Every company goes through moments that test its communication: a restructuring, a product failure, a market shock, a crisis that lands overnight. In those moments, how you communicate matters as much as what you do. Effective communication is what lets you navigate a crisis instead of being defined by it. These are the rules that hold up, whatever the situation.
Be authentic
Whether you’re talking to employees or the market, what you say and how you say it should reflect your company’s values. Choose a small group of spokespeople with the credibility, experience and confidence to speak for the organization, and keep internal communication and external messages consistent.
Be transparent
Say what you know, and admit what you don’t know yet. Explain what you’re doing and why. When things change, say so, and explain what changed. Transparency doesn’t mean sharing everything; it means never misleading.
Keep a rhythm
Commit to regular updates and keep the commitment, even when there is little news. Use more than one channel, from email and the intranet to meetings and social media, so nobody depends on a single source.
Stick to the facts
Share only verified information, and point people to the official source when the subject is outside your expertise (health, regulation, safety). Never speculate in public, and never let an unqualified comment go out on behalf of the company.
Put people first
Employees, customers and partners will each worry about different things. Address those concerns directly, give people ways to ask questions, and follow external announcements that may affect them.
Set up a crisis team
Create a small working group with leadership, communication, HR, legal, operations and sales. Give it the authority to decide quickly, and make sure every leader follows the same protocols on content and timing. Our crisis communications team often helps companies set this up before it is needed.
Plan for scenarios
Think ahead about the situations most likely to hit your business, such as a service outage, an accident, a product recall or an executive departure. For each one, agree the key messages, the spokesperson, and how and when information will be released.
Learn after every episode
When the situation is over, review what worked and what didn’t. The next crisis will be different; a team that has practised will still respond faster.
Based on guidance from Edelman. EDC is Edelman’s affiliate partner in Portugal.
