Public relations is counter-intuitive in the sense that it’s a study of what you’re communicating by choosing not to communicate. We’re not taught to think this way, and to do so seems slightly paranoid.
Here’s a couple of communication principles organizations and senior leaders can put into practice in order to avoid the fallout—the Tiger Woods effect—of not shaping the message before, during and after a crisis. 
1/ Don’t wait for a crisis to be transparent in your messaging– Don’t leave things to chance or fool yourself into thinking that those you manage will be satisfied with your less-than-full disclosure. Even when you have nothing substantive to report, you can be transparent about that, and avoid the guessing game that will invariably take place among your staff and just as invariably result in a less than generous construction/interpretation of your silence. Why be transparent when you have nothing to say? Does that seem counter-intuitive to you? Because it allows the folks in your organization to share in the journey, and share the burden: It establishes trust in your leadership. It’s ok to communicate the half picture, if that’s all you know; the point is to make every effort to keep others in the loop.
2/ Get out in front of the message- Communicate and do it as soon as possible. In some cases it may not always be possible to communicate immediately– say, if you are dealing with some sort of shock or trauma associated with the event at hand. Perhaps in the case of Tiger Woods that was the shock of getting caught. No matter — take the essential time needed to work through the shock or grief, then you or your PR person should jump into the fray and address the situation as honestly and accurately as possible. You don’t want to add scheming and intentional obfuscation to the list of your misdeeds.
3/ Hold a quarterly Town Hall meeting— Dedicated meetings convened with the goal of two-way communication should be held on a quarterly basis regardless of the type of organization you’re in. A simple form can distributed and incorporated into the meeting (not after the meeting) where participants can weigh-in anonymously about what’s going right, what’s going wrong and which corrective actions may be taken. The next meeting date should be scheduled and expectations should be clearly managed–what important milestones will be achieved before the next Town Hall is convened? When something goes wrong it’s too late to communicate. Be open and consensual and communicate purposefully on a quarterly basis or more frequently.
4/ Establish a leadership and/or manager communication plan: I heard one CEO say managers better know how to communicate or they should be fired. Really? Keep your managers updated regularly through two-way communication channels offered by social media. Establish a process to listen to their concerns so they can incorporate your organization’s strategic goals into what they do everyday. Are they concerned only with performance or have you trained managers to partner with those they manage. When managers take the time to explain the value of the employment experience (or volunteering experience for non-profits) they can drive engagement and motivate employees/volunteers in a way that impacts the bottom line. Managers/supervisors are the most important communicators in your organization. Don’t let this channel go to waste. Teach them how to help advance the career goals of employees in addition to bottom-line corporate financial objectives. Aren’t they related anyway? Thoughts?
Photo Credit: Steve Garfield Photostream
