Crisis Communication

Crisis is a unavoidable situation than one can face.The death of a close friend or family member,theft of your expensive car or failure to pass an exam can all account to personal crisis.

Crisis occurs in every organization so an organization needs to be well prepared to counter a crisis situation whenever it occurs.
Crisis can basically take two forms like natural disasters and human induced crisis,which can be further classified into human error,negligence,or even malicious intent.In the last decade or so all most all the crisis the corporate world has seen is human induced.When talking about human induced crisis, the best example which springs to mind is the Enron fiasco.The Enron fiasco also sank its auditor Arthur Andersen into bankruptcy.The reference given below gives a summary of the whole issue and the verdicts which were passed by the lawmakers.
www.cnn.com/money/2006/05/25/news/newsmakers/enron_verdict/index.htm

How does one prepare for a crisis?I guess thats a million dollar question but any way these are few steps which can be followed

1. Asses the Risk for your organization

2. Plan for Crises

3. Determine Effect on Constituencies

4. Set Communication Objectives for Potential Crises

5. Analyze Channel of Choice for Communication

6. Assign a Different Team to Each Crisis

7. Plan for Centralization

8. What to Include in a Formal Plan·

a. A list of whom to notify in am Emergency·

b. An approach to Media Relations·

c. A strategy for Notifying Employees·

d. A location to Serve as Crises Headquarters

9. A Description of the plan.

These companies need to do when there are in middle of crisis are:

• Get the facts right, gather the information and get the situation under control before things go out of control and the company starts loosing its reputation in front of its customers and potential customers.
• Communicate quickly with the media.Try not to say" No comments"
• Understand the media's angle for the story, is it to support the organization or to add misery to the situation.
• Try to have a direct communication channel to address the people who are directly effected by the crisis.
• Continue to focus on the primary business while handling the crisis side by side.

Personal Experience :

The best example that i can think of in the Indian context is the Coke India bounced back from a difficult situation ,where it was accused of having pesticides in its beverages in 2003.Coke India handle this issue well by giving a press conference along with Pepsi about the falsehoods involved in these allegations.Then Coke India opened up its doors to the media and the general public to visit its bottling factories, to have look at the strict quality measures that they were following.Later on Coke India launched a advertisement campaign where the CEO was shown having Coke himself to say that it was perfectly safe to drink one.

Communication Technologies

Communication allows people to exchange thoughts by one of several methods.There basically various ways to communicate like speaking, using non-verbals means such as body language, eye contact and so on.

Communication technologies are something an organization needs to properly handle so there is no loss of data and information between the upper level and the lower levels of management.

Different communication technologies are available in the market which helps an organization to channel information effectively.The most ones are discussed below:

Internet:It has facilitated the fastest way of information transfer by using e-mails, every employee that is on the network gets the notifications and alerts about the all happening within organization.

Blogs are the latest fad where positive and negative impressions can be circulated to a worldwide audience .One of the best blogs circulating on the web is http://www.iphoneblog.com where people discuss about their experience with the new mouth watering Apple iphone.

Print publications:This is also a generally used method as it helps company's to publish there monthly details such as stock, share value and information about the company's holdings.

Cellular phones:Cell phones have been around from the 90's and it is still one of the best ways of communicating one to one.In the every changing technology world cellphones like Blackberry and other windows enabled phone,do a lot more than just talking,it has email capability as well.So i personally feel modern cell phones are a handy tool as far corporate communication is concerned.

Personal Experience:

As far as personal experience is concerned with modern communication technology i am used to using VOIP(Voice over internet protocol) as i was working as a outsourced employee to Earthlink (American ISP) and was providing technical support to American customers.On a personal note i am accustomed of using the free VOIP services provided by Google and yahoo,which makes it so convenient for me to communicate with friends and family who stay all across the globe.
Reference:http://www.volptech-usa.com/catalog/specials.php

Investor Relations

Investor relations is a set of activities performed by a company to communicate its financial position to its stakeholders.Therefore investor relations professionals need to link communication to company's strategy and vision as frequently as possible.So Investor relations plays a key role in increasing shareholder value and even reputation.
The core objectives of investor relations are:

Explain the company's vision, strategy and potential to the investors this is essential because one the constituents have a clear understanding of what a company intends to do is when they start building their relationship with the company.

Ensure the expectations of the company's stock price are appropriate for its earnings prospects, the industry outlook and the economy because the company needs to understand investor concerns and expectations for their organizations and anticipate what the market anticipates from the company.

Reduce stock volatility because its important for the company to maintain a stable stock price and shareholder base. Companies with stable share prices enjoy a lower cost of capital and issue new equity more economically.

The different type of investor that IR target is as follows:

1. Institutional investors
2. Intermediaries
3. Individual investors
4. The media
5. Analysts
6. Rating Agencies

Many companies like IBM, Infosys and Wipro have specially dedicated section for investor relations.

Finally i would like to say that in the changing environment the relationship between the investors and the company does tend to change either due to fall in the stock value or due to reasons such as frauds or corporate scandals, so its vital for the company to maintain a good reputation with its investors and potential investors.
The greatest example of corporate scandals affecting share value is the case of Enron which was forced to bankruptcy after its involvement in a corporate fraud which was world famous.
reference: http://pd.cpim.org/2002/july07/07072002_enron_worldcom.htm

Media relations

One of the most critical areas within any corporate communication function is the media relations department.The growth of business coverage in today’s media has made it increasingly important for companies to have good relationships with the media.

Some of the strategies to have a good and a successful media relations are:

• Involving media relations personnel in the formulation of company vision and strategy.
• Develop in house corporate communication department

• Also make use of externally expertise as and when needed especially for audits.
  

