Crisis Communication

Crisis communication is like the Indian parable about the blindfolded men trying to describe an [Page 222]elephant. Each man describes only the part he feels, resulting in very different descriptions of the animal. Crisis communication is used in a variety of ways in crisis management. Depending on what article or book is read, a person can discover very different uses of the term. The Crisis Communication Array offers a useful way to organize our thinking about crisis communication. The Crisis Communication Array is a matrix composed of two categories of crisis communication and the three phases of a crisis (Coombs, 2010a).

The two categories of crisis communication are managing information and managing meanings. Managing information is composed of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information. Crisis managers collect crisis information (raw data) and analyze it so it becomes knowledge. Dissemination involves sharing the knowledge with others. Managing meaning involves efforts to influence how people perceive the crisis—for instance by attributing its cause, the character of the organization involved in the crisis, and the quality of its response. Most crisis communication can be assigned to one of these two categories.

Crises are characterized as having phases. The basic three-phase view involves precrisis (prevention and planning), crisis response, and postcrisis (follow-up, learning, and healing). Both types of crisis communication can be found at each crisis stage. The Crisis Communication Array identifies six types of crisis communication: (1) precrisis managing information, (2) precrisis managing meaning, (3) crisis response managing information, (4) crisis response managing meaning, (5) postcrisis managing information, and (6) postcrisis managing meaning. These six types of crisis communication are meant to guide research but are imperfect categories for organizing crisis communication because some efforts blur the distinctions between information and meaning or between phases.

Precrisis managing information includes efforts to scan for threats, monitor crisis-related risks, craft crisis management plans (CMP), tell people about CMPs, and collect information that a crisis team might need during a crisis. The CMP helps to illustrate managing information. The CMP has sections devoted to crisis communication as information. The CMP has complete contact information for the crisis management team near the front of the document. The CMP also contains contact information for people or groups who might have information that the team needs during the crisis.

Precrisis managing meaning involves convincing stakeholders to accept the need and value in crisis management, encouraging external stakeholders of a CMP's efficacy, and developing a sense of self-efficacy in stakeholders related to the enactment of the CMP. Encouraging external stakeholders about plan efficacy demonstrates managing meaning. Stakeholders, including employees, need to believe that a CMP works (keeps them safe) during a crisis or they will ignore the CMP. Convincing stakeholders of the CMP's efficacy is a function of managing meaning.

Crisis response managing information centers deal with the need to collect and to analyze crisis-related information. Creating crisis knowledge is essential to decision making by crisis management teams and effective warning/notification systems. The effectiveness of a warning system illustrates the importance of managing information during the response. The warning system is designed to protect stakeholders from hazards created by a crisis. Until information is known about the crisis, crisis managers do not know who to warn or what actions those in danger should take. For instance, weather and the types of chemicals released by an accident indicate what geographic location is at risk and if the stakeholders should evacuate the area or shelter-in-place.

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