CRISIS COMMUNICATION AND MANAGEMENT

1. CRISIS COMMUNICATIONAND MANAGEMENT PAPER PRESENTED AT THE MEDIA WORKSHOP 19TH -21ST NOVEMBER 2012 AT MOMBASA CONTINENTAL RESORT AND SPA BY DR. MJOMBA MAJALIA COMMUNICATION CONSULTANT & TRAINER

2. INTRODUCTION In any organization—It’s always highly likely that some kind of crisis is going to hit. No organization should be without a Crisis Communication Plan (CCP). CCP includes: • A list of whom to notify in an emergency • An approach to Media Relations • A strategy for notifying employees • A location to serve as crisis headquarters • A description of the Plan

3. RESULTS OF A CRISIS Fearn-Banks (2007): • Business is ruined; it runs out of business, it is sued and the CEO is charged. • Organization exists but has lost some image, respect and financial position. • Wins, in a hard fought battle, and it is seen as favorably as before or perhaps more A crisis in an organization, real or pending, means its reputation is on the line.

4. COMMUNICATION PROCESS A B Communication is transactional 1. Share Meaning 2. Create Understanding 3. Develop Relationship A B

5. COMMUNICATION MODEL MESSAGE RECEIVER SENDER Key Skills for Better Communication • A Large Repertoire of Skills • Ability to Perform Skillfully • Empathy/Perspective Taking

6. COMMUNICATION SKILLS (I) The Art of Listening:an active process that involves paying close attention to, and making sense of what we hear. • Use their eyes as well as their ears—to decode a speaker’s nonverbal and verbal cues. • Listen for main ideas—lntroductions, transitions, and conclusions to alert you to the main points. • Watch for the speaker’s nonverbal cues—body language is an excellent source of information.

7. COMMUNICATION SKILLS (II) Negotiation & Conflict Management: Before a crisis there is always an embedded conflict which must be managed. As a good leader and communicator to be able to: • Recognize the causes and nature of conflict • Effectively negotiate and resolve conflicts without damaging relationships • Mediate conflicts and bring them to a successful resolution • Remove many of the barriers that prevent conflict from being resolved effectively • Recognize the different positions that parties within a conflict may take and the positive and negative effects of these positions

8. CRISIS COMMUNICATION • Issue: a concern about an organization decision that may involve a point of conflict. For example privatization of the port, employees demand for higher pay or change of employment terms etc. • Crisis: requires not just decisive but also immediate action (Cornelissen, 2008). For example a workers strike or oil spill in KPA or petrol leakage at KPLC etc.

9. DEVELOPMENT OF A CRISIS Development of an Issue intoa Crisis Graph 1. Latent 2. Active 3. Intense 4. Crises

10. STAGES OF A CRISIS Fearn-Banks (2007); FIVE STAGES: • Detection • Prevention/Preparation • Containment • Recovery • Learning Phase

11. PRO-ACTIVE COMMUNICATION Employees must learn: • What positive performance is and how it will benefit the organization and the employees. • What the job priorities are. • Positive Performance should be rewarded. Employees perform well when their work is recognized and rewarded. • Poor performance must be punished. • Help employees to cope with personal problems. Management should be able to recognize the symptoms of a personal crisis. ( e.g. drug abuse, living beyond one’s means etc.)

12. MANAGING THE CRISIS The media is always looking for a good story with victims, villains and visuals (Argenti, 2009), and a crisis has all these sensational elements. • Never say, “No comment!” to the public—appears to be an admission of hiding information or even guilt. • Do not assume that the crisis story will go away. The media can do their stories without you. • The media can also use computer files and call up long-forgotten problems and mistakes and in a few seconds. The people thus hear the negative story.

13. WORKING WITH THE MEDIA MEDIA KPA The spirit of cooperation must be established. In a crisis, • We know and here’s’ all the information • We don’t know everything at this time. Here’s what we know. We’ll find out more and let you know • We have no idea, but we’ll find out and tell you. Give the media access to the material they need, background information, statistics, photographs and spokespersons.

14. WHAT THE MEDIA WANTS • What happened? • Were there any deaths or injuries? • What is the extent of the damage? • Is there a danger of future injuries or damage? • Why did it happen? • Who or what was responsible? • What is being done about it? • When will it be over? • Were there any warning signs of the problems?

15. MEDIA INTERVIEW Dos • Do listen to the whole question before answering • Do use everyday language • Be courteous • Do understand the reporter’s job. Respect deadlines and return phone calls promptly. • Do try to treat a reporter as a partner, an ally in maintaining or restoring the company’s good image. – hence this conference’s theme: “ partnering with the media….” • Do tell the truth – misleading or omitted facts are also forms of lying. • Do use your crisis communication plan • Do keep employees informed about the crisis. They may be volunteer good ambassadors.

16. MEDIA INTERVIEW Key Don’ts • Do not guess or speculate. Either you know or you don’t. • Do not stick to a story if it has changed, just to be consistent. • Do not be trapped in predicting the future

17. CONCLUSION Crisis communication is a predictive—make correct assumptions and determine appropriate course of action within a very short period of time. • Research, polling of the audiences, which includes crafting thorough and compelling statements, known as “key messages” is crucial to effective handling of a crisis. • Proactive media outreach to get the message and context to the media and identify and recruit third party allies who can attest to KPA’s side of the story is a must. • Finally, striking first not to be hit is key to effective handling of crisis at KPA.