There is bad news in (almost) every company or organisation. Most of the time, it is about a difficult economic situation in which you find yourself. The communication around such negative news can make a significant difference. What should you pay attention to?
Firstly: at least the bad economic news comes overnight. In most cases, people have known for some time that the profitability of a company or organisation is not in the best of health. Therefore, you usually have at least a few days to prepare for the communication – and good preparation can make a big difference.
At the beginning, you have to decide on a communication strategy. I almost always recommend a strategy of openness and transparency. Honesty builds trust and creates the conditions for looking positively to the future. If you don’t properly come to terms with your past, you will always have to answer questions about it.
Once you have decided in favour of an open and transparent approach, you need to draw up a communication plan: When, where, how and, above all, who do we want and need to inform? What information do we provide and when? Here are a few points:
As a first step, it is often advisable to talk about carrying out a detailed analysis of your economic situation. This allows you to prepare your most important target groups to receive any negative messages. It also shows that you are in control of the situation – an important prerequisite for successful communication. And, as soon as you talk about the fact that you are carrying out an analysis yourself, you need to be less afraid of leaks or assumptions in the press, because you can always refer to your own active role.
If you decide to go down this route, it is crucial that you draw up a timetable that you can stick to. This timetable must be structured in such a way that you have enough time to inform all important internal target groups (employees, members, supervisory board, styrelse, sponsors, important suppliers and customers) before you go to the media.
And it is just as important to have enough time to think about measures to counter a poor economic situation. You need to be specific here, because this part of the message will determine the success of the communication. You cannot remain vague here, all measures must be planned in detail and backed up with a clear timetable.
A central point of the communication plan is to communicate ”from the inside out”: First your own troops, then the media. One question always helps: Who is most affected by the bad news? If you answer this question honestly, you will always end up with your employees or members, important customers, partners and sponsors. This is exactly where most companies and clubs fail: instead of talking to their own target groups, they give interviews – often with little concrete information. This is where you need ice in your stomach and the above-mentioned communication strategy with a clear plan. A ”no comment” is less damaging than a bad interview! Another point: common language rules help! If every speaker knows what words they are allowed to use and what the basic message is – then everyone is helped. And don’t be afraid of repetition: As a rule, you have to repeat things seven (7!) times until they get through… Speaking of speakers: it’s much better if you have a clear speaker defined. On the one hand, other people can take care of other things, on the other hand, you can support and train one person better. The fact that all media enquiries are processed centrally – by the communications team – has proved to be a good idea!
If you have done your homework in the first phase, the second part, the actual communication of the bad news, is less difficult. This is because your own troops are forewarned and know what to expect. However, there is one important point: you must always look ahead! As tempting as it is to explain in detail what went wrong in the past, you can only do yourself harm. In retrospect, you should report as much as necessary – but as much as possible looking forwards. And be specific! Nothing is more difficult for your own morale than half-baked announcements. Many companies and organisations do not take this point seriously enough and leave it at ideas and promises. That does not create trust. All the energy in the company must go forwards: What are we doing to be better again? You can’t change the past, but you can change the future! Many companies and organisations also underestimate the strong internal power of a plan for a better future.
One risk of looking too much into the past is that you are perceived as disloyal or as someone who points the finger at others. Even if others are responsible for a bad situation: now you are responsible yourself – for the future!
And here, too, the same applies: from the inside out! A well-informed employee, a well-informed member is less susceptible to bad news in the media. If they are also well informed about the plan to solve the problem, every employee and every member can become a positive ambassador.
To summarise:
- If bad news is expected, create a communication strategy (How do we want to communicate?) and a communication plan (Who, when, how, who?).
- Define a clear timetable: When do we announce the news? By when must all materials be ready? A project plan that everyone has to stick to helps here.
- Again and again: communicate from the inside out! Always ask: who is most important for the company, the organisation? Who do we need to protect?
- Keep calm! A leak in the media is a leak, nothing more. A post on Facebook is a post on Facebook, nothing more. A bad comment is not the end of the world! Taking a deep breath and keeping your mouth shut until you have all the information together is more important than reacting to everything.
- Look to the future! Make a brief and concise conclusion to the past and look ahead – in detail and with precision. Nothing helps better against uncertainty than a clear and comprehensible plan for the coming weeks and months. Then you will have better news to announce – but always from the inside out!
Many of the points mentioned above can be prepared well: the most important thing is that you can reach all important target groups well. To do this, you need – in the context of GDPR – contact details and you need to know which channel you are using for which target group.
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I work as a freelance communications consultant in Leksand in Dalarna, Sweden. With thirty years of experience as a communications manager in Sweden, Germany, England and Luxembourg, I know how important it is to work pragmatically. Communication is a craft – and only sometimes an art. Crises have no opening hours and don’t just work Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm. If you need help: 0046 70 735 1911 or kommunikation@tillasgarden.se. I promise fair billing and don’t need long-term contracts. I’m there when you need me!