Sometime ago, I found myself at the receiving end of two phone calls from two separate acquaintances simultaneously with ‘emergencies’ that needed urgent attention. If you are in our practice, you will know this is not strange. It happens all too often.

Both emergencies were image/reputation crises which needed to be addressed with speed, professionalism, and a measure of tact. Of course, the emergencies weren’t about them as individuals but people they report to. Ultimately, how they handled the matters would have ramifications for them as well.

We got to work and did what was possible to be done and the angles that couldn’t be covered, or that had gone beyond the scope of remediation, were left to run their course.

What struck me about both cases however was that the amount of work that had to be done, the loose ends that had run away beyond our reach and the tensions and emotions that ran amok during the hours the crises lasted …all of these were avoidable if some level of proactive communication was better appreciated across the organizations concerned.

The truth? Effective communication needs to be (1) researched, (2) planned and (3) evaluated. There is so much that makes communication effective that is lost when these three elements are not accorded their rightful place.

Deploying communication, constantly, only reactively is poor use of one of the most potent organizational management tools in existence.

Communication is not only to be used as part of reactive crisis management, most times involving issuing press releases to explain, clarify, set straight or debunk, or to kill stories in the media. It is also not just about managing the emotions of riled up stakeholders, consumers, communities or even the workforce.

Firefighting should not be our perpetual assignment. We can’t escape fires but if we are always being called on to slide down fire poles and fight fires then it means we are doing something wrong about preventing fires in the first place. If we are constantly fighting fires a time will come when several small fires will merge to form a large conflagration than our resources can contain.
For organizations and brands therefore, I will suggest are review of current practices and see if they align with the following:

1. Management recognition: Management at the highest level needs to recognize the role of communicators and keep them as first-line counsel. They are key to management strategy. When you keep your communicators at the tactical level, you cripple yourself.

2. Everything an organization does is communication. Ditto for everything it doesn’t do, by the way. You will need your communications team to constantly have visibility into every facet of your organization and guide all functions on how best to communicate internally and externally that can improve results. In some cases, this might be as basic as conducting regular trainings, in others, it can include providing support in creating and disseminating communication.

3. Carry the comms people along always. The ability to spot issues which can snowball into crises should be encouraged across all functions. This is because crises can emanate from anywhere. Spotting issues and threats early, and looping comms in, can help the organization gain valuable reaction time. It can keep you ahead of the narrative when the crises break.

4. Prepare for the inevitable. A popular saying goes, “the more we sweat in times of peace, the less we bleed in war”. Conducting regular crisis simulations exercises and scenarios help organizations and brands respond more effectively to crises. Identifying all the critical stakeholders for different types of crises, prepping them, ensuring all stakeholders are familiar with their roles and the entire organization comprehends how to align behind crises response plans can ensure that you come out on top every time. There will always be a crisis but how well you prepare can ensure that crises always work for you.

“the more we sweat in times of peace, the less we bleed in war”.

5. Invest in the comms team. To guide the organization or brand into communicating effectively, the comms team should be populated by the right talent. If they are not ‘it’ yet, invest in them. Train them. Equip them. Provide them with competent external support because most times, it is practically impossible to have the full complement of communication skills you will need for every situation within the internal team. Do this and the organization or brand will be the best for it.

These are by no means exhaustive in helping us be more proactive than reactive, but I certain they are a good starting point.