Red Cross International Crisis Management - Case Study Example

354544 - Red Cross International Crisis Management: Crisis Communications Plan The Red Cross international has its local office on Albert Embankment, London. Its medical services include training the lay people how to apply first aid. They also give first aid victims of crisis in any part of the nation. It is at the forefront in helping the nation’s emergence response activity, especially the poor. Its other services include care in the home, humanitarian education, refugee camp care, and acceptance of Red Cross volunteers (reference: http://www.redcross.org.uk/). Aim and Objectives The aim of the crisis communications plan is to alleviate a stressful situation. One objective is to reduce injury or loss of life precipitated by fires, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and other similar events. Another objective is for the crisis communication plan to focus decision -making to resolve emerging critical issues in a potentially stressful crisis environment. Another objective is to provide a flexible response to all emergencies. A third objective is to help protect properties within Red Cross premises. The Red Cross International here in London should develop the Crisis communication Plan. It is composed of a set of guidelines in an effort to protect image of the company as a whole. These guidelines have been developed with inputs from all sectors of society. This includes the cooperation of the local government and non governmental agencies. The Crisis Management Plan lists down the step by step procedures to be implemented in case a crisis erupts (Davidson & Rogers, 2006, 41). Policy statement on crisis communications. The policy statement on crisis communications for Red Cross here is “Report all Crisis situations such as fires, earthquakes, floods, poisoning, murder, etc. ONLY to the Crisis Management Team and the Crisis Planning Team for immediate processing”. The company’s crisis communication plan provides policies and procedures for the coordination of communications within the organisation, and between the organisation and any applicable outside agencies. Emergencies may include fires, bomb threats, natural disasters, or related activities. Controversial issues may include police investigations, protests or other situations that demand a public response (Silvers, 2007,139). Details of the Crisis Communications team. The crisis communications team is responsible for identifying what actions should be prioritised to lessen the impact of the crisis at hand. This team is comprised of individuals who are the key to the resolution of any crisis. The crisis communication team is composed of the Operations Director Marcus Stephan, and other top ranking officers of Red Cross. It also includes the heads or supervisors representing each department. The safety and /or the security officer plays an important role here. The lawyers will be important here because he guides them on the legal implications of each crisis management policy. Further, the witness to the crisis and the victim will form part of the crisis communications team. The spokesperson plays as important part of decreasing the public’s panic and outrage altogether (Egan, 2007,265). Stakeholder analysis and prioritisation. The crisis communication team must inform and update the stakeholders on the crisis at hand. The crisis communication team must take into consideration the stakeholders’ varied needs for making a stake in the Red Cross International organization in their correspondence. The stakeholders include the patients who need the medical help of the Red Cross. Another stakeholder is the community who will benefit from the help that the Red Cross implements. Another stakeholder group is composed of donors. They donate money and other assets for the Red Cross to help in life –threatening situations especially during crisis like fires, floods, and earthquakes. Another stakeholder group is composed of the suppliers of medical supplies and food stuffs that the Red Cross delivers to the victims of crisis (Ratzan, 1998, 201). Stakeholder notification procedures. The crisis communication team should notify the stakeholders as soon as possible on any crisis situation that befalls the company. They will be briefed of the situation through phone and correspondence (Harrison, 2000, 137). Staff notification procedures. The crisis communications team place updates on crisis management policies and procedures at the lobby’s entrance door. The team will also help install crisis buzzers on every floor and important rooms within the premises. This will be pressed in case fires and other emergencies occur. All employees will have crisis drill every 6 months to prepare them for any crisis. The crisis communication team should notify the staff as soon as possible on any crisis situation that befalls the company. They will be briefed of the situation through phone and correspondence displayed at the entrance bulletin boards on procedures to implement during emergency.(Banks, 2007,3). Emergency contact list. The crisis communications team will post a list of emergency contact numbers will include the telephone nos. of the hospitals within the vicinity of Red Cross International in London. This includes the telephone no. of London Bridge Hospital and the Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospital. The emergency contact numbers will also include the contact numbers of the police detachment near the Red Cross International premises. The emergency contact list will also include the fire department telephone numbers (Smith, 2002,147). This contact list must include the emergency telephone numbers of the corresponding disaster management branch of the government tasks with fire crisis, earthquake crisis, epidemic (including swine flu), poison, and other related government agencies. The contact numbers of all members of the crisis management team and crisis communication team will be listed on every office room for quicker emergency response. The members of the crisis communications team will determine the appropriate positioning or message that would address any emergency. The motto of the crisis management communication team is Tell it all, tell it fast and tell the truth. In addition, the crisis communications team will be supported by people who will man the telephone lines to answer the continually ringing of telephones. The upsurge in phone calls normally arise because relatives, friends, media and other callers will inquire on the current situation after a fire, flood, earthquake, poisoning, epidemic, building collapse, murder spree, suicide, etc has occurred (Hall et al., 2004, 215). Media contact list The crisis communications team will have a list of media outfits posted within their crisis room for faster news correspondence. The media contact list includes the names of the major