11/04/2021
Manage Crises Effectively with Honesty, Transparency: Roberts
Crises occur when something unexpected happens that needs to be dealt with. These events could be small matters or could be critical to a company. How to deal with these issues is what Ronald Roberts spoke about during a recent Occupational/Financial Well-being WELL Core Event on campus.
Roberts is a managing partner in DVL Seigenthaler, a Finn Partners company. He helps lead DVL Seigenthaler’s crisis communications team and is certified in crisis communications management via the Institute for Crisis Management. He spoke to Belmont students at the Nov. 1 event entitled, “’60 Minutes’ on Line One -- Successfully Navigating a Crisis.”
“There are two types of crises,” said Roberts. “There is smoldering and then there’s immediate.” Smoldering crises are when something comes up that has been expected, like a CEO being fired or a pending lawsuit. Immediate crises are unexpected events that have to be dealt with when they happen, such as a natural disaster or robbery.
When responding during a crisis, three things are important: the facts, the media and the speed. The facts in a case make up the information that describes what actually happened. The media coverage is how everyone finds out about the crisis and its details. The speed is how fast the message comes out from the communications team.
Roberts explained how the facts of the crisis are most important in navigating a crisis. All messages sent out should contain only verifiable facts and should be as honest and transparent as possible.
It is also important to think ahead during a crisis. Roberts advised, “Everything you do from a crisis communications standpoint needs to be followed with, ‘what happens next if…’”
He emphasized the importance of considering which audiences you are addressing and how they will handle the information you are giving. The audience could be anyone -- employees, shareholders, customers, media, government or federal agencies. Think about how they might react to the messages you are sending out, and be proactive about how you should respond.
Roberts engaged with attendees, beginning with his first question, “How many of you consider yourself to be a good listener?”
The WELL Core event was co-sponsored by Belmont’s chapters of PRSSA and IABC. Belmont PRSSA is one of more than 350 chapters in the national organization and is open to students interested in public relations. The chapter is sponsored by PRSA Nashville Chapter and has received national awards in ethics advocacy, chapter development, Outstanding PRSA/PRSSA Relationship and community service. The Belmont IABC chapter was established in 2018 and has grown many connections with the help of the Nashville IABC chapter and professors. IABC connects like-minded individuals together to promote communication concepts across different fields of experience.
--By Kaitlyn Mashburn
