Organization’s communication function
QUESTION:
What advice would you give a leader who wants to improve his or her organization’s communication function so that it is more effective during a crisis?\
Classmate 1: I think the most important thing a organization can do to be effective during a crisis is to train for it. Plan ahead – have a crisis team that meets a couple of times a year to talk about how a crisis will be handled. Discuss and make a plan for how the crisis will be communicated and what exactly the company will do. Plans need to be made to prevent the crisis and if they fail the plan will map out what will take place to handle the crisis so it is not a hug blow to the company. At the bank where I work we have a crisis team. They meet more than twice a year and is made up of one person from each department. They make up a “mock” crisis and pretend to solve it. This shows them where the weaknesses are in the current plan and then changes are made to the crisis plan. Mostly, these are cyber type situations where maybe a virus made it through the firewall and the bank has had a breach. These trainings show where the communication needs to be stronger and who needs to be included in the communication. It also shows the company where more trainings need to be done. The biggest part of this is communication and practice.
Classmate 2: here are many things that leaders can do in order to help communication during a crisis. The first this is to have a plan in place for if a crisis does happen. This helps sure you communication and directs everyone to one place with guidance on how to handle the situation. The most important this to do is be present and be a strong leader for your employees during a crisis. Leaders at the top level need to be available and need to be open to the public to show that the company is taking the crisis seriously. Being honest and as truthful as possible with any questions that come up about the crisis will make sure communication remains intact and trusted during those times. I think that being able to show you’re followers and most likely the public that you are willing to answer the hard questions and no be entirely reactionary or opposite that, reclusive, you are demonstrating that you are a strong leader even in the face of an adverse crisis.
