Crisis Communication for International Offices

22.04.2014

Crisis Communication for International Offices Prof Dr Brigitte Sprenger

National Institute of Health

Clinical Center 2005

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Prof Dr Brigitte Sprenger

Workshop Crisis Communication

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Detection: Warning signs, issues (risks)

Prevention/Preparation: Crisis communication plan, action to prevent

Containment: Actions to minimise impact

Recovery: Returning to business as usual

Learning: Evaluation of crisis to determine losses, gains, areas for

improvement

(Fearn-Banks 2002)



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Prevention/Preparation

• Form crisis teams (key departments), appoint spokesperson(s), train them

• Develop crisis plan for high risk scenarios, checklists

• Install control room (equipment, tools, off-site)

• Practice crisis scenarios, simulate drills (CT and publics)

• Ensure sufficient capacity (call centres, hotline, finance, HR)

• Develop Dark Site/draft key texts/maintain databases

• Cultivate and maintain good media relations, stakeholder relations

• Risk communication



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Crisis Communication Plan

• Designated staff, spokespersons and their responsibilities/roles; Emergency

response team (contact numbers for all)

• Procedure for clearance of information (who reviews and approves press

releases, where can conferences be held, etc?)

• Identify vehicles of information dissemination (tools)

• Identify different publics/Complete and up-dated contact database of all relevant

publics

• Draft messages to identified publics

• Procedures to deal with public organisations (health, hospitals, city

administration, army, police, etc) and media



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Next day on

KFOX14 news

that he has died



Crisis Containment

• Open, truthful and quick reaction (immediately on website): apologise or

empathise if necessary

• Identify specific publics and their specific communication needs, define

core messages, tools, Q & A

• Inform internals (e.g. employees, students)

• Control information flow: one voice policy

• Use media to disseminate information (be aware of the speed) -----

social media

22.04.2014 7 Prof Dr Brigitte Sprenger


Daily Mail

9 May 2013



Communication Plan



Determine objectives

Condole, inform factually

Target audiences

(segmentation)

Family/internal (staff and

students)/partner uni/once in

social media – external

Audience characteristics

Shocked, need to condole, need

information

Tools/channels

Face to face/mail/

website/condolence book

Messages

Condolences to family, in

memoriam/if need counselling

Social and Digital Media



University of San Fransisco



Social Media

• Can serve as early warning (FB posts from depressded students, Twitter

posts by students feeling threatened in a location at night, etc)

• Can be used to gather information

• Dissemination, information in emergencies

• Can be used to dam misinformation

• In emergency social media spikes



Technicalities • Decide which tools for what (FB, Twitter, Messaging, Mailserver, website…)

• Official messages: post regularly and succinctly – say there is no news if there

is none and say when it is expected, always give time and date of post

• Consider

high visit rates may make websites crash

if you don’t have resources, disable comment section on FB

use a range of tools – different publics go to different tools

have basic texts ready

sort out (and set up) who the administrators are

have protocols



Issue indicators on social media

• How to monitor? Resources? Access?

• What to do when an issue emerges on FB (crisis plans, notify emergency

services, contact poster directly…)

• Removal of post (FB and Twitter have emergency help centres)

• Be aware that media is monitoring too



Roleplay Scenario: 30 minutes

• Emphasis on communication: logbook provided, use it to protocol

• Roles: allocate 1 or 2 person(s) in group to represent management (and

Communication Director) – everyone else is in IO

• For each scenario determine

What is your objective?

Who are your target audiences (characteristics)

Which channels will you use?

What exactly are the messages you send out?



Debriefing

• What were your objectives/ who were target audiences?/which tools?/ which

messages?

• Main learnings?

• Main problems/challenges?

• What gaps does your school/IO have should these cases occur?



Official communications must

• Respect privacy and protocol

• Be cleared (university management, emergency services, family…)

• Be factually correct

• Respectful, sensitive in tone

• Be sent promptly to correct target audiences

• Be short

• Contain information on support and next steps



Messages/Communications IO may need to prepare

• Closed group notifications of tragic events (cf high risk scenarios)

• Letter of condolence to family

• Letter of regret to partner university

• Information mail to students and staff

• Card, letter to accompany wreath/funeral attendance

• In memoriam text for website

• Memorial Service/meeting/condolence book

Need not have precise wording – a template with placeholders

suffices



Examples: website info and condolence Statement from President David Skorton on death of student

5:30 p.m., Sept. 11, 2009

Dear members of the Cornell community:

It is with deepest sadness and regret that I inform you of the loss of one of our students today at Cayuga Medical Center.

Warren J. Schor, 20, died of complications related to H1N1 influenza. The university has been in close contact with Warren's

family, and we wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to them and to his many friends. Please keep them in your thoughts

in the following days.

We ask everyone to be alert to the risks related to certain underlying health conditions and the more severe symptoms that

should trigger prompt consultation with your health care provider. Students, if you have concerns about your health please

contact Gannett Health Services by phone 24/7 (255-5155). I urge all members of our caring community to follow, for your

own health and for others, the flu prevention and public health recommendations we have been promoting.

