Crumbling concrete in schools: Another day, another crisis communication lesson
The government’s response to the Raac crisis. Plus, the challenges that Burning Man organisers faced when torrential rain turned the Nevada festival site into a mud bath…
Every time I start to sit and write a blog about a recent crisis situation another one has emerged before I can finish and press send.
I had planned to write about the Burning Man festival in America and challenges for those in event management. There is a lot to learn from the situation that developed and left many people stranded.
And if that wasn’t enough the UK government have been demonstrating ways not to manage a crisis with their handling of the crumbling concrete in schools. Even before the education secretary gave an expletive laden rant after an interview, when she believed the cameras were not rolling, the situation could have been handled so much better.
One of the most important points is always to recognise that you have a crisis on your hands. Don’t try to hide it, fudge it or bury it. The situation won’t go away it will just grow and develop into an even bigger headache. Whatever the problem is, it can be more effectively managed by addressing it head on. A cover up will only make your situation worse and will leave you with an even bigger problem to manage.
Planning and preparing are still critical to being ready to tackle a crisis. We should be identifying those issues before they emerge. Climate challenges are here for all of us and particularly those managing any events. I am writing this in September with summer temperatures that are far from normal. Heavy rain, flooding, thunderstorms, strong wind, extreme heat are all becoming a part of life and something we need to be prepared for.
The Burning Man festival is huge so getting messages out to those attending was a significant problem. It is why there was a lot of rumour circulating, including that Ebola was spreading. We must have the structures and systems in place to allow communication to take place frequently particularly with those directly affected by the crisis.
Don’t hide, be honest
At the heart of any effective crisis response is honesty. Don’t try to hide things because they will re-emerge. The problem of the Raac concrete has been around for a number of years. Yet the reaction to the announcement appears to have surprised the government, who didn’t provide a list of affected schools. This seemingly small omission added to a view that information was being withheld and that raises concerns. I am struggling to understand why it wasn’t released as the information could be found by phoning around.
The latest crises are a reminder of two important principles of effective crisis response. Firstly, be prepared and ready for potential issues and secondly be open and honest. Let’s see what happens next as there is always another day and another crisis communication lesson.
Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication expert and consultant, founder of Amanda Coleman Communication and the author of Crisis Communication Strategies. This post was originally published on her Amandacomms blog as Another day, another crisis communication lesson. Read the original post.