The situation generated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) has highlighted the importance of have cabinets and crisis communication plans in companies, irrespective of their size.
Acting in a logical and structured way is essential to minimise losses. More importantly, ensuring that employees, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders are involved in the process. maintain confidence on the brand.
Cabinets to minimise a crisis
"A crisis cabinet, as the name suggests, is a cabinet that is formed to manage an atypical situation," he explains. Lucía CasanuevaManaging Partner of Proa comunicación. "Its importance is vital, because it allows organising communication effectively.
The main objective of this cabinet is to anticipate to be able to act as quickly and correctly as possible in the event of an emergency. Although, as the communications expert points out, no two cases are ever the same: "Each crisis is a living entity and a lot of common sense must be applied to each specific case, but always with the security that comes from having prepared in advance".
The team: which professionals should form it?
According to Casanueva, a good crisis cabinet should include the managing director or general manager of the company and the representation of Legal Advice, Communication and Human Resources. A small team is recommended. "The fewer people who have to decide, the faster the decision-making process," he explains.
Its organisation depends, to a large extent, on the company size. Many SMEs, for example, do not have in-house legal counsel, but hired lawyers. The same is true for communications teams, which are often outsourced to external firms.
In many cases, and especially when there are no specialised professionals on staff, the most advisable thing to do is to outsource these services. "Above all, to ensure effectiveness. In the end, when you find yourself in a crisis, you want to solve it as quickly as possible and minimise the negative impact," says Casanueva.
"Specialised firms have a methodology and steps to follow. When we manage a company's crisis, we go hand in hand with the lawyer, the general manager or CEO (or owner, as the case may be) and the head of human resources," he explains.
How to develop a contingency plan
Once assembled, the team should work to anticipate potential problems and scenarios and, in turn, focus on preventing them. One of the first steps is to find the right place and working environment for the committee. According to María Jesús Merino Poyo in her doctoral thesis 'Communication and crisis: a strategic plan'It should be a comfortable, isolated, secure space, with communication tools and access to all the information that may be needed.
Secondly, it must analyse its situation. Each company must anticipate and anticipate what kind of problems you might face depending on its activity. A factory does not have the same potential problems as a service company, for example.
Once this has been done, it is time to create a crisis communication manual and a roadmap with steps to follow on which to base actions. Typically, companies produce manuals detailing plans of action in different scenarios. "It is a management approach; then you have to approach the different cases. An ERTE is not the same as a health crisis. Or a situation in which there are deaths," Casanueva explains.
Central to this action plan is pay attention to communication. The message to be sent should be calm and as informative as possible. Although the strategy varies depending on whether you are targeting employees, suppliers or customers. Or even to other audiences, such as authorities or trade unions. The message should be adapted to the audience and the channel through which it is delivered, but it should be the same.
For this reason, communication documents are drawn up with a focus on the various stakeholders. "There is no standard, but there are formats for addressing different audiences with which any company is in contact", explains the communication expert.
During the crisis
In the event of a crisis, the cabinet must be able to come together and act as quickly as possible. Therefore, as Merino points out, the company's manual should specify the contact details of all the members of the cabinet, as well as a database of all possible interested and/or affected parties.
Once the emergency meeting has been held, it is time to analyse the situation and evaluate the possible scenarios and their consequences. "And, based on these, determine the type of crisis the company is facing," explains Merino. With this information, the communication plan is activated in order to to convey the company's official position to different audiences.
For the duration of the problem, the team should monitor the situation as constantly as possible and meet several times to assess the situation. Sometimes, internal or external changes make it necessary to rethinking strategies or modify them completely.
It's not too late: how to act in the current situation
The COVID-19 crisis has affected millions of companies in many sectors. The vast majority, if not all of them, are faced with a totally new and exceptional situation. Many of them, without a contingency plan to adapt to this crisis.
"To these companies I would recommend that they get on with it and focus their crisis plan. You are on time"explains Casanueva. Dealing with the situation in a structured way is highly recommended for corporations of all sizes, as well as for the self-employed. "If they don't have the means to develop the plan internally, there are suppliers who can take care of"he points out.
Failure to do so entails clear risks, such as focusing the crisis incorrectly, taking too long to react, or communicating without empathising with customers. This can lead to significant economic losses and reduce confidence stakeholders, starting with the employees themselves.
The current situation also involves uncertainty and the fact that it is impossible to predict when this crisis will end and what its consequences will be. "What we need in this situation is to feel supported. Society is afraid and communication is essential," explains Casanueva. "Now more than ever, what we need to do is communicate.. With the team, with suppliers, with customers. It's time to get down to work. in a position to help".
The communication expert believes that the situation, although difficult, can also lead some companies to become stronger. At least in terms of their organisational and communication skills. "There will be some difficult months, but I believe that the Spanish fabric is strong and will recover relatively quickly. This could be a time for reflection and planningso that when the next crisis comes, we will be optimally prepared.
This interview was conducted by Tania Alonso for the blog Estar donde estés of Banco Sabadell. You can access through this link.
Lucía Casanueva
Managing Partner of Proa Comunicación