Just as there are predictable stages of a crisis and general principles for dealing with one, there are four major steps that must be taken to restore an organization’s credibility. Whether the crisis involves an accident, unethical/illegal practices of a business, or immoral actions and a lack of adequate response by a religious group, the same things must be done to regain credibility. They are:

1. Demonstrate sincere contrition: A heartfelt and public apology is the first step in the healing process. Sometimes the injured parties would be satisfied if the responsible people simply said they were sorry. What often happens, instead, is that those who should apologize are warned that this act will open them up to public embarrassment and/or legal liability. So instead they attempt to get the injured party to accept something in its stead (e.g., payment for silence). The longer organizations take to apologize, the angrier the victims become and the more determined they are to make the organization pay a heavy price. In the case of the financial shenanigans that many of America’s top corporations have engaged in, an apology will not suffice. It will not begin to mitigate the damage that has been done to employees’ pensions or shareholders’ life savings.
2. Make the required changes. Organizations cannot expect to go back to “business as usual.” They must overhaul the policies that led them into the quagmire. They must change the procedures that caused the accident. Or they must remove from positions of leadership those who should have known better or who DID know better and chose for their own reasons to act immorally, unethically, or selfishly. Injured parties want to see justice done. If it appears that the people responsible for hurting others are allowed to “get away with it,” the aggrieved parties will not be satisfied. A clear message must be sent that the way this situation was handled is not acceptable. This is sometimes the only way to get a “clean slate” to allow the rebuilding of damaged credibility.
3. Where possible, make reparations: Lawsuits are often inevitable. It is the main method of demonstrating that the guilty party has been punished. If a person is physically injured because of the negligence of another, he or she has just cause to receive payment to cover their medical costs and some compensation for the pain and suffering. If the pain and suffering is emotional, it is no less real. When the damage is widespread and jury awards are large, this step can be particularly difficult for the organization. Where the money to pay these judgments comes from is also an issue. It has to be perceived as coming from those who caused the problem. Passing those costs on to innocent parties, like customers or parishioners, will keep the controversy alive. In situations like the financial collapse of stock prices and bankruptcies, this step is much more difficult, if not impossible. This assures that the bad taste will stay in the public’s mouth for much longer and the company’s corporate reputation will probably never recover.
4. Act appropriately the next time: Assuming that the proper steps above have been taken , whether an organization can rebuild its credibility depends on how the leadership behaves the next time a similar situation arises. If the safe performance of an automobile part becomes suspect again, how quickly will the company move to investigate it and make a recall if it is warranted? If a regulatory agency requests documents which might prove embarrassing to a firm, how honest and cooperative will that organization be? If a parishioner brings forward a credible account of being molested by a church official, that official must be immediately relieved of his parish duties and his actions reported to the proper legal authorities. If someone suggests a questionable accounting practice that may technically be allowable but would be judged to be less than honest if studied in the public spotlight, will the company choose not to proceed with it? At the first hint that the people who have pledged to do better are not living up to their promises, the whole scandal will erupt again and it will be even worse than it was the first time.

Not one of the above actions is easy. They all involve difficulties and pain. But they are necessary if an organization has any hope of getting back to some semblance of pre-crisis normalcy. The more widespread and deeper the crisis, the more people who were impacted, and the worse the organization handled the crisis, the more time it will require to restore their credibility. It is a long, drawn-out process. One false step can send them tumbling backwards. It is possible, however, for people and organizations to learn valuable lessons from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. We can only hope that this is the case.

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