Important Aspects of Crisis Communication - Report Example

Crisis Communication Crisis communication A crisis cannot be anticipated neither is any organization immune from crisis as all organizations are vulnerable. It is therefore important for organizations to be well prepared and equipped if a crisis occurs in order to control the information and the perspectives formed by members of the public and the community at large. The only way to control the spill over in case of the occurrence of a crisis is to control the information and have a head start in what information gets out to the public domain. Disseminating the correct information to the people and keeping the people informed on what needs to be done and is the only way to ensure the public does not form its own perception and ideas in to what is the cause and the effects of the crisis. There have been revolution in the social media and the internet in recent years the form of communication is also important because it will ensure the right sort of information is accessible to the right people and in a timely manner. This paper will therefore look at the ways of communication in case of a crisis looking at which organizations should be contacted, the most effective communication process, the challenges and the advantages of crisis communication, how the media helps in crisis management and what is the appropriate technology to disseminate the information given the technological advancements. This paper uses a scenario of crisis communication by the director of a Regional Emergency Management Office about reports that public water supplies in several towns in the area have become contaminated with a life-threatening biological agent. The first aspect that the director needs to consider is the groups that he needs to contact in order to instil confidence in his office and in the people that his office has everything handled while at the same time give the necessary information to the people to prevent the escalation of the crisis. First it is important for the director to contact a medical expert who is conversant with the biological agent and its effects on the people, animals and even plants using the water. A medical expert is important in communicating the risks that are associated with the biological agent in the water and what dangers are posed once a human or animal is exposed to the water. It is important to inform the people whether the water is only unusable for drinking or it can also affect the skin while washing or taking a bath. The medical expert therefore offers very informative information to the people and ensures that they have the knowledge of what to do and how to handle the crisis. The information also ensures that the people do not start creating their own myths and unsubstantiated information about the crisis. It is also important to contact experts on the biological agent affecting the water and plumbers and other people who have knowledge on the water supply in the area. As a way of controlling the effects of the biological agent, and ensuring that it does not affect a large population, the director is obligated to communicate with the agency with vast knowledge on the biological agent and its transmission and effects. The agent is meant to liaise with the people conducting the crisis management and answer any questions that may arise about the biological agent. The person is also meant to work closely with the plumbers and other people controlling the crisis as he offers expert knowledge on the biological agent. The plumbers with vast knowledge of the water network in the region are also important as they offer the director an expert view on how he/she can be able to close out the water circulation and ways to ensure that the contaminated water is not transmitted to any other homes in the area. The plumber can also be used in communicating with the public and the media in ways to ensure that water is not running in their homes thereby controlling the reach to children. Crisis communications is an important exercise in controlling the effects of the crisis and ensure that the people feel safe and secure to go on with their daily activities. Looking at the effects of crisis in the past such as the Tsunami for instance one finds that its effects were felt all over the world with the economy crumbling and the level of poverty and starvation increasing. Crisis management and communication is therefore important in ensuring that the people are given the ways and knowledge on how to cope with the crisis and in the process mitigating the losses. Another advantage of crisis communication is eradicating the misconceptions and perception that may be created by people thereby creating unnecessary panic and further losses. Information is very important since people cannot create their own ideas and end up influencing the behaviour of the people affected by the crisis which would in effect lead to further losses and panic among the public. Crisis communication also ensures that the information getting to the people is controlled. Information is very sensitive in case of a crisis as the information that gets to the people influences how people behave and react to a crisis. If there are sensitive information being disseminated to the people it may cause panic. For instance if one of the people dies in the community and the death is found to have been caused by the contaminated water it is advisable to communicate such information to the people and therefore should be controlled. However there are challenges that are associated with crisis communication which may lead to panic or further losses in the community. First we have the media who report information which is either unsubstantiated or what give only the aspects of the crisis that may cause panic to the people. The media always tends to give the effects of a crisis and also criticisms to the organizations that should have done something about the crisis. The media is more interested in who is to blame for a crisis and whether the organization responsible should have done more instead of giving informative facts that may help in mitigating losses as a result of the crisis. The social media is also responsible in spreading unsubstantiated rumours and incorrect information about a crisis. This in turn escalates the effects of a crisis and leads t panic and mishandling of a given situation. Another challenge that the director may face is uncooperative staff organizations or people that he/she may request to ensure that there is proper communication. Looking at other scenarios where the communication processes and avenues that existed were limited it is both an advantage and a disadvantage to the director. There are very many platforms used by people today as a way of communicating amongst themselves as the technology has advanced from the period when there were only telephones the mail and the media to the era of the internet and smart phones where one reads the news at any given time. These forms of communication add value to the communication process and enhance that information is easily accessible to the people and is also relayed fast to the people in the community. However although it is a big boost to the communication process it is also a detriment as it makes more difficult to control the flow of information and control what the public get. The increase in the forms of communication available to people is therefore an advantage to the communication process although depending on the information that the people are spreading it might be disadvantageous to the director as control of information now is impossible. The social media such as twitter and the website are important as the information may be posted on the site and all the community members who are members of these social groups can easily access the information. The social media is important in communicating the information which may be of importance to the community and not only of the statistics of the spread and casualties that have resulted due to the crisis. In the past the internet and other forms of communication have been used as a reference point to the effects of crisis and as a statistical map of the bad effects of the crisis. The director should therefore make sure that the information communicated in these social media is on ways to mitigate the losses as a result of the crisis and also how to prevent these effects and not the statistical data on the spread and its effects on people. Technology can also be used to educate the people on ways to treat the water and other ways to prevent the negative effects through YouTube and other forms of disseminating information. This ensures that the information in the public domain is mainly on how to prevent and mitigate the losses which ensures that the public does not panic. The media is one of the most important aspects in any crisis communication as it reaches out to a lot of people and they trust the information that originates from the media. It is therefore important as the director to ensure that the media is engaged through the whole process and the information is relayed to the media transparently. The media can be an ally but also the worst enemy and therefore the issue should be handled delicately in order to ensure that the information they disseminate is correct and informative to the people. The director should therefore make sure that he/she convinces the members of the media on the information he gives them so as not to make their own investigations and start asking issues that may not help in eradicating the crisis. Effective crisis communication is geared towards relaying the correct and most useful information in order to mitigate the losses as a result of a crisis. For this purpose the director should ensure proper channels of communication are used and the right information gets to the community. References Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2013). The handbook of crisis communication. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. Read More