Have you ever experienced poorly handled communications relating to a pivotal change or a crisis in your place of work?
Major things happen or go wrong in every business. What separates the companies that recover well from those that don’t is how quickly and clearly they explain what’s happened, who it affects and what comes next.
Not every crisis arrives out of the blue, either. Sometimes it starts as a routine business change that was communicated badly (remember Elon Musk taking over Twitter, before it became X?). That’s why this article covers both: how to handle change so it never becomes a crisis and how to respond when a genuine one hits.
The difference between change and a crisis
Change means having control over a business decision. If employees aren’t kept in the loop, then for them, it can feel like a catastrophe. Mishandling the communication around a change can create a crisis of your own making. When things reach the crisis stage, it’s something that usually suddenly happens and so there’s significantly less control.
The importance of communication during a change or crisis
Communication matters during times of change or crisis because it’s about more than delivering a message. Good communication creates space and calm for people during a moment of uncertainty and guides them with clarity and care. You’ll be able to better manage their reaction and turn it into something that you want. If you get it right, you’ll build and protect trust, lessen fear and align teams with what to expect next.
The risk of staying silent during a crisis
Staying silent during a crisis doesn’t make the problem disappear; it’ll amplify it because people might think you’re hiding. Whether it’s employees or the media, they’ll make their own (often negative) assumptions. They’ll control the narrative instead and so their story turns into the perceived truth, which could jeopardise your long-term reputation and cause internal morale and productivity to plummet.
How to prepare for a PR crisis
When there’s a PR crisis, communication is an absolute necessity. But what should you say? And when? You don’t want to be asking these questions when the proverbial hits the fan. Instead, you should prepare, prepare and then prepare some more.
Here are a few different ways you can do so:
- Plan beforehand
Have we said the word ‘prepare’ enough yet?! If you don’t know what type of crisis you might face, you can actually still prepare by performing a SWOT analysis way ahead of time (this can be part of crisis communications training). Pre-empting potential scenarios will also be vital. For example, what would you do if you were hit by financial issues? How would you manage a restructure, leadership team exit or even something criminal? If you’re a tech company, what happens if a product fails or there’s a data breach? All this information should be in a crisis communications plan. Speaking of…
- Put together a crisis communications plan
This includes having a list of key contacts, spokespeople and decision makers, so there’s no question mark over who to speak to or where responsibilities lie. Pre-approved holding statements and templates are handy for a swift response and you should know who your priority audiences are. Values and tone of voice should be set in stone, so if you do need to quickly put something together this will be straightforward. Plus, delays will be minimal, which will be helped further by a clear chain for sign off.
- Provide that first response
With your plan in hand, you should have all you need to react. But we don’t actually recommend rushing to speak. The only thing you should be rushing is understanding the situation. Gather insight into what exactly happened, who it affected, the timeline and what remains uncertain. Make sure your insights are accurate and then you can make a call on how to respond in a timely manner.
- If you don’t know, admit it
Unsure of all the facts? Risking staying silent isn’t an option. Like we said before, you’ll be letting someone else tell your story. Prioritise your audiences, with internal at the very top of that list. Acknowledge that you don’t currently have all the information but emphasise the commitment to ongoing investigation, learning and keeping everyone updated. Ensure with each communication you consider what you want the audience to know and do (if anything), as well as how you want them to feel. Don’t forget to be human in your messaging. No jargon. No spin. And take responsibility, if required. Being defensive won’t go down well.
- Stay calm with pushy people
Some stakeholders may want updates when you don’t have them. Just like controlling the narrative, you can control how you show up. Be composed and ensure your communications remain consistent. You can’t share anything previously not agreed or speculate in any way. While tempting to hastily fill silences, this could seriously damage reputation. It’s better to use holding lines, for example: “We’re gathering all the facts at present.”
- Keep tabs on who’s saying what
You’ll want to be fully aware of what’s going on. Sticking to your communications plan will help with this, though it’s also advisable to assign a team or individual as central communications who can track everything. A shared live tracker is a great idea, allowing all to see what’s been said, to who, and when. Make sure to monitor public sentiment in real time. Lastly, don’t forget to document it all!
- Move on… in the correct way
Pretending something didn’t happen won’t do your business any favours. The end of a PR crisis is a great reputation opportunity: you can own the story and show people that you’re on the other side. Perform a full debrief to learn what went right and where there were opportunities to improve. Then put out a wrap-up message to everyone involved that recognises the journey and shows appreciation. You can also celebrate progress, share what’s next and re-energise your vision. Don’t forget to update your communications plan after… and take what you’ve learnt forward!
Examples of PR crises
PR crisis failure: Better.com
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg made 900 roles redundant over a three-minute Zoom call in 2021. This is not a good example of putting employees first, and nor was how he communicated it. Garg used threatening and unempathetic language. Unsurprisingly, recordings of this call went online… and then the whole world knew.
Rather than respond to what had happened, Better.com stayed silent, allowing employees to shape the narrative. Amongst them were senior marketing and communications staff. Although they weren’t affected, these team members actually quit following the Zoom call, specifically mentioning that Garg wouldn’t take their advice, which partly explains the lack of response.
No fault accepted, no acknowledgement. 11 days following the Zoom incident, Better.com finally updated their website media section. It wasn’t a press release, but a copy of an apology letter to remaining staff centred on the company (rather than employees). People viewed Garg’s apology as disingenuous (again, unsurprisingly).
PR crisis success: Airbnb
Better.com could have taken some notes from Airbnb. They made 1,900 redundancies that year, but CEO Brian Chesky left the situation being dubbed “respectful” and “empathetic”.
Chesky made it clear that it was the roles that were redundant, not the people, as well as the reasons why. He also outlined precisely why the possibility of layouts stayed private until that moment, stating “transparency of only partial information can make matters worse.” His message compassionately acknowledged how the situation would have a negative effect on their lives too.
On top of this, Airbnb gave those affected support with their future career; they had access to an alumni placement team and could keep their devices. This was obviously not a great situation, but Chesky came out as the good guy.
PR crisis success: Astromoner
Before their CEO and chief people officer went viral for embracing at a Coldplay concert, Astromoner was an unknown tech startup. They could have tried to retreat away from the spotlight following the embarrassing slip up, but instead, they turned it into an opportunity.
The company released a short clip with their temporary spokesperson being none other than famous actress and Chris Martin’s ex-wife, Gwyneth Paltrow. She answered apparently common questions they’d been asked in the days prior, such as “How is your social media team holding up?”, with tongue-in-cheek answers that shared promotional information. It helped to create genuine brand awareness around what Astromoner actually did, meaning people would remember them for more than just the scandal.
Looking to say the right thing?
If you want to follow in Airbnb’s or Astronomer’s footsteps, then crisis communications management is essential. And we’re here to help you with this, along with crisis communication management PR training if you need it.
We’ll help you mitigate reputational harm and protect your brand. Speak to our team today.
By Kirsty Jarvis
Kirsty, our CEO and founder, has spent the past two decades in PR and marketing roles, resulting in a wealth of experience leveraging the power of media and creating impactful campaigns for hundreds of startups and well-known brands.
