At some point in the business life cycle you may well have to face a crisis situation.
It could be the necessity to recall a product. It may be having to front to clients and advise a staff member has been caught defrauding the business.
It could be presenting to media after a natural disaster that impacts your service delivery and general business.
Whatever the situation, how it is handled will say a lot about you as a leader, business owner and how you communicate concern for staff and clients.
During, and after, a crisis there are right and wrong ways to communicate to staff, customers, with authorities and to the media.
We’ve compiled a list of some of our resources that can assist. As with any disaster preparation the key is having a plan well before the event happens.
‘What Will You Say When Disaster Strikes?’, Bierck, R. (2002). Harvard Management Communication Letter, 5(5), p. 1. Available through Business Source Premier and requires login.
Discusses the importance of a crisis communication plan. Identification of risk areas; Formation of a crisis communications team; Appointment of spokespeople for different types of crises
‘What We’ve Learned About Communicating with Employees in an Emergency’, Carmichael, S.G. (2013) Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, pp. 2–5. Available through Business Source Premier and requires login.
The author conveys her thoughts on the lessons learned about communicating with employees in an emergency situation such as the Boston Marathon bombing in Boston, Massachusetts in April 2013.
Crisis Communication : Prepare for crisis communication
Every organization needs to plan how to communicate internally and externally in the event of a crisis. In this course, business communication expert Laura Bergells walks you through the process of preparing your organization to communicate with employees, customers, suppliers, media, and the public at large. She’ll cover identifying audiences, assembling a crisis response team, crafting an initial statement, and evaluating your response once the crisis has passed.
Available through Linkedin Learning. Requires login
Managing in Difficult Times : Leading effectively through difficult times
Tough times separate great leaders from the rest. What do leaders do to manage effectively in difficult times? It’s as much about what they do to prepare as it is about how they react. Jan Rutherford introduces important tools for keeping you and your team focused, inspired, and effective during times of change or crisis. Learn how to build self-awareness, achieve clarity and focus, keep innovating despite volatility, and develop a committed team that is resilient in the face of change. He also shares innovative strategies to cut costs, and reframe challenges as opportunities for your team.
Available through Linkedin Learning. Requires login
Crisis Communication for HR
When a crisis occurs, it’s critical for businesses to communicate with employees and share one strong, unifying message. HR plays a pivotal role—before, during, and after the crisis. In this course, HR consultant Catherine Mattice Zundel and APR specialist David Oates explain how to create a communication plan so you’re prepared when disaster strikes, share tips for communicating and coordinating work during an active crisis, and discuss how to follow up after the immediate danger is over. Follow along and learn how to keep your employees safe, ensure your culture remains intact, prepare for remote work and task reassignments, and provide necessary training and resources to keep your organization moving forward during challenging times.
Available through Linkedin Learning. Requires login
Crisis communications : the definitive guide to managing the message / Fink, Steven
“There are few guarantees in business today. Unfortunately, one of them is the inevitability of a crisis having a potentially major effect on your business and your reputation. When your company finds itself in the midst of a crisis, the ripple effects can disrupt lives and business for the foreseeable future if public opinion is not properly shaped and managed. Skillfully managing the perception of the crisis determines the difference between a company’s life or death. Because in the pitched battle between perception and reality, perception always wins. Fortunately, there is a solution. Crisis communications and crisis management legend Steven Fink gives you everything you need to prepare for the inevitable–whether it’s in the form of human error, industrial accidents, criminal behavior, or natural disasters. In this ground-breaking guide, Fink provides a complete toolkit for ensuring smooth communications and lasting business success through any crisis. Crisis Communications offers proactive and preventive methods for pre-empting potential crises. The book reveals proven strategies for recognizing and averting damaging crisis communications issues before it’s too late. The book also offers ways to deal with mainstream and social media, use them to your advantage, and neutralize and turn around a hostile media environment. (Adapted from Catalogue)
Crisis communication strategies : how to prepare in advance, respond effectively and recover in full / Coleman, Amanda
“Crisis communication is high stakes work. For communications managers and PR professionals, it’s likely to be the most stressful time of their working life. Crisis Communication Strategies is a must-have handbook for laying the groundwork before a crisis hits, meaning that when the inevitable day comes, the company already has policies and procedures in place to leap into meaningful action without delay. Crisis Communication Strategies is unique in the way it equips readers to deal with any kind of crisis – whether caused by internal error, customer action, natural disasters, terrorism or political upheaval. Moving chronologically, the book opens by looking at the skills, policies and procedures that should be set up in advance, during times of normal business operations. It then moves on to look at how those procedures can be activated when a crisis occurs and during the immediate response. Finally, it delivers strategies for true long-term recovery for both the company itself and, where necessary, the wider community. Packed with actionable tips, checklists and global case studies, Crisis Communication Strategies is the essential guide to protecting your company and building true, long-term resilience”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)
Unprecedented leadership : learning to lead in turbulent times / Colley, John L.
