Crisis communication

What it means

Crisis communication is how a company informs customers, staff, the media, authorities and business partners during a crisis. The crisis might be a data breach, a product recall, an accident, a service outage or an allegation of misconduct spreading on social media.

The essentials are speed, honesty and consistency. Silence or downplaying the situation leaves room for speculation, and trust is lost faster than through the problem itself. People are usually more forgiving of a company that admits a mistake and explains what it is doing than of one that becomes defensive.

Crisis communication is part of wider crisis management. While the crisis team deals with the problem itself, the communication side ensures that every stakeholder receives timely, accurate information suited to their needs and that the company speaks with one voice.

How it works in practice

Preparedness starts before a crisis: a designated spokesperson, contacts for journalists and key clients, statement templates and clear rules on who may publish what. In the first hours a short acknowledgement that the company knows about the problem and is dealing with it, with a promise of updates, is enough.

In a personal data breach, communication also has a legal dimension. The controller must notify the data protection authority within 72 hours and, where the risk is high, inform the affected individuals in clear and plain language.

Channels are chosen by audience: an internal email and meeting for staff, a press release for the media, direct messages to key clients and a post on the website or social media for the public. The content must be the same across all channels.

What to watch out for

It never pays to lie or speculate. If the company does not yet know the cause, it should say so and state when it will give an update. Information that later turns out to be false damages reputation more than the incident itself.

Be careful about the legal consequences of statements. Admitting fault can affect disputes, insurance claims or investigations. Crisis statements should therefore be checked with a lawyer and the insurer, but without delaying communication unnecessarily or making it sound evasive.