television stations, radio stations, televisions stations in London and the nearby communities. Some the media outlets are BBC, Beacon, and Heart. Media also includes all television stations like Channel 4 located in Horseferry Road, London, and channel 6 located in Edinbugh. It also includes newspapers like Ballyclare Gazette, Darlington & Stockton Times, Peak Times and others (Ray, 1999,188). Key messages and sample press releases There are standardised messages that each phone operator gives to media and other interested parties during a crisis situation. The initial message would be “Facts are still being gathered but there will be a press conference to be held on _______ to formally address all your speculations and inquiries. Give me your name and number and I will call you back to let you know when.” This message is based on the first and foremost goal of the Red Cross International crisis communication team which is protect the integrity and reputation of the organisation from irresponsible and ill –timed press statements that would escalate and not alleviate the current crisis situation. There have been many situations where lawyers gave good intentioned statements that increased the public’s panic thereby increasing the current damage the organisation is in (Larkin & Regester, 2008,142). News conference protocols The crisis communications team will standardize the news conference protocols. It will be aimed at diffusing the current crisis that the organisation, Red Cross International will be facing. The spokes person will be accompanied by the crisis communications team in a prearranged press conference. The organisation’s responses should be focused on its main position of stepping out of its shell as one of the members of the Red Cross International team. This is very important because the crisis communication message should answer queries from the media and other affected entities by putting themselves in the public’s shoes. Further, the crisis communication team should NOT ignore the current crisis situation because it will boomerang by increasing the current crisis image of the Red Cross International organisation. It is always best when a mistake has been made to admit it up front. This step must be done by the organisation spokesperson with the prior message screening of the crisis communications team. For example, the crisis communication spokesperson will inform the public that the company is on its toes doing everything within its means to re –establish the credibility and confidence of the company in the minds of the customers and the internal parties. Furthermore, the communication team should focus their responses on errors and unauthorised procedures as the cause of the crisis to protect the Red Cross International’s image. The errors include one employee’s or an outsider’s unintentional error. For example, one such error is the throwing of burning cigarette butts to the company’s trash can. This caused the fire which gutted the fire in the blood storeroom area. This violates company policy of no –smoking within the company’s premises. Another reason is clerical error. For example, the company spokesman will tell the press people that a clerk erroneously typed that correspondence sent to the press should have been typed hire and not the erroneous fire. Another good example is for the spokesperson to state that one employee had implemented unauthorised procedures in choosing blood donors. The employee should have tested the blood donor for high blood, diabetes, HIV /AIDS, the recent Swine flue virus and other sicknesses. The presence of these factors would automatically cause a rejection of the prospective blood donor from donating his ill blood. Another good example is for the spokesperson to state that the fire was caused by the unauthorised storing of flammable materials in the office supplies store room. Another good reason that the spokesman will tell the media is that a newly hired employee implemented inadequate quality control procedures which violated benchmark company policies and procedures. For example, the blood separation equipment caught fire because the medical technician left the equipment running to drink coffee at the cafeteria. This caused the fire. Another good reason would be to tell the public that misuse of confidential information precipitated the fire. In addition, the crisis communications team should keep in mind that the public will always remember the first crisis communication message as well as the last crisis communication message. The crisis communication team must keep in mind that all their correspondence should be influenced by such factors as legal ramifications, public relations, effects on administration, effects on operations and marketing (Plunkett, 2008,4). Interview protocols In addition the company must allow only one person to speak for the crisis communication team and the entire Red Cross International organisation. This is must in order to avoid confusing statements given by different persons interviewed by the media, the customers, government representatives and the crisis investigators. This person should be the company’s official spokesperson mentioned in the prior paragraphs. He or she should also be a back up person. This person will continue to chore of updating the media and the general public of the current crisis situation. The spokesperson makes official pronouncements in behalf of the company (Botan,2006,391). He will tactfully answer all questions form the media outfits and other interested parties. The best spokesperson would have unique qualities to act as shock absorber for the company. He ingeniously answers all ‘shocking’ questions from the media with replies that will appease their negative and opinionated stance on the crisis issue. The spokesperson could be the financial expert. Another good candidate for the spokesperson position is the Red Cross Engineer in case of fire and other engineering related crisis. Another good person would be the president o or the highest ranking officer of the company. Further, another worthy person to act as spokesperson would be a good leader of the community. The parish priest, the mayor, a high ranking community police officer, the fire chief, or the community officers would be acceptable spokespersons. The crisis communication team must hurriedly resolve who the spokesperson will be in a complex and highly debated brainstorming session. This is the best way go about it because what is needed may not always be apparent when first scrutinised by the crisis communications team. Consequently, the spokesperson should always be backed up by an expert on the crisis at hand. This expert should be a lawyer when it comes to legal issues. The engineer would be the expert when it comes to machines used in operations. The accountant is the expert when it comes to financial matters related to the crisis issue. Both