As my mother taught me: Honesty is the best policy. So, steal thunder.

 

Steal thunder? When an organization is faced with a crisis, they must publish this news themselves first, before another party does it, to avoid a bad reputation (Claeys, 2017). You’ll probably wonder why it is good to come out with bad news. Whenever I used to have bad news for my mother, I tried to postpone giving her the bad news as long as possible. However, I learned from her that honesty is the best policy...

Both the studies of Claeys (2017) and Van der Meer et al. (2017) show that communicating bad news can bring benefits. This communication should take place with the stakeholders. According to the stakeholder theory, both internal stakeholders (management and employees) and external stakeholders (news media and interested citizens) can exert pressure on the organisation and therefore on PR professionals (Van der Meer et al., 2017). Therefore, these stakeholders have a certain power over the organisation and for this reason, it is important that before a crisis occurs, under normal circumstances, a strong relationship with the stakeholders is built up as a buffer for a possible upcoming crisis (Van der Meer et al., 2017). When a crisis is going on, PR professionals should take two things in mind.

Copyright: Tatiana Ayazo/Rd.com

Be strategic

In this day and age, there is no chance of hiding a crisis because there is a good chance that something will leak out, for example by means of the internet. The stakeholders can only imagine what happened, and they give the situation their own frame. This frame will be spread quickly and then restoring the situation will be a lot more difficult. Therefore I agree with the advice given by Claeys (2017) and Van der Meer et al. (2017). Communicating a crisis as quickly as possible is a good strategic choice because it allows you to frame the story yourself and set the tone. Claeys (2017) and Van der Meer (2017) indicate in their studies that not communicating a crisis can lead to uncertainty or panic among stakeholders. There is no understanding from them and incorrect information can be a culprit for the reputation of the organization. The organization is the only one that can correct this situation. Stealing thunder makes the crisis appear less severe (Claeys, 2017) because it is not always the case that no news means good news.

Be ethical
PR professionals sometimes forget that the news media, interested citizens and employees are the most essential and dominant stakeholders during a crisis. They can make and break you. As an organization and a PR professional, you should, therefore, see your stakeholders as a priority and manage these strategic relationships (Claeys, 2017). You have to learn to take responsibility for your actions in order to be more credible to your stakeholders. You have a duty to prevent damage to stakeholders and to tell the truth willingly and openly at all times. As my mother always said; honesty is the best policy.

Or do you dare to dispute my mother?

Be ethical, and be strategic; steal thunder.

About the author.
Vivienne Raijmakers, 26 years old, is a MSc Corporate Communication student at the University of Amsterdam. Did an internship at Edelman PR, so indeed passionate about PR and especially the field of crisis communication.

Literature

Claeys, A. S. (2017). Better safe than sorry: Why organizations in crisis should never hesitate to steal thunder. Business Horizons, 60(3), 305-311.

Van der Meer, T. G., Verhoeven, P., Beentjes, H. W., & Vliegenthart, R. (2017). Communication in times of crisis: The stakeholder relationship under pressure. Public Relations Review, 43(2), 426-440.