Houston, we have a problem

 

One of the most memorable movie quotes comes from Ron Howard’s 1995 movie Apollo 13. Jim Lovell, a character played by Tom Hanks, called Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center, which is now the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas to say “Houston, we have a problem.” Lovell reported an issue that involved a series of problems that the center worked to address. The center was facing a crisis that they knew was a life or death situation. The astronauts were able to return to Earth thanks to the diligent efforts of the team members at Mission Control. So what does a Tom Hanks movie have to do with crisis communications? Mission Control had to find a solution to a series of problems that had lives at stake and their reputation on the line. While crisis communicators are not necessarily put in life or death situations, they do have to focus on having a plan that can repair their company’s brand when it is put at stake. 

 

Crisis Communication Plan

Public relations professionals have to build a crisis communication plan that would be the most effective for the specific crisis at hand. “Crisis communication refers to the dissemination of information by an organization to address a crisis that impacts customers and/or the organization’s reputation” (Amaresan, 2021). Public relations communicators have a responsibility to respond to the crisis of their companies in a way that is focused on a course of action rather than a generic apology. Consumers want to feel like they are heard. They want to know that the company is learning from its mistakes and working to be better.

When a parent loses a child due to a company’s negligence, they don’t want a company to just express its condolences. They want the company to take responsibility for its actions and not sweep it under the rug. For example, a five-year-old boy named Charlie Holt went with his parents to the Sun Dial Restaurant at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta, Georgia on April 14, 2017. The restaurant is known for its rotating floor. What was supposed to be a fun outing turned into a disaster when the child was caught between a wall and a table on the rotating floor. A group of employees were able to free the child, but he suffered a brain injury and later died at an Atlanta hospital.

Not long after Charlie’s death, his family filed a lawsuit which alleged that “the restaurant failed to prevent a longstanding safety hazard that led to Charlie Holt’s death and disputed initial claims that the boy wandered away from his family.” (WSB-TV, 2021). The hotel had a crisis that they needed to address with sincerity and in a timely manner. The company had to make a statement before rumors started to float around. Shortly after the incident, George Reed, the manager of the hotel, released a response to the press expressing his condolences and issuing a course of action. “We are working with the authorities as they look into this tragic accident and we will continue to assist them in any way we can,” Reed said. Words cannot express the depths of our sorrow” (Gehlbach & Jaquez, 2017). The manager did not just give a generic reply. He wanted the family to know that the he and the rest of the hotel’s management and staff members were going to cooperate with the authorities and make sure that this type of incident never happens again. The restaurant was closed for eight weeks and turned off its rotating floor permanently. The Holt Family and Marriott, the company that owns the hotel, agreed to a settlement four years later. 

                         I took a picture from a trip with my mom to the Sun Dial restaurant in 2012

Social Media’s Role in Crisis Communications

Crisis communicators have to know how to execute their plan not only on traditional media, but social media as well. One viral video that puts a company in a bad light can spread around the world in an instant. For example, in 2011, Bob Parsons, the Chief Executive Officer of GoDaddy, posted a video of himself shooting an elephant in Zimbabwe on his personal YouTube page. There was a lot of backlash from viewers and PETA, the animal rights activist organization. The animal rights group closed their account with the company and encouraged others to do the same. This example highlights the fact that all members, including the CEO, of a company need to be aware of what they post on the internet. They have to represent their brand both inside and outside the office.

One of the best ways for crisis communicators to prevent a crisis on emerging media is to create a social media policy for their companies. “It should provide clear guidelines for appropriate use, outline expectations for branded accounts, and explain how employees can talk about the business on their personal channels” (Dawley & Newberry, 2019). When I was first hired at a newspaper, one of the first things the human resources manager spoke to me about was the company’s social media policy. As an employee, I had to represent the company in a positive manner on both my professional and personal social media pages. I could not use the internet for anything other than research. There were consequences if an employee violated the rules outlined in the newspaper company’s social media policy.

Some issues on social media are not necessarily a crisis. There are some negative commenters who like to stir up drama and trash a company’s brand. That is an opinion, not a crisis. A potential crisis could occur if a lot of people are talking about the same negative issues about a company on social media at the same time. It is important for crisis communicators to act fast. “It takes companies an average of 21 hours to defend themselves in any kind of meaningful way” (Dawley & Newberry, 2019). Crisis communicators should not let a crisis makes its way around the internet without a response straight from the horse’s mouth.

In conclusion, a company needs to have a crisis communications plan in order to be ready for any crisis that comes its way. Even with a plan, there are still crises that companies cannot anticipate, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. No one could predict a pandemic that would shut down businesses and close off travel to countries around the world. The companies that are still in business during the pandemic are thinking ahead and adapting to the new normal. When faced with a problem like COVID-19, these companies thrived under the pressure. They found a solution that worked for their companies. Crisis communicators need to have a plan when tackling problems in their companies. They can’t put out a fire without an extinguisher.

References:

Amaresan, S. (2021, January 26). 6 Crisis Communication Plan Examples & How to Write Your Own [Template]. HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/service/crisis-communication-plan.

Dawley, S. & Newberry, C. (2019, February 6.) How to Manage a Social Media Crisis: A Practical Guide for Brands. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-crisis-management/.

Gehlbach, S. & Jaquez, N. (2017, April 17). Child dies after getting stuck in rotator at Sun Dial restaurant. WSB-TV. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/child-dies-from-head-injury-at-sun-dial-restaurant/512687323/.

WSB-TV News Staff. (2021, April 15). Family of 5-year-old who died after being pinned at Sun Dial settles lawsuit with Marriott. WSB-TV. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/family-5-year-old-who-died-after-being-pinned-sun-dial-settles-lawsuit-with-marriot/K26IZCGZOBBINJ2H4IFNMFJHLI/%3foutputType=amp.