Communicating When A Crisis Strikes

How would you handle communication if your business or practice got into a crisis situation?

I was pleasantly surprised when my Internet service provider responded competently and quickly to a technical crisis. And, we can learn to communicate more effectively by studying its response.

The crisis occurred when hackers attacked its system at the same time that the company was upgrading its systems to meet increased customer demand. And while customers experienced no dramatic shutdowns, some customers faced delays and difficulty getting online.

In response, the company quickly sent out a newsletter containing a single article, an open letter from the president.

First, the president acknowledged there had been a problem. And, the company took responsibility for the problem. While it attributed at least some of the problems to malicious hackers, it nonetheless took responsibility for the system's integrity.

Most of us find it refreshing when a company steps up and does those two things. It communicates self-confidence and it communicates sincere concern for customers. All too often, organizations make poor excuses or point fingers at suppliers and customers; that just makes customers more dissatisfied.

Second, the company apologized. In the first sentence of the article, the president said he was sorry for disruptions that subscribers had experienced over the preceding two weeks.

By doing that he allowed his readers to get through the rest of the letter with less resistance. They weren't mentally concocting rebuttals - they were reading what he had to say. That's crucial any time you want to make an important point.

Third, after taking responsibility and apologizing, the president explained what the company was doing to fix the system.

His description of the fixes also took the right tack. He made no attempt to describe the technical nature of the fixes, nor did he try to impress us with how hard he and his people had worked. He simply explained that backup and warning systems were being put into place, and should prevent further outages from the same sources.

Fourth, he promised that the affected customers would get two weeks of free service, to compensate for their inconvenience.

That's an excellent way to communicate a company's sincerity. While the apology and acknowledgment would satisfy many customers, the offer of compensation underlined a genuine interest in customer satisfaction.

So, this effective communication strategy had four parts: first, it acknowledged the problem and took responsibility for it; second, it offered an apology; third, it explained what it was doing to fix the problem; and fourth, it offered compensation to those who had been affected.

Of course, simply communicating in a crisis situation won the company some recognition. And having communicated well made the initiative that much effective.

In summary, crisis situations make special communication demands on organizations. This company rose to the occasion by not only fixing the problem, but also by communicating effectively with the people who were affected.

Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com

USA TODAY

News Corp. Says It Provided Info for Sun Corruption Arrests Reuters By Lucas Shaw at TheWrap News Corp. said Saturday that it provided the information to the police that resulted in the arrest of five of its journalists earlier in the day. In a statement the company said: "The Management and Standards Committee (MSC) ... U.K. Media Bribe Probe WidensWall Street Journal UK police arrest five journalists in newspaper bribery probeFox News Staff at The Sun tabloid arrested in bribe inquiryUSA TODAY all 1,461 news articles »

MiamiHerald.com

Oracle to Pay $1.9B for Taleo, Extends SAP Rivalry ABC News Oracle Corp. is escalating its rivalry with German business-software maker SAP AG with a $1.9 billion purchase of Taleo Corp., a company that helps businesses hire and manage their employees. The proposed purchase announced Thursday extends Oracle's ... Oracle Buys Taleo for $1.9 Billion, Adds Human-Resource ToolSan Francisco Chronicle Oracle to pay $1.9b for TaleoNEWS.com.au Oracle to buy Taleo for $1.9 bln; cloud war brewsReuters GMA News all 482 news articles »

TEXT-S&P revises Apollo Investment Corp outlook to stable Reuters (The following statement was released by the rating agency) -- Apollo Investment Corp. (AIC) has announced changes in management, a reduction in its dividend, and adjustments to its investment strategy. -- In our view, changes to the firm's investment ... Company News for February 9, 2012Zacks.com Apollo Investment's CEO Discusses Q3 2012 Results - Earnings Call TranscriptSeeking Alpha Apollo Investments Considers Capital Raise; Unveils Management ShiftsWall Street Journal Economic Times -Tech24 all 30 news articles »

New York Times

Oracle to pay $1.9B for Taleo, extends SAP rivalry Seattle Post Intelligencer Oracle is paying $1.9 billion for Taleo Corp., a company that helps businesses manage their employees. Photo: Mark Lennihan / AP NEW YORK (AP) ? Oracle Corp. is escalating its rivalry with German business-software maker SAP AG with a $1.9 billion ... Oracle Signs Acquisition Deal With Taleo for Cloud ComputingIndustry Leaders Magazine Oracle's $1.9bn Deal to Buy TaleoZacks.com all 116 news articles »

Wall Street Journal

AMR bankruptcy: Retirees group files for involvement in case Tulsa World The organization, AMR Retirees Pension Protection Corp., is based in Owasso and includes former members of American Airlines upper management at the Maintenance & Engineering Center in Tulsa and the carrier's maintenance base in Fort Worth. Exclusive: American Airlines creditors want to talk mergerReuters Transport workers union says it will have counterproposal next week for AmericanFort Worth Star Telegram all 26 news articles »

PetroFrontier announces change in management Sacramento Bee 10, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ - (TSX-V: PFC) - PetroFrontier Corp.("PetroFrontier") announced today that Peter Philipchuk, Vice President, Exploration, has resigned from PetroFrontier. PetroFrontier thanks Mr. Philipchuk for his service and wishes him well ... and more »

Integrated Asset Management Corp. Announces Results for the First Quarter of ... MarketWatch (press release) TORONTO, ONTARIO, Feb 09, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Integrated Asset Management Corp. ("IAM") /quotes/zigman/18979 CA:IAM -10.00% today announced unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. Review of the 3-Month Period ... and more »

Edgewood Management Holdings in 4th Quarter: 13F Alert Bloomberg Top Positions by Market Value Company Name Ticker Market Value Current Change (USD $) Position In Position Celgene Corp CELG US 424280043 6276332 -33371 QUALCOMM Inc QCOM US 397587935 7268518 -21149 Visa Inc-Class A Shares V US 389712244 3838395 ... and more »

State: Revised flood plain map led to levee updates Peoria Journal Star He did say, however, that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers became more serious about the country's levee system after the hurricane disaster. Osman said the Corps did an Illinois River study in 2002 and 2003, ... and more »

msnbc.com

Alcatel-Lucent Shares Soar on Profit Jump Wall Street Journal An ongoing price war, combined with the pressure of lowering costs while maintaining research and development spend means that Alcatel-Lucent's management will have to speed the pace of restructuring. "In the market there was a relief that they made ... Recent IPOs Review: RPX's Licensing Syndicate with Alcatel-Lucent, Apollo ...Wall St. Cheat Sheet all 201 news articles »