Brig Sani Usman Kukasheka (Rtd)

Communication is a key facet of any organisation that requires close engagement by the management staff of any organisation or company. It is equally important that any spokesman who encounters the media during a crisis should be able to handle them effectively without jeopardising the reputation of his organisation or company. According to Steven Fink (2001), most Chief executives often fall victim to a kind of paralysis when a crisis strikes “Executives often bury their heads in the sand and refuse to communicate. But adopting a bunker mentality is always to their own detriment”.

Given the fact that the media is regarded as the watchdog of society and the filter through which the public perceives the world, it is imperative to develop organisation or company media policies and plans before a crisis occurs. This will help in enhancing how not to communicate during crises. To effectively achieve this, every crisis situation requires detailed planning tailored to fit its unique characteristics and time-tested as much as possible. This technique may involve but is not restricted to the following:

a. Have a Company Policy Plan in Place.
There is a need to have a company policy plan in place. This will assist when journalists call any staff of the organisation to ask for information. Employees often don’t know how to handle the calls or where to refer them. They may unknowingly be quoted in the news and provide information that may damage ongoing litigation or investigation. Therefore, organisations or companies must develop and implement a media policy that outlines procedures detailing how to handle requests from the media by referring calls to the proper department or spokesperson.

b. Assign one Spokesperson to Communicate with Journalists.
Companies need strong leadership during a crisis and should rely on public relations counsel to develop written statements, manage media inquiries and train one executive to serve as spokesperson. When speaking with the press, the spokesperson should refer to message points previously written by communications strategy and approved by attorneys and should tread carefully when asked to address issues outside the scope of those key messages.

c. Train Telephone Gatekeepers to Keep Accurate Records.
In order to develop effective strategic communication plans, it is important to keep accurate records of all media calls. Assistants and other telephone gatekeepers should be trained to track such detailed information as a reporter’s name, media outlet, phone, fax, email address, time and date of call, nature of the call, and the reporter’s deadline.

d. Issue News Releases Selectively and Strategically.
When it becomes appropriate to issue a news release, it should outline the facts and convey the message that the company acknowledges the situation. It should state corrective measures, proactive action, and positive steps the company is taking to ensure the situation does not reoccur. Also, a news release should include important information the public may need, such as toll-free numbers and answers to frequently asked questions

e. Be Candid and Responsive to Journalists.
At all times, spokespersons should be responsive to journalists, respect their deadlines, and work closely with them to communicate information that’s important to their readers, listeners, or writers. This means the company spokesperson should be forthcoming about a problem and at the same time outline positive steps the company is taking to address the issue.

f. Never say Anything off the Record.
Journalists may quote sources even when both sides have agreed the conversation is “off the record” especially during sensitive crises. You shouldn’t say anything in the presence of a reporter that you would not want to read in a newspaper or see on social media.

g. Know when to Proactively Initiate Calls to Journalists.
Often calling a journalist can draw more attention to the issues and give the journalist more reason to write about the issue. During a crisis, company spokespersons could proactively contact journalists only to provide critical information that the public must know or to request correction for factual errors.

h. Never say No Comment.
Studies have shown that when executives are quoted as saying “No comment” some members of the public will believe the company is guilty. Instead, the spokesperson should briefly state that they cannot provide information at this time and explain why. The spokesperson might say the company is still obtaining facts, an ongoing investigation hasn’t been finalised or they cannot comment about an ongoing legal issue already in court.