Crisis...what crisis?    

The other day someone gave me a cartoon of a smiling PR guy in a glass enclosure. The caption read "break glass in case of emergency." Sadly, this is how some people view public relations.

 

As much as we preach that public relations is a function of management, it's often not until the "stuff" hits the fan that a good PR person is fully appreciated.

 

Public Relations is a management function and the public relations manager needs to be at the table as part of the decision-making team. If PR is left out of the management process, then organizations run the risk of appearing out of control and only being reactionary when things go wrong.

 

Most successful organizations realize the importance of good public relations and embrace it. Take a look at how some businesses handle crises and it becomes apparent that those who are able to manage through a crisis and maintain public trust do so by knowing their vulnerabilities and how to deal with them.

 

Public relations is more than something that should be called upon when "stuff" happens. It should be part of the management structure and corporate culture. In every organization things can go wrong and affect public perception that in turn affects business. But when things do go wrong, the ability to take action, assume control of a situation, and provide comfort and optimism in light of tragedy is the job of management. But to get there you need plans and procedures-and training! In short, a crisis communications plan can be worthless if it sits on a shelf and management is not adequately prepared to take action.

 

Before the 9-11 tragedy, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani had developed a plan for a major attack on New York City--not because he had a premonition of those fateful events, rather it was part of assessing the risk that a major metropolis would face. The plan and the messages were all created long before 9-11.

 

Do you know how you would react to a major crisis for your organization? If management is looking for a hammer to smash the glass and release the PR guru-it's too late.

 

In October, the Chapter will be holding its Professional Development Conference titled "When It Hits the Fan." I highly encourage not only all of our members to attend, but I would further recommend that you bring members of your management team since PUBLIC RELATIONS IS A MANAGEMENT FUNCTION.

 

I'll look forward to seeing you there!