Crisis communication

The audio recording came to an abrupt end. We sat in stunned silence, not know what to think or what to say.

We had just listened to a 90 minute recounting of the communications following the accidental death of a teenager on a YMCA hiking trip in Yosemite. We were speechless because each one of us, all YMCA professional program directors, knew that a similar incident could happen on our watch, on any of our trips, in any of our facilities.

The trip leader, a colleague and mentor to us all, had had the foresight to bring along a portable tape recorder on which he chronicled all the communications that occurred over the 48 hours after the incident ... all the conversations with adult volunteer leaders, park officials, media representatives, the YMCA volunteer leadership back in the Bay Area, the Y’s board president and the family of the deceased teenager.

All of these necessary communications were critical in responding to this crisis in a transparent, responsible, and sensitive manner.

Here are some thoughts about how your organization can communicate effectively when a crisis occurs.

First, expect the unexpected. Negative things happen: Food poisoning at an organizational event, a drowning at a swimming pool or lake, financial mismanagement by a staff member, a youth seriously injured (or worse) on a field trip, loss of major funding which support a program needed in the community, inappropriate behavior of a staff member — you can surely add to the list. All the things that cause you worry and turn your hair gray.

Second, start what I call “necessary conversations” with members of the board and executive staff leadership team. The first conversation is to anticipate incidents. Identify the emergencies and controversies that could affect your organization. Think about the agency’s greatest vulnerabilities. What are the questions from the media that we would least like to face?

In cases related to safety, review those situations where accidents can occur. Make sure there are safety policies and guidelines in place that can prevent incidences. Make sure your staff and key volunteers understand and implement these safety procedures. This is about “Risk Management 101,” having in place preventive measures and procedures that minimize risk and ensure the safety of your members and participants.

Controversies pose a different set of challenges and questions. Usually controversies are about personnel and/or finances. While true accidents can be understood and often forgiven, controversies, on the other hand, play out over days, weeks and months, damaging the organization’s reputation and brand.

I experienced this when working for United Way in the 1990s when the CEO of the national office, United Way of America, was tried and convicted of the misappropriation of funds. While that incident had absolutely nothing to do with local United Ways (which are independent 501(c)3 organizations), the credibility of all United Ways was damaged and felt for years.

The next “necessary conversation” is about the organization’s response to an emergency or controversy.

RUSS HAYWARD

“BoardSource,” a leading publication on nonprofit issues, suggests five questions to be addressed in developing a crisis communication plan.

1. Who is responsible for managing the crisis, and what are his or her duties?

2. Where should the command center be for responding to the crisis? What resources will be needed?

3. Who should be a part of the crisis control and response team? And what are its responsibilities?

4. What information is appropriate to give to the public?

5. Who will speak for the organization?

Potential members of this team include the agency’s human resource manager, the financial officer and a legal representative. Certainly the organization’s CEO and board president also need to be members of the team.

The crisis communications plan should clearly define the role of the board and staff to avoid confusion. The highest priority here is to identify a single spokesperson and to make sure that others understand that their role is to deflect all questions and concerns to that designated person. The plan should also provide essential policy statements.

For instance in the case of a financial controversy, this means a copy of the financial policies of the agency; for a personnel issue, the personnel policy.

Another good idea is to have a FAQ (frequently asked questions) statement that can clearly provide basic information about the organization to the media. The plan should also include the logistics for convening an emergency board meeting in which to conduct a “closeddoor” executive session on the matter at hand.

Crisis communication planning is simply a threestep process. The first step is the hypothetical planning to prepare for the unexpected and unwanted incident. You can’t wish them away. You just need to anticipate. My advice is to review the communications plan with the board of directors on an annual basis to “keep it real” and ensure their understanding.

The second step is to revisit the plan when a crisis does occur in order to review any earlier assumptions against what has happened. And the crisis does not have to be yours. If another organization experiences an accident or controversy, review and learn from it. Ask yourselves questions about what your organization would do if it experienced anything similar.

And third, if your agency does experience its own incident, evaluate the plan “postcrisis” to determine how it might need address issues in the future.

And lastly, in the words of Sgt. Esterhaus on “Hill Street Blues,” one of my alltime favorite TV shows, “Be careful out there.”