Counseling and support services are available to all members of the Cornell community. Students can reach Counseling and

Psychological Services (CAPS) on campus by calling 255-5155. The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) is

available 24/7 by calling 800-327-2255 and selecting option 1. For Cornell United Religious Work (CURW), call 255-4214.

Please check the flu-info site (cornell.edu/flu) for updates on H1N1 flu, and use our flu phone line (607-255-0101) and flu-info

([email protected]) mailbox with questions and concerns you may have.

David Skorton



http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/campushealth/Influenza/help_when.html

http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/campushealth/Influenza/help_when.html

http://www.cornell.edu/flu

mailto:[email protected]



Examples: website, info and support options

One of the victims killed by blasts at the Boston Marathon on Monday has been identified as a Boston University graduate student.

Lu Lingzi (GRS’14), a graduate student in mathematics and statistics, was one of three friends who watched the race near the finish

line. Another of the three students, Danling Zhou (MET’14), was injured, and is in stable condition at Boston Medical Center. Robert

Hill, dean of Marsh Chapel, visited Zhou Monday evening and again yesterday afternoon. He reports that she underwent surgery on

Monday and on Tuesday. “She is doing well,” says Hill. “She has her friends around her, and she will soon have family around her.”

The third BU student was unharmed.

The explosions, detonated seconds apart at about 3 p.m. near the finish line on Boylston Street, killed 3 people and injured more than

170. The Boston Globe identified the other two casualties as 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, Mass., and Krystle Campbell,

29, of Arlington, Mass.

Counseling is available through the Dean of Students Office, from Marsh Chapel chaplains, at Student Health Services (SHS), and at

the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center (SARP). Chaplains can be reached at 617-353-3560. SHS counselors can be

reached at 617-353-3575. SARP can be reached at 617-353-7277. An SHS behavioral medicine provider can be reached at 617-353-

3569. The Faculty & Staff Assistance Office is available to provide confidential counseling to faculty, staff, and their families.

In the aftermath of Monday’s tragedy, a Service of Healing will take place this afternoon, Wednesday, April 17, at 5:30 p.m. at Marsh

Chapel. All members of the BU community are welcome.

There will also be a gathering to help those who need support and further discussion on Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m. in the Burke

Room of Agganis Arena. Representatives from Marsh Chapel and staff from Student Health Services Behavioral Medicine, the Dean

of Students Office, and the International Students & Scholars Office will be on hand to talk to students.



http://www.bu.edu/dos/

http://www.bu.edu/chapel/

http://www.bu.edu/shs/

http://www.bu.edu/sarp/

http://www.bu.edu/fsao/

Examples: Facebook

info and warning



(Bad) Example of Facebook warning message

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Key Learnings Crisis Communication (1)

• Important to set up channels/processes for monitoring issues

• Determine clearance of information (who) – usually at highest Uni level

– IO involved where international dimension present to advise on culture

and language. IO may need to advise authorities on what needs to be in

place

• For highest risk set up process, checklists, have key texts ready

• Determine administrators and posters (oficial, trusted)

• Messages: in emergencies post regularly and succinctly; facts only;

always give time and date of post



Key Learnings (2)

• Most crisis communication involving IO will not be public messages but to

individuals or closed groups (students, partner uni IO, friends/colleagues of

affected person(s)) and use face to face or email

• However, if you have social media groups/info platforms for your incoming or

outgoing students – consider potential use for issue monitoring and for

information dissemination

• Consider, in advance, technicalities

high visit rates may lead to website crash – have back-up solution

disable comments on social media except where it serves a purpose

link to other information, sources, contacts (different publics, different tools)



Further Information

Key texts for in-depth reading on crisis management theory: Coombs (2007 and 2011), Fearn-Banks (2007)

Interesting documentation from universities

• www.canterbury.ac.nz/emergency/documents/erp/fullplan.pdf (includes checklists)

• www.uwgb.edu/deanofstudents/policies_procedures/faculty_staff/docs/StudentDeathProcedures.pdf

• http://petersplaceonline.org/docs/Guidelines_for_School_Response_to_Suicide.pdf (focus on

responses/processes for death in primary and secondary schools)

• http://quic.queensu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Crisis.Protocol-WITHOUT-home-numbers-November-

2013.pdf

• (procedures for out of country emergencies)

• www.preparedness.itoronto.ca

• http://emergency.nd.edu/documents/nd-emergency-plan-public.pdf . 2013 (very practical, checklists)

• www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/offices/acadreg/crisis.pdf



http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/emergency/documents/erp/fullplan.pdf

http://www.uwgb.edu/deanofstudents/policies_procedures/faculty_staff/docs/StudentDeathProcedures.pdf

http://quic.queensu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Crisis.Protocol-WITHOUT-home-numbers-November-2013.pdf













http://www.preparedness.itoronto.ca/

Crisis Communication for International Offices

Documents

Transcript of Crisis Communication for International Offices