Communicating During a Societal Crisis

We don’t need to look far to find recent examples of a social crisis: the Hamas attacks in Israel and Israel’s subsequent response; mass shootings motivated by racial, religious, and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment; the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v Wade and abortion rights; the murder of George Floyd; and the rise of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are just a few of many. 

These events cut across the political spectrum. Sometimes, external stakeholders look to the company for its visible position. More frequently, internal employees expect their employers to declare a point of view or issue a message of support. Leaders have to make communication decisions quickly with emotions running high.

My previous posts covered the three categories of crisis and how to prepare for a company-specific crisis. While company crises are complex and stressful, they typically aren’t political. In contrast, societal crises are inherently fraught and take a unique level of advance thought and investment. 

The Cost of Not Preparing

Strong guiding principles are what separate companies that navigate these moments from those that get caught unprepared. Reacting quickly can result in short-sighted responses that need to be modified later: 

• Disney’s CEO made critical comments toward a writer and actor strike, then reversed his stance weeks later after negative response

• The NFL condemned kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality, then reversed course after the murder of George Floyd, leading to vocal criticism of the organization

• Uniqlo said it would keep its Russian stores open following its invasion of Ukraine, then changed its position 24 hours later

Reversals like these can permanently mar a company’s reputation, making them appear wishy-washy or careless.

Alternatively, indecision and internal debate can paralyze companies, resulting in major internal churn, while employees and customers demand action or statements. Executives need to drop everything to focus on the crisis, distracting from running the business.

Developing Guiding Principles

Guiding principles are key behaviors and beliefs established in advance of a crisis. They can help with these hot-button issues, starting with when the company will or will not comment. Variables include the nature of the event, its direct impact to a company’s business and employees, and the broader industry and government context. 

There are many levels of company response, ranging from sending a message on an internal Slack channel all the way up to publishing a blog, signing an industry letter, or making a change in business operations. In addition, a company might make charitable donations or sponsor giving campaigns. 

These leadership choices can’t be driven by emotion, because that will almost certainly lead to inconsistency in communications response. And stakeholders (especially employees) will read meaning into the inconsistency that was not intended. I have had employees reference leader emails from years earlier as “proof” that the company cares more about one constituency or cause than another, and it’s difficult to change those perceptions.

The good news is that societal crises are more predictable than they might feel in the moment. Most fall into a manageable set of categories: 

* This chart is for a generic company and would be adjusted based on the business: For example, gun rights are highly business relevant to weapons manufacturers, and health policy has a major business impact for healthcare companies. 

Once you have the categories defined, then the hard work begins of developing a company stance and governance. It’s critical that this be done at the level of the executive leadership or “C-Suite.” I have most often seen a decision committee model consisting of the General Counsel for a legal perspective; Chief People Officer for an employee perspective; Chief Marketing Officer for a customer perspective; and the Chief Communications Officer, if there is one reporting to the CEO. The CEO owns decision sign-offs, and the entire leadership team should be aware and aligned with the principles when they’re put in place.

Every company should develop these guiding principles based on their unique business, customer, cultural, and government context. The most essential test for the principles is that they 1) meaningfully help inform decisions during a crisis and 2) can be applied consistently over time. For example, a guiding principle that “we care about our employees’ welfare” would not be specific enough to guide decision-making if there were a major change in health access or marriage rights. But a principle that “we will speak up for the legal rights of our employees” or “we will not comment on topics unrelated to our own customer operations” would each clearly inform how the company responds. 

One of the most common mistakes companies make is calibrating their response to the level of controversy surrounding an issue. In other words, they might comment on what they see as “safe” issues but not on ones perceived as political, even though the crises are in the same general category (health policy, violent event, etc.). That can lead to inconsistency and frustration from employees. So once the guiding principles are drafted, a useful final test: would the company still act this way if the issue was X, Y, or Z?

Once companies develop their guiding principles, I strongly recommend sharing them openly with employees. This can be in a live discussion forum if needed (typically in response to a growing volume of requests and churn). Or it can be a low-key posting to the intranet as a reference that can be pointed to over time as needed. While not everyone will agree with the company’s approach, the transparency, consistency, and leader ownership will build trust. And that trust is the number one thing that will help you navigate a crisis successfully.

Do You Have a Plan for Societal Crisis?

Companies that develop strong guiding principles in advance of a crisis come out of hard moments with stronger cultures and more loyal employees. If you need a partner in this effort, please reach out. I’ve worked with senior executives and communication teams to develop alignment and response plans to help companies move faster and more effectively to