Having a Crisis Management plan is a bit like an insurance policy, we all hope that we never have to use it but, as our training delegates tell us, you feel safer with it. Examples of its relevance are displayed on a daily basis. In this short blog Media First’s Sharon Francis explores the recent events surrounding the Liberal Democrats and finds that they may have missed a page in the Crisis Management rule book.
It was all going so well. After weeks of campaigning the Liberal Democrats had been quietly confident that they would win the Eastleigh by-election. But oh dear, with only 3 days to go it’s all going a bit pear shaped. Allegations abound as to whether Lord Rennard, the party’s former Chief Executive behaved inappropriately to certain female colleagues within the party. Now you would think at this point the well-oiled party political machine would swing into action and we would see how it really should be done when you find your organisation is having a bad day. But there was a perfect example of how not to do it when yesterday two of the most senior figures within the Lib Dems made completely contradictory statements about the situation. First of all, Nick Clegg said that he thought it was “a show trial of innuendo, half truths and slurs”. Then, quite soon after, the party president,Tim Farron, is quoted as saying “we screwed up as a party”. If the situation was bad it just got a whole lot worse!
Conflicting messages at the beginning of a crisis means that you instantly add oxygen to the media bonfire. You are then immediately at a disadvantage as you attempt to get off the back foot. One of the key rules when managing a crisis is to get all the information out in the open as quickly as possible. Don’t wait and hope it will all go away or, even worse, deny that the situation has even happened. Journalists abhor a vacuum and if you’re not filling it with an explanation then they will. Remember when you do come out and face the media it is critical that everyone is ‘singing from the same hymn sheet‘, that they stick to that message and don’t shift position. Your spokespeople have to be fully briefed and understand the importance of working as a team rather than as individuals. If the reputation of the organisation is at stake, now is not the time to ‘suck it and see’. If a crisis is badly handled it’s often HOW the crisis is managed that attracts all the media attention and not WHAT the issue was about in the first place.
At Media First we not only work with our clients on crisis training but we also work with them beforehand to look at and develop their crisis communications strategy. With all the knowledge our trainers have on how the media react to a breaking story, they can help you to put together a water tight crisis strategy that ensures you have a detailed plan that covers all the bases. Making sure all your senior colleagues know what the plan of action should be, and what they should be prepared for, as well as how to handle intense media attention, is essential to being able to manage the situation effectively. By having this two pronged approach we can work with you to make sure that every area is covered and then test the strategy with a real life scenario in a safe training environment.
Looking incompetent on national radio or television is the stuff of nightmares. But if you contradict, or have to shift your position in the full glare of the media spotlight, then the consequences can be painful. So, without frightening the horses too much, I would suggest gently making your key spokespeople aware of this particular cock up. Then they might be a bit more willing to agree to that crisis training after all!