Chris Lewis offers some valuable insights to minimise the impact when faced with a major issue:
When I read that airlines and venues were using paper copies of passenger and guest lists as a consequence of the recent global IT outage, I was reminded of a question on my Crisis Communications Audits checklist:
‘Do you have an up-to-date copy of your crisis plans and databases in hard copy and/or on an external hard drive kept out of the office–- in case the IT system is hacked or is inaccessible during a crisis?’
The IT outage is one of many crises that have created news headlines affecting hotels and venues. Among the dozens of articles in the last 12 months are ‘Woman found dead at 5-star Surrey hotel – man suspected of murder’; ‘Guest fell from Limerick hotel balcony’ and ‘Two dead after shooting during wedding at convention centre’.
It is incidents like these and that at London’s Fishmonger’s Hall five years ago that have brought creating and updating crisis communications plans close to the top of the To do list. Too often it is too late.
Annual update best practice
Many leading properties and groups update their crisis communications plan annually just as they check that fire extinguishers work properly and fire marshals know their roles. That is best practice in crisis preparations and in crisis communications.
They fully understand the benefits of being well-prepared and of having an up-to-date crisis communications plan. In emergency response, the first 60 minutes are the ‘golden hour’. Issues that are assessed quickly and handled well create a good start. The way the fire brigade respond demonstrates the value of preparation.
These venues understand that the consequences of handling a crisis badly can be huge – loss of business, severe damage to the brand’s reputation and loss of trust. By contrast, communicating calmly and appropriately in a crisis is vital in alleviating concern, even panic, especially when there is a lack of information, misinformation and rumour. Maintaining control of the story is crucial.
They also appreciate that the disruption caused by a crisis to the day-to-day management of an unprepared venue can also be immense – one property calculated that a major incident took 50 hours of senior management time.
What is a well-prepared venue?
When auditing the crisis preparations of a property, the overall questions we explore in detail include:
- Does the venue have a well-defined plan for leadership and key roles in a crisis? For instance, what if the general manager was unavailable, who is the designated deputy and does he/she know their role? What if the crisis occurred at a weekend or during public holiday?
- Is the property ready and resourced to cope with a flood of incoming enquiries and to communicate promptly and efficiently to each of its audiences? For example, are contact details of everyone that might need to be contacted up to date? Easily accessible? Are there enough phone lines in and out? How quickly will the switchboard responders be briefed with the official response to callers?
- Who will draft or approve a press release, social media post or message to customers? Who will monitor the press and broadcast coverage and social media?
- Who will record when actions are taken in case there’s an insurance claim or legal defence?
- Does the property have a crisis plan and manual with up-to-date databases? Kept off-site? Paper copy? External hard drive?
- Has the venue identified key potential scenarios and prepared for them, including templates of press releases and emails to customers and suppliers?
- Has the crisis plan been tested in a desk-top ‘fire drill’?
These are just a few essential elements of crisis communications. If you would like to know more about preparing for a crisis please visit www.crisiscommunicationsaudits.co.uk
Chris Lewis is a highly experienced PR and crisis communications specialist who has worked with the conference and meetings sector for more than 35 years.