the spokesperson and the back up expert should be comfortable in front of the media and the television crews. This person should be skilled in handling all media questions by directing their questions to another topic. Further, this would lessen the exposure of the crisis at hand from a barrage of relentless queries from media personnel. Such person should be an expert in identifying key points, able to speak without jargon, respectful to the media reporters, knowledgeable of the ins and outs of the Red Cross International. He should be knowledgeable of the crisis at hand. The spokesperson should be able to establish credibility with the media and other parties concerned. The spokesperson must project an aura of confidence to the audience. He or she should also be good in diction, wears suitable attire and has charisma. He or she should be sincere, straightforward and speak with believable authority. He or she must be able to calm any stressful situation. The company spokesperson should also access statements made by the spokesperson of the police department, the fire department, the community head and the like. Their statements will be studied to determine if the Red Cross International spokesperson needs to give the company’s side or not. The Red Cross International Spokesperson should try to coordinate with the spokesperson of the other organisations in order to come up with a unified statement to the press people (Silvers, 2007,139). Methods of Communication updates The Red Cross International should select one place as a media center. This will be used to have a press conference. The press conference would be set up to update the media and other concerned parties on the status of the crisis on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The media center should be far from the crisis communications team office to ensure privacy to the team. This would also prevent the media from loitering and accidentally enter the crisis communications office and gain unauthorised access to confidential information (Seymour, 2005,16). Record keeping protocols The crisis communication team keeps all records needed to perform their mandated functions. The crisis communication team and the spokesperson should over prepare to answer all possible questions thrown by the media. It is a good company policy to be tough and prepare for all possible questions. The crisis communications team should keep a record of all data related to the crises as a basis for creating the best response to media questions. The crisis communication team should have a mock media interview to prepare the spokesperson to answer media inquiries in the press conference. The crisis communications teams should keep a record from reliable resources and confirmed data. This data will be used to show the employees and the general public that the company is concerned with their safety. This would create goodwill with the public and securing the loyalty of customers and employees by taking the important step of updating them on the crisis. The crisis management team should also keep a record of all prepared statements that the spokesperson will announce to the public (Oliver, 2004,456). The prepared statement would include such initial official statement as “A ______ at ______ involving________ occurred today at ________. This incident is under investigation and more information is forthcoming. The confirmed casualties and injured persons are _____. The next update will be on ______.” The company crisis communication team must verify and double check all information before giving them to the media. This would surely help restore the decreased credibility of the Red Cross International company brought about by the crisis (Botan, C., 2006,391). Crisis communications review and evaluation procedures The crisis communications team will give all departments a copy of their correspondence on the topic of crisis management. This team should review if all departments are complying with established crisis management communication. This includes the ban on speaking to the media and the prying eyes of the other interested parties. The team should also write a communication to communicate the status of the employees’ preparedness for an impending crisis (Doeg, 2005,75). This communication will be given to the department heads and higher ranking officers of the Red Cross International for proper dispensation. The crisis communications team should send a letter explaining the status of the preparedness of each department to the higher ranking officers of the company. This is very important so that concerned parties will discern what is proper for the moment to address the public. The crisis management team should also evaluate if all fire fighting equipment and other emergency equipments are will work during any emergency. The crisis communication team should determine if there are adequate fire extinguishers and fire alarms and other devices to warn the people of any crisis. To summarize, the purpose or aim of the crisis communications plan is manifold. It protects the people within and outside the premises of the Red Cross organisation in London. The Crisis Management Plan is described as a set of guidelines in an effort to protect the image of the company whenever a crisis occurs. Further, crisis communication plans include policies and procedures for the coordination of the people within the organisation and outside it to respond to any crisis. The news conference protocols are aimed at diffusing any crisis. Conclusively, the purpose of the crisis communications plan is to alleviate a stressful situation REFERENCE Banks, K., Crisis Communications, London, Routledge Press, 2007 Botan, C., Public Relations Theory II, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006 Davidson, R., Rogers, T., Marketing Destinations and Venues for Conferences, Conventions, and Business Events, London, Butterworth Heinemann, 2006 Doeg, C., Crisis Management in the Food and Drinks Industry, London, Springer Press, 2005 Egan, J., Marketing Communications, London, Centage Learning, 2007 Harrison, S., Public Relations an Introduction, London, Centage Learning Press, 2000 Larkin, J., Regester, M., Risk Issues and Crisis Management in Public Relations, London, Kogan Page Press, 2008 Oliver, S., Handbook of Corporate Communication and Public Relations, London, Routledge Press, 2004 Plunkett, J., Plunkett’s Advertising & Branding Industry Almanac, London, Plunkett Press, 2008 Ratzan, S. The Mad Cow Crisis, London, Routledge Press, 1998 Ray, S., Strategic Communication in Crisis Management, London, Greenwood Press, 1999 Seymour, M., Global Technology and Corporate Crisis Strategies, London, Taylor & Francis Press, 2005 Silvers, J., Risk Management for Meetings and Events, London, Butterworth, Heinemann, 2007 Smith, R., Strategic Planning for Public Relations, London, Lawrence Erlbaum Press, 2002 Read More