"A crisis is an unexpected problem that puts the stability of a company at risk, and if the company is at risk, that means employees, jobs and communities are all at risk," said MaryJane Mudd, executive director East Harris County Manufacturers Association (EHCMA).
Mudd was a presenter at the recent 2022 EHS Seminar & Tradeshow, held in Galveston, Texas.
Before a big incident, Mudd said a company has to build a firm foundation through stakeholder engagement, "but the first thing is always safety."
When a crisis hits, a big part of company accountability falls in the area of community notification. Mudd stressed that companies should know about something called e-Notify, which is a process that has three different reporting elements to it.
Level 1 is an internal courtesy message with no off-site impact. Level 2 is something that could become a little more serious, with possible off-site impact. "Just keep an eye on it. It could be an odor; it could be a couple of different things," Mudd said.
"Level 3 is the big one: an off-site impact - things that would impact the community. Level 3 is a warning message."
EHCMA's Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) website pulls general information from e-Notify and posts to the CAER website as RSS feed. The CAER app pulls RSS feed from the web and sends as push notifications.
Information on the CAER website and app would include the type of incident, the plant involved, the plant's address, and the date and time of the incident.
The remainder of Mudd's presentation dealt with how a company is to behave following a crisis. Mudd explained that there are three areas that fall under the category of personal accountability: accessing accurate information, communicating with employees and team members and avoiding speculation and gossip both inside and outside of the company.
Mudd offered some guidance on social media usage after a crisis. "Social media travels really fast - really, really, really fast," she said. As a result, she recommended to not share too much, avoid speculation and avoid becoming argumentative and being personally offended. Additionally, tell family members to not share too much or speculate online and/or in person, inform the communications department about rumors, and like and share your company's social media posts pertaining to the incident.
"In the community, remember cautionary social media points and think ahead about what you will say if asked [about the incident]," Mudd said. "Use key messages, use the bridging technique and gauge sentiment. Inform management if it's negative."
The media was the next topic in the presentation, and Mudd offered some media interview basics. It is always important for a person to know if he/she is approved to speak with the media. Prior to participating in a briefing, prepare a media statement with the basic facts about the incident, such as: What happened? Where? Who was involved? What is being done to respond? What is the effect on the community?
Mudd added to be prepared when being interviewed, and never "'wing it.' Go to the interview with three main points, listen carefully to the entire question, stay on message, connect with stories and comparisons, be personable and professional, and know when to stop," Mudd said.
Crisis communications don't include: appearing annoyed or disgruntled, faking an answer, saying "no comment," going off the record, repeating negatives, filling an uncomfortable silence, becoming too comfortable, being too emotional and speaking in absolutes.
Additionally, Mudd recommended against losing your cool, making negative statements, rambling, speculating, using jargon or getting pushed into guessing or answering anything non-factual.
Founded in 1987, EHCMA is a coalition of more than 115 plant sites throughout 10 cities, seven outreach areas and three ports. This includes the largest petrochemical and refining site in the world. EHCMA, which is 25,000 people strong, is driving the area's economy with a $12 billion impact through taxes, payrolls, purchases and capital expenditures.
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