The Handbook of Crisis Communication has provided extensive analysis of communication crisis as well as a thorough exploration of the overall reactions of different stakeholders in the crisis. Consequently, the risk is a central feature that is part and parcel of our daily lives and activities. Hence, understanding the broad perspectives and approaches to addressing the risks is a matter of great importance in the management of risks. From chapters 29 and 31, private sector companies just like other setups can suffer from communication crisis. The organizational crisis is one of the crises that are discussed and analyzed in the book. Organizational crisis refers to the non-routine emergence of unexpected events that can threaten the standard organizational structure in a given organizational setup. However, the final success in the management of organizational crisis depends on how quickly and efficiently both the internal and external stakeholders will react during and after the crisis (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).
Stakeholders’ influence in organizational crisis is the primary determinant of handling the organizational crisis in communication platform. The concerned stakeholders who have been given the mandate of managing an organizational crisis should have an up to date crisis management plan as a first measure for handling future risks. Therefore, to prevent risks, stakeholders should they have set and discussed risk preparation best practices such as updating their crisis management plans of frequent basis, and designating crisis management team that will bear the responsibility of handling particular risks. In retrospect to that, they should conduct test activities to ascertain the effectiveness of risk management measures that have been set, pre-draft crisis management messages and communicating them to the members, and including a section of the crisis communication protocol in the communication media of the organization (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).
During the organizational crisis, stakeholders should ensure that best crises management practices have been deployed in the organization. They should provide a quick and timely response as soon as the crisis is detected. Additionally, they should uphold a high degree of accuracy and precision in selecting the best measures and solutions to the crisis. The responsible stakeholders should be consistent in informing and reminding the members of the organization about the organizational crisis that is at hand. Public safety should be incorporated as the primary priorities in the management of the crisis. Furthermore, the employees of the organization should be involved in the initial response towards the crisis. The management team should ensure that they have designated teams and groups that can offer counseling and consolation to the victims of the crisis (Reynolds & Seeger, 2012).
After the crisis, the management team and all concerned stakeholders should uphold the best post-crisis practices to ensure that the organization is free from a repeat of the same crisis in the future. The responsible stakeholders should conduct further analysis of the crisis to ascertain valuable lessons that can be integrated into the existing crisis management team to prevent future damage. Besides, the members of the organization should work hand in hand with the designated crisis management stakeholders to ensure that they uphold best crisis management measures in the organization. Consultations should be conducted to assist the members of the group who were victims of the crisis (Lundgren, 2013).
Organizations should carry out educational practices to enlighten their respective members about the best practices that can assist in preventing a future organizational crisis. Also, the organizations should support the recovery measures and efforts aimed at putting their teams back on track. The respective groups and the responsible risk management teams should continue to support efforts that are aimed at assuring the members that there are ways of preventing the risks in the future. Information and feedback should also be gathered from the affected people to obtain the best risk management practices that the organizations should deploy in the future. Despite the fact that it is typically difficult to manage organizational risks, proper management practices for risks can assist organizations to emerge stronger and well-composed during the crisis (Coombs & Holladay, 2012).
- Coombs, W. T., & Holladay, S. J. (2012). The handbook of crisis communication. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Lundgren, R. E. (2013). Risk communication: A handbook for communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. S.l.: John wiley.
- Reynolds, B., & Seeger, M. (2012). Crisis and emergency risk communication. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
