  

The majority of communication crises are preventable, if organizations take the time to plan, identify vulnerabilities and address them before an issue reaches a crisis stage. If it does, communication should never be left to chance, as it is much too easy to trip and fall when the media glare suddenly turns in your organization’s direction. 

		Barbara Lezotte, APR, is president and senior counselor of Lezotte Miller Public Relations Inc., providing crisis communication counsel to corporations, associations and nonprofit organizations since 1995.