OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
statement as soon as they have all the facts,” says Karen Bate, founder and CEO of KB Concepts P.R. It’s important to designate one official
spokesperson who is trained to speak with the media. However, Ellis prefers to focus on training executives to be better commu- nicators, rather than focusing exclusively on training them to talk with the media. Talking with the media is no different than participating in a question-and-answer session, he says. Being trained to manage a difficult question-and-answer session and to be a more effective communicator doesn’t just prepare you for media interviews, but also for your day-to-day job, Ellis says.
During the crisis Keep in mind that during a crisis situation, the media will rely on you to be a reliable source of information, Wujek says. It’s im- portant that you are clear, consistent, and factual. If you don’t have all the facts, it’s OK to state that and say you will update them as events unfold. In contrast, if you don’t respond, you are indirectly conveying doubt and mistrust, he says. Acknowledge that you know the sit-
uation is occurring and convey a level of confidence that you are able to manage the situation using the four “Rs,” Wujek says. • Regret: Say you are sorry for the problem that occurred, even if wasn’t your fault.
• Remorse: Whether it is your fault or not, take responsibility for solving it. For ex- ample, if there is a food contamination issue but the food came from a caterer, not your kitchen, you still need to take responsibility because it’s impacting your community, Wujek says.
• Reform: Take the necessary steps to make sure it won’t happen again. For instance, explain how you will work with the food service provider on safe handling tech- niques or whether you will find another provider to ensure it won’t happen again.
• Restitution: How will you compensate those impacted by the crisis?
Don’t forget about communicating with your employees, Ellis says. “Those are the people who carry your brand forth every
day,” he says. Make sure they know what the emergency means for them and their jobs, as well as providing information on how they should respond to family members who express concern about the situation or ask questions. You want to make sure family members and residents are hearing a consistent message with a unified perspective otherwise it will feel like you don’t have the situation under control. “Imagine you are an employee, and the child of a 89-year-old woman in your care asks you a bunch of questions,” Ellis says. “How would you feel if you
says. Rather than immediately releasing a statement, watch to see if that one comment grows. If it does, then it’s time to ask for a correction. If your local newspaper or television
station is running a negative story with inaccurate information, contact the editor and explain why the facts are wrong, Ellis says. You can also use this as an opportu- nity to create a relationship with the editor or reporter that you can leverage later on. Keep in mind, he says, that sometimes the media just doesn’t have all the information and facts that you expect them to have and
Being trained to manage a difficult question-and-answer session and to be a more effective communicator doesn’t just prepare you for media interviews, but also for your day-to-day job, Ellis says.
didn’t know the answer or what to do or who to point them to for more informa- tion? You’d feel terrible.” It’s also important to provide employees
with a clear policy on who can speak to the media. A crisis communications plan typi- cally designates one or two people who can speak on behalf of the organization, and often that is the executive director and the ac- tivities director, Wujek says. The plan should also spell out what employees should say and do if they receive a media inquiry. For instance, the policy should direct employees to tell the media, “I’m not a spokesperson for the company and I cannot speak on behalf of the company” and designate whom the media should contact instead. “Most people, if you give them language to escape the en- counter, they will use it,” Ellis says.
Addressing an inaccurate news story If the media reports something that isn’t accurate, unless the misinformation will cause panic, Ellis warns against rushing out too fast to try to fix it. “Most of the time, by trying to fix it, we end up blowing it up,” he
38 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
once you provide additional information, the situation may be rectified. However, if they do have all the in-
formation and they are still running an inaccurate story, take the story to another news outlet, Ellis says. And, remember you have your own media channels—your website, Facebook, Twitter—to counter what the media is reporting. “You can take the conversation on the local newspaper’s webpage and move it your webpage and tell a richer, deeper, more comprehensive story,” he says. Rather than attacking the media outlet, use your media channels to educate people on the facts. There are more opportunities to get
information to more people faster than ever before, Wujek says. Forty years ago it was harder to assess the rumors around a crisis because there was no social media, which allows you to learn what people are saying about the situation and understand how people are hearing what you’re say- ing, Wujek says. “If you have a process and you’re prepared, you can effectively manage the message.”
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