The footage of the US Airways jet that crash landed in the Hudson River recently made for incredible television viewing, but not just in terms of the aircraft bobbing up and down in the icy waters. It was also striking to see the immediate reactions of the organisations involved and, from a professional perspective, see how quickly crisis communications plans can be put into action.

Almost within an hour of the news breaking the US Airways corporate communications chief was able to introduce his CEO to the world's media, and give an informed and prepared statement that demonstrated a corporation reacting swiftly and competently to the unfolding incident thousands of miles from the airline's Arizona base.

This reaction was no accident. Airlines, like many other organisations across every sector, regularly practise responding to emergency situations. They never know when an incident is going to happen, what form it will take and how bad the crisis might be (imagine if the US Airways plane had crashed into buildings in Manhattan) - but they do know they will need to respond quickly, calmly and effectively demonstrating that they on top of the situation and responding appropriately. And they need to focus on communicating as much inside their organisation as they do externally.

Crises can come in any shape or form, usually when you least expect them. And they can hit any organisation, whatever the sector. Whilst
airline disasters will be very public and high profile events, professional services firms can also be impacted by events that can quickly turn into a crisis.

Indeed, the crisis may not even come from an isolated situation but perhaps from a sudden change in business conditions - witness the number of well known retail brands going into administration right now - or other adverse trading conditions. Any firm that operates in the property sector will be considering all eventualities at present, with increasingly large scale redundancies being announced almost every week. For many no doubt their situation can be described as a crisis.

How the firm deals with a crisis will say a great deal about them - particularly to their employees. Recent years have seen a long period of business growth and relative prosperity. Many internal communications messages will have been bullish about the outlook, excited about the potential of the business and challenging employees to achieve great things in the future.

When we at Gatehouse talk to our clients we now advise that the messages need a different tone, a dose of realism, sensitivity, empathy and an appreciation that many employees will be most concerned about whether they will retain their jobs. In these times the firm needs more than ever to be open and honest with its people and live up to the values it espouses - the danger for not doing so is that trust will be lost and take years to build back up.

Effective internal communications has as important a role to play in protecting your business - and your reputation. But how do you make sure that you are ready to address such a crisis? Outlined below are some of the 'dos' and 'don'ts' of communicating internally during a crisis.

Dos:

1.agree key messages - and stick to them :Agree what your business stands for, what it believes and what it wants others to know about it. A clear articulation of your key messages will help your leaders stay focused and consistent - whether they are talking internally or externally, and will support your front line staff who will need to fend off client enquiries. Your brand and your reputation depends on it.

2.be sure you know how to get in touch with your people quickly :
It is one thing agreeing what messages to send out but can you be confident that your distribution channels are sufficiently robust? If most of your communications are currently sent via email or intranet but a crisis meant people couldn't get to the office and won't have access to blackberries or laptops do you know how you will contact them? Ensure that channels such as telephone cascades and emergency hotline numbers are regularly updated and can work at a moments notice.

3.make sure internal and external channels are aligned :You only want one articulation of what is happening and what you are doing about it. The credibility of your internal channels will soon be lost if the firm is saying something else in the media.

4.be creative and use the best channel for the situation:Consider every scenario, however unlikely and ask yourself whether your existing channels are sufficient. A crisis can actually provide an opportunity to use new channels, especially social media, as you might find you need to keep people aware of what is happening more frequently than the daily intranet news headline that you are used to posting. You might think about starting a blog that can be updated quickly and easily or creating a message board to encourage colleagues to share their feelings, ask questions or offer support.

5.keep communicating:Once people know their firm is going through a crisis they will want to know what is happening - constantly, until the crisis is resolved. And they will, before long, want to know the longer term implications.

6.offer a place to go for answers:Offer people a place to go for answers or reassurance and then listen to what they tell you. You will need to be able to respond quickly your people will thank you for it.

7.ensure your leaders are leading: Leaders set the tone - without their buy-in your communications can only go so far. Leaders have a prominent role to play internally as well as externally. Involve them in your plans as they need to know in advance what will be expected of them and how they need to react at such moments.

Don't:

1.think it won't happen to you :Crises can come in any shape or size without warning. They can happen to anyone. I worked for a large financial services organisation in the 1990s whose head office was blown up by a terrorist bomb - it could have been any bank or any building.

2.leave it till tomorrow :There will always be something more pressing, something needed yesterday. Unfortunately the crisis won't wait quietly in line. Your people won't thank you if you were too busy to be ready.

3.'sugar coat' the message :There will always be a temptation to tell everyone things are under control even when they are not. Honesty normally pays. Remember people may see events unfold on television or through the newspapers. If you are giving a different, more positive perspective of what is happening then make sure your messages are rooted in reality.

4.restrict communication to those directly affected:In these days of global firms, your colleagues in other offices across the world will know you are suffering a crisis. So will their clients. Don't forget them - they will be concerned about people they know, people they are working with and want to help.

5.assume people know what to do;Most crises are one-offs that will suddenly strike. Employees will look to the organisation for guidance - that means you. Never assume the solution is obvious, particularly during times of stress.

6.panic :You need to be calm even in the eye of the storm. Be like the vice-president of corporate communications at US Airways, take responsibility, be in control of the situation. If you can do that, when the crisis passes your senior management will thank you and the reputation of the communications department will be greatly enhanced.

Author: Howard Krais

About the author:
Howard Krais is an experienced internal communications specialist who has spent many years working in and advising the professional services sector. He now works with leading internal communications consultants Gatehouse group.

Article source: Free Management Articles.