How to Communicate in a Crisis, Lessons Learned from Japan

This article is written by Cynthia Owens

As the sad and shocking headlines appeared from Japan in April, leaders across the region and around the world were reminded that effective communications in the initial stages of a crisis can be the difference between calm and panic. Over the life of a crisis, good communication is what gains you trust and loyalty from your employees and your customers.

In communicating during a crisis, remember that your actions speak louder than words. If your leaders are visible, making direct contact with their team, listening to them and helping set direction, you will manage the crisis well. If your leaders are not visible or if they hop the first plane out of the country, a communication plan will not help.

How often should you communicate with employees in a crisis?
In the initial stages of a crisis, communicate often, maybe even every hour. With every communication, let employees know when they will hear from you next. By the second or third day, set a schedule for communication 2–4 times a day and stick to that schedule. In the event of a sudden change in the situation, add another emergency message.

What if you don’t know anything?
Tell your employees what you do know and the source of your information. If you don’t know something, tell your employees you don’t know. They will respect your honesty and feel reassured that you are asking the right questions on their behalf. Also, make sure you ask questions of your employees. Find out how they are coping and whether they are impacted in any way by the crisis.

What should you say?
Be honest. Show genuine concern. Carefully edit any written communication so it doesn’t unwittingly carry the wrong tone. Answer every question and let the employees know what information you are trying to get. Open a dialogue so you know about employees’ concerns.

What channels of communication work best?
Use all channels to reach as many employees as you can, but whenever possible talk to your employees. You can do this by phone, conference call or podcast. You can have your managers on the ground make announcements. In a crisis, an in-house version of Twitter or a mass text message program can get information to people fast. Remember that during the crisis, people want to see and hear from their leaders more often.

What should you tell employees about the business?
Tell your employees what you know and what you don’t know. Tell them as much as you can with one important caveat: if your company is listed, make sure you aren’t giving material information to employees that isn’t public information. You may have to work with your head office daily to make sure the right information is getting out the right way.

What should employees communicate to customers?
Don’t forget your customers. Keep them updated at least daily during a crisis. Be sure your employees in every office know what to say to your customers, partners and suppliers. During the current Japan crisis, some companies sent their teams a message every day for communication with customers by phone or by email. This ensures that everyone is giving and getting the same message.

What about employees outside the immediate crisis area?
Many multinationals in Asia have an office in Japan, and people across the region wanted to know that their co-workers were safe and that their company was looking out for them. Let them know the same information you are giving the employees in the affected country. Also, let other employees know how and whether you want them to contact people in the affected region. For example, if you don’t want them to email of call the affected office, tell them.
People also want to feel they are “doing something.” So, if you can, quickly set up a way for people to donate or pitch in to help the affected office.

What do you do after the crisis?
What happens after depends a lot on what your company did during the crisis. During the early days of the Japan crisis, many companies were dealing with limited or unverifiable information and made quick decisions. The key now is to keep communicating. Talk about what’s next. If necessary, work on rebuilding trust and reward employee loyalty. The follow-up may require months of communication, it’s worth the time and effort to prove your commitment to your valuable team in Japan and your employees around the world.
For future crises, build a culture of quick communication. One company we work with is able to cascade information from the CEO to all employees globally within 24 hours. Instead of relying on e-mail and voice-mail, each layer of management passes the information down to the next layer until all employees have had personal communication about the change or crisis. By regularly communicating this way, the company has built up a norm and culture for direct, personal communication.

(c) 2011 Organisation Solutions Pte Ltd.

About the Authors: Cynthia Owens is Senior Vice President of Organisation Solutions and oversees communication programmes and services. She has more than 20 years of experience working for some of the world’s top news organisations including The Wall Street Journal, ABC News and CNBC Asia. Cynthia now helps leaders and businesses communicate more effectively by helping them refine strategy and messaging and improve communications skills to achieve business goals.