Chapter 8 and 9 (actually, 8 mostly) from Coombs

Postcrisis Concerns

So you’ve been dealing with a crisis, and it is finally over. What do you do after the dust has settled? Coombs says when things have returned to normal, it is time to evaluate your efforts. Learning from what you did right, what you did wrong, and what you could do better is a key part of crisis management. First, the crisis is examined through every phase of how it was handled. Then the impact of the actual crisis is measured, including physical and financial damage, and reputational damage (Coombs).

Coombs brings up Crisis Management Performance (CMP) evaluation as important to determining how the situation has been handled. Evaluating the CMP will help the communicators figure out there downfalls and learn for the future.

Data collection is key to this process. Analyze the media, stakeholder opinions and any other records you may have, such as transcripts, interviews, eyewitnesses if applicable. Impact evaluation is what evaluates the damage to the organization. Coombs says that the financial damage is pretty cut and dry, and can be evaluated easily. However, reputational management is not so easy to define. Coombs says that reputations are built on stakeholder experience with the organization. Some of that experience comes from what the media portrays about the crisis, especially when it is the stakeholder’s primary source of information. Reputation is often defined by what the media thinks about organization. Media audits are important, as well as analyzing what could have been communicated differently to the media. Coombs does say that the stakeholders will not just believe everything that media says and that “the media are not all powerful” (p.140). If an organization already has a strong reputation, it will be less susceptible to the media interpretation. What do you think about this? Is the media all powerful? Or is it only powerful in certain situations with certain organizations?

Institutional memory is important to not repeating the same mistake twice. Coombs says, “a crisis should not be wasted.” (p.144). Some lessons, unfortunately, can only be learned through experience. This should be taken advantage of so that it will not happen again, and that similar crises can be avoided. One very important point Coombs makes is not to “become a slave to memory” (p. 145). Be willing to use other measures when needed, do not think that it is the same as the last crisis. Can you think of any times where institutional memory actually prevented an organization to make a poor crisis management move? What were the implications of the decision?

Follow-up communication must be pursued as much as possible, along with cooperation with investigations, and crisis tracking. It is important to open in these situations, it gives the organization creditability. Then, the post crisis phase ends with going back to pre-crisis preparations, and the cycle continues.

Chapter nine was basically the highlights of what we have learned about crisis management this semester, at least from Coombs point of view. Crisis management is ongoing, and training your communicators well is important, and the crisis management procedures summarized. What d you believe is the most overarching thing about crisis management that you have learned this semester? For me, it has been reinforced that crisis management is an ongoing cycle. Just because the crisis is over, does not mean that the crisis management lets down its guard.