In a previous article, I gave advice on designating a spokesperson in a crisis. However, in a crisis, the spokesperson does not act alone. The spokesperson presents to both the media and the public the statements developed by a group of managers I call the Crisis Management Team (CMT). Who should be on your CMT? Why must you think through, before a crisis erupts, who will be called upon?

The Need for Speed. Let's tackle the last question first. It cannot be emphasized too much that you need to work quickly during a crisis. It has been frequently demonstrated that, if an organization does not move swiftly to take control during a crisis, then the crisis will take control of them. In a position of constantly running to catch up, they will look incompetent or insensitive to the needs of the public or both.

The person first notified of the crisis needs to know right away which members of management and outside consultants should be contacted on this issue. He or she cannot be fumbling through phone books or searching through outdated emergency plans for phone numbers. I recommend a laminated wallet-sized card with the day and night phone numbers of all of the potential CMT members be carried by key managers all the time.

Who Are the Core Members of a CMT? In almost every case, the highest ranking official (called here the CEO) should lead this group. People already identify the CEO as the leader, so no time is wasted jockeying for position and differences of opinion can be settled quickly. It's also the best way to keep the CEO informed of the situation. (There are some cases where it has been shown that the CEO does not function well in crisis situations. If this is true, he or she should be left to run normal operations, receiving regular briefings on the crisis.)

Other core members of most CMT's include the director of human resources, legal counsel, and the spokesperson. Human resources expertise is often needed, particularly if the crisis involves employees (labor disputes, employee-initiated lawsuits, injuries, etc.). Even if the crisis doesn't immediately involve an employee, your workforce needs to have accurate information on what is happening.

Many crises have legal implications, so professional legal advice should be sought. However, you must be aware that the natural tendency of legal counsel is to advise organizations not to say anything to the public for fear of increasing the organization's liability. There have been many highly publicized instances where the lawyer's advice to stonewall with "no comment" has resulted in a huge black eye for the organization. In our lawsuit-happy society, chances are good that someone will somehow try to sue the organization if something goes wrong whether the organization says anything or not. Not stepping forward quickly to be open with the press and offering to help solve the problem has unnecessarily damaged reputations. The CEO often has to decide how to strike a balance between the legal advice given and his or her moral and ethical responsibility to inform the public, being responsive to the needs of the media.

The final member of the core CMT should be the individual appointed as the initial spokesperson. Many times, this individual has had the most training in public relations and media affairs. This is obviously helpful during a crisis. If he or she is expected to act intelligently as the liaison to the media, the CMT cannot develop their position statement in a vacuum and simply hand it to the spokesperson. Reporters will ask follow-up questions which can only be answered well by someone who has been privy to the CMT deliberations.

Who Else Is Added to the CMT? Depending on the nature of the crisis, other senior managers are brought onto the team. In a product liability issue, you would need the marketing manager. In an operational issue, you'd call on the production director. A hostile takeover bid or accusations of financial impropriety would require the chief financial officer. If you brainstormed ahead of time about possible crises, you should also identify who would be the lead person on each type of crisis. That's who you call in on your CMT. (Please remember to have at least one back-up for each of these identified individuals. Murphy's Law always operates and your designee could be out of town on business or vacation.)

This lead individual should identify a number of others in the organization who have the most knowledge of different kinds of potential problems. Who knows the most about the particular product in question? Who is the acknowledged expert on different processes or pieces of equipment? Who has the best relationship with various customers? Who are the formal and informal leaders among the employees? These folks don't have to sit in on the CMT meetings. However, they need to be mobilized quickly to start working on solving the problem and reporting back to the CMT. Make sure their day and night phone numbers are handy too.

Knowing who should be called upon when a crisis hits and being able to get to them quickly will be critical in determining how well your organization responds to a crisis.

Click here to return to articles by Judy Hoffman.