A crisis rarely starts as a crisis
Leigh Harris
Diagram of the Escalation Curve Convergence co-founder Erin Jamieson recently spoke at the Local Government New Zealand Zone 5 Conference, which brought together mayors, councillors, chief executives and other senior local government leaders from across the South Island.
Her topic was crisis communications. There could hardly be a better time for it.
Councils are juggling possible amalgamation, rates capping, ageing infrastructure, tight finances, compliance demands and growing community expectations. One difficult issue is manageable. Several arriving together can turn the temperature up quickly.
Erin drew on more than 20 years in crisis and political communications, including mayoral campaigns, advice to elected leaders and work on the ground after the Pike River mine disaster and Canterbury earthquakes.
One of the ideas she shared was the escalation curve. Most crises do not arrive wearing a name badge saying ‘crisis’. They start as an issue that seems manageable. Then more people become involved, public interest grows, journalists begin calling and social media adds speed. Suddenly, the organisation is no longer managing an issue. It is chasing a crisis.
Spotting that shift early can make all the difference.
Trust cannot be ordered overnight
When something goes wrong, an organisation draws on the trust it has already earned. That comes from how it has communicated, behaved and treated people over time. There is no emergency shipment of credibility arriving at 9am.
Say what you know
Organisations rarely have every fact at the start of a crisis. That is not a reason to disappear. Acknowledge what has happened, explain what is being done and say when you will provide another update. Silence creates a space that other people will happily fill for you.
Get your own people aligned
It becomes obvious very quickly when the mayor, councillors, chief executive and staff are giving different answers. Internal alignment may happen out of public view, but it is one of the most important parts of an effective response.
Start with the people affected
People want to know that you understand what has happened to them before they hear about process, policy or technical detail. Empathy is not an optional paragraph to add after the legal team has finished. It should shape the response from the start.
There is no magic script for a crisis. The organisations that handle them best tend to act early, communicate regularly, stay aligned and sound like human beings. Most importantly, they build trust long before they need to call on it.