Companies of late have included online forums for media relations , which certainly helps in extending a hand to the media to have a look at the company details ,one good example for this http://www.infosys.com where there is a dedicated section for the media to get intricate details about the way in which infosys operates.

As far personal experience is concerned I was impressed by the way in which Coke India responded to the allegations made by the Indian government and also state governments about the so called 'pesticide cocktail' which was present in its beverage products.Coke came out all guns blazing by proving to public and others about its strict quality measures that they follow in the production of their beverages.They also launched a Advertisement campaign by Aamir khan(Top Bollywood actor) to reinforce its strict quality measures.They also allowed the media and the general public to visits its bottling factories to have a look at the quality processes they were following.I feel this crisis situation was well handled by Coke India.

Corporate Adverstising

By Definition Corporate advertising is a paid use of the media that seeks to benefit the image of the corporation as a whole rather than its products or services . In brief it define corporate advertising as "A company tries really hard so that they can create an image in the minds of the consumers of the company and not pertaining to a particular product.


Here below is a classic example of a corporate advertisement where in Accenture is trying to strengthen its identity.Its constituency are anyone who wants to deal with consulting business.


Corporate advertising falls generally into three basic categories

• Image advertising.
• Financial advertising.
• Issue advocacy.

Image advertising is used by companies to strengthen their identities following a structural change.This kind of advertisement also helps in explaining a companies renewed vision and also strategy to constituents who may know them well in an earlier incarnation.

Financial advertising basically helps in stimulating interest in company's stock among potential investors.

Issue advertisements are meant to be used when the company has to respond to those groups who have challenged the company's status quo.

Corporate Advertisements are generally used to increase sales(may not be immediately),to create a stronger reputation and also to recruit and retain employees.

Internal communication

For having better atmosphere among the employees, the companies must start with better communication strategies to deal with its employees. Internal Communications is no more only about the memos, publications, and broadcast ,it is about building the a corporate culture and having potential to drive organizational change. It has got direct involvement of the key personnel of the companies with their employees.
Internal communications is the best way to assess the effectiveness of a company because here they can determine what is the employee's attitude towards the company.

Some of the methods a management can improve its internal communications are:

Communicate Up and Down

Many large companies are perceived as being faceless ,unfeeling organizations that is only reinforced when no upward communication exists from employees to management.Mass electronic communication can sometimes compound the "facelessness " of management.The best way to counter this problem is to encourage two way communications that will foster a sense of participation that can make even the largest companies feel smaller in the hearts and minds of employees.

Make time for face-to-face Meetings

One means of ensuring that employees have access to senior management is to hold regular, in person meetings with fairly large groups of employees,by conducting such meetings frequently it can be used as an opportunities for management to share company results and progress and to demonstrate responsiveness to prior employee feedback,these meetings also provide opportunity for employees to ask questions of management in an open forum.

Communicate Online

Internet technology ,while extremely powerful ,must be used thoughtfully if it is to enhance communication.Employees are bombarded with information through emails and voice mail,with advent of intranet it is a channel through which companies could reach their employees quickly and broadly on key events and management initiatives.Company intranet should be fast and
should be updated at real time.

Communicate Visually

It is said “Actions speak louder than words” hence the companies should try to communicate to the employees visually also. This can be achieved by the constant use of multimedia presentations, video magazines, copies of DVD's to view at home. The managers should not account for expenditures on such communication as it is not wasteful but rather an investment in the firm.

Focus on Internal Branding

Internal Branding is critical when an organization is undergoing changes such as merger or a change in leadership,it is also important in building morale and creating a workplace where employees are engaged with their jobs.

Internal Branding campaigns also can be launched when results of internal audits reveal that employees are not connecting with company's vision.

Business Luncheon

Its been one year since we are being taking classes in PES college week in week out and by far the luncheon experience was the best.I must thank Dr Linda and Dr Wayne Moore for giving us a opportunity to experience a business like luncheon.

Cohort B went for luncheon on Friday of 27th June,one of the most memorable days in my life to say the least.It was organized on the 5th floor of Celestial heights or should i say the 6th level because the work up to there was like eternity,which i would say is the only thing i did not enjoy.

We were welcomed by a Mixed fruit drink and for starters we had "Malai Kebab" and " Veg Spring Rolls".We were talking to our friends like they were our business associates giving a very professional touch to this pleasant experience,though we guys were feeling a little uneasy but it was a good learning experience.




Dr Wayne and Dr Linda walked passed through the various crowds ensuring we were eating and importantly eating with business etiquette which was the objective of this exercise anyway.Later on we were sent into the main hall where the seating arrangements were made and few of them were accommodated outside with a bird's eye view of the PES campus and its neighborhood.

I sat with a couple of people who i was not friendly with until that day,it was a good experience for me as i tried and succeeded in conversing with them in numerous topics varying from sports to cinema.

I was enthralled in looking and observing the silverware which was neatly setup for the occasion. We started with the soups and it was followed by fish for the non vegetarians . For the main course we were served Chow mien and Fried rice which i started eating in hurry later realized that i had to adhere to business etiquette,so i paced my meal accordingly. We learned vital things such as not to place our elbows on the table and how to place the fork and spoons after we are done with the lunch.

For Deserts we were served a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream with fruit salad which i relished the most,i bet so did the rest of the class.

To sum it all up in a nutshell i would say it was a very useful and a learning experience which i will never forget in years to come. I am sure that all the table manners and etiquette i learned from this day i will apply it on a actual business luncheon whenever it comes by.I would personally like to thank Dr Linda and Dr Wayne Moore one more time for taking the trouble and arranging something like this for all of us.