Most businesses face a crisis at some point. It’s usually when they’re least expected. Having a good crisis communications plan can make the difference between success and disaster. Your employees, your reputation, and your bottom line will thank you.

Can you remember when KFC ran out of chicken? They held their hands up and were quick to deliver a cheeky apology. It was well received, and it made all the difference to how the brand was perceived. It may have even increased sales in the long run.

Rupert Younger, a PR expert and director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, thinks they did “fantastic job” with their response. “It speaks to a business that understand that mistakes were made, and they’re prepared to have fun at their own expense. They have been open and transparent and incredibly authentic with their apology”, he said. “I think they’re going to have more people wanting to go to KFC than less … as a result of this.”

Proving they were ready for action in the heart of a crisis, he added “It was particularly honourable that KFC didn’t make a point of running DHL through the wringer for the distribution problems”.

KFC responded in a cool, calm and collected way. Being prepared for this moment meant they could focus their efforts on their response. How would your business cope in a crisis?

When we’re building a crisis communications plan with our clients, there’s a few golden rules we follow…

1. Be prepared – always have your crisis communications plan to the ready
You need a plan. But not for every hiccup or bump in the road. We start by thinking of every conceivable crisis your business could face, then we categorise them. Check out Project Manager’s risk register template which you can download for free. It’s a great way to focus the mind.  Once categorised, we work together to plan your response. The response needs to be clear and concise. The crucial first hours of any incident should not be spent wading through pages of documents to work out what you’re meant to be doing!

2. Be clear on roles and responsibilities
You’ve got your step-by-step plan nailed. Now you need to make it super clear who is responsible for sign off on each action. How do people know they need to act? Who is the understudy if that person is unavailable? Don’t let the plan fail because someone didn’t know it was their turn.

3. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
The easiest way to find any gaps in your plan is to practise it. Ideally at short notice so it feels real. Have a full run through so everyone knows their role and their cues. This is the time to ask yourself all the key questions. What if the internet goes down? What if your key site is closed? What if your CEO is out of action? How will you communicate with employees if your usual methods are unavailable?

4. Speed is key
The initial moments of any crisis are stressful. “There’s a very natural human tendency in a crisis to panic and want to hide, to protect oneself,” says Alastair Clay of Arc Seven and Class:PR. But this is something we know business leaders cannot afford to do. “It’s rarely the crisis itself that destroys the reputation of a business – it’s the way that issue is handled,” he adds.

In the absence of information, we’re wired to fill the gap with negative emotions. So, we recommend you issue a short statement as quickly and as calmly as possible. It should define and isolate the problem, reiterate the facts and echo your company’s key messages – now is not the time to be going off-piste. Be honest and tell people when you will let them know more. This holding statement will buy you crucial time…

5. But don’t jump to it until you’ve checked your facts!
But whatever you do, make sure that statement is accurate. As Alastair reiterates: “There’s no point being the first to tweet or to know how to write a press release in world record time, if what you’re saying isn’t accurate. You could end up doing way more harm than good. If inaccurate information finds its way online, issued by your business, it can be very hard to set the record straight. So, get your facts right first in a crisis and then… Be fast. Be very fast.”

6. Employees first
Any good crisis communications plan will make it clear that you always communicate with employees first and the public second. You owe it to them to hear it first-hand. After all, they will probably be involved in fixing the problem and minimising damage to your reputation.

Then it’s vital you keep employees updated with regular, honest communications on the issue.

During a crisis, most leaders need to communicate to staff far more often than they think is necessary,” states the Harvard Business Review. “Frequent communication reduces fear and uncertainty and ensures that employees have heard the message. While leaders may experience fatigue from repeating core messages, they need to realise team members need to hear these messages multiple times. Different people may need to hear messages in different ways and through different channels.

“Leaders need to remember to find the bright spots and highlight them. They similarly can offset bad news by reminding people of times when they faced challenges in the past and the organisation came out on top (e.g., during the dot.com bust in the early 2000s or the 2008 financial crisis).”

7. Maintain a two-way dialogue
This is not a time to rely on broadcast messages. Ensure there’s a two-way dialogue with employees so you can take a temperature check and minimise any rumours. There’s lots of way to achieve this – from a live FAQ portal to simply getting your leaders to walk the floor. There’s never been a better time for visibility, and this is where you can genuinely make a difference to employee engagement. Imagine if you came out of a crisis with higher employee engagement.

8. Get the feedback
Finally, like all good communication plans, make sure you’ve built continuous improvement into your crisis communications plan. This could be the (spare) key to coming out of a crisis with a positive impact on your brand.

If you would like to chat about crisis communications planning, drop me a line at sam.docking@44communications.co.uk.