“If we’ve learnt anything this decade, it’s that paramount to being a good leader is the ability to lead and manage through a crisis. The best leaders will be able to look directly into the heart of the storm and re-imagine their organizations to ultimately foster new growth. Taking a step-by-step approach, this book guides readers in identifying the severity and potential implications of a crisis situation tackling core topics such as: *Crisis leadership · *Decision making · *Ethical responsibility · *Change management initiatives · *Communication · * Leadership development · *Coaching
Grounded in cutting-edge theory and combined with engaging, real world case studies and practical exercises, this is an indispensable guide for MBA and Executive students. In fact, this book is ideal reading for anyone who is looking to develop their leadership skills in the most pragmatic and progressive ways. ” (Catalogue)
Crisis leadership : how to lead in times of crisis, threat and uncertainty / Johnson, Tim
“Crisis Leadership explores the challenges leaders can face at each stage of a crisis “lifecycle” and offers operational guidance in crisis management at both a personal and organisational level.” (Catalogue)
Masters of disaster : the ten commandments of damage control / Lehane, Christopher
“Whether you’re a politician caught with his pants down, a publicly traded company accused of accounting improprieties, a family-owned restaurant with a lousy Yelp review or just the guy in the corner cubicle who inadvertently pushed “reply all,” a crisis doesn’t have to be the make-or-break moment of your career. For those of us that aren’t natural spin doctors, it’s hard to resist the impulse to cover your tracks, lie, or act like nothing happened. But resist you must. Full of both lively personal anecdotes and hard-knuckled straight talk, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to emerge with their reputation intact.” (Catalogue)
The devil never sleeps : learning to live in an age of disasters / Kayyem, Juliette N.
“An urgent, transformative guide to dealing with disasters from one of today’s foremost thinkers in crisis management.”The future may still be unpredictable, but nowadays, disasters are not. We live in a time of constant, consistent catastrophe, where things more often go wrong than they go right. So why do we still fumble when disaster hits? Why are we always one step behind? In The Devil Never Sleeps, Juliette Kayyem lays the groundwork for a new approach to dealing with disasters. Presenting the basic themes of crisis management, Kayyem amends the principles we rely on far too easily. Instead, she offers us a new framework to anticipate the “devil’s” inevitable return, highlighting the leadership deficiencies we need to overcome and the forward thinking we need to harness. It’s no longer about preventing a disaster from occurring, but learning how to use the tools at our disposal to minimize the consequences when it does. Filled with personal anecdotes and real-life examples from natural disasters like the California wildfires to man-made ones like the Boeing 737 MAX crisis, The Devil Never Sleeps is a guide for governments, businesses, and individuals alike on how to alter our thinking so that we can develop effective strategies in the face of perpetual catastrophe”–Dust jacket flap” (Catalogue)
The happy healthy leader : achieve your potential even during a crisis / Ireland, Margie
“Imagine waking up every day knowing that no matter what is thrown your way, you have the confidence and skills to sail through any high seas and bad weather, and bring your crew with you. The Happy, Healthy Leader is a guide for leaders who wish to achieve their full potential. It provides a wide range of tools and techniques based on the author’s personal experiences in leadership transformation and her extensive research into what impacts the wellbeing of senior and executive leaders.” (Catalogue)
A question of leadership : leading organizational change in times of crisis / Leslie, Keith
“A fascinating guide to effective leadership in times of crises with a psychological underpinning.” (Catalogue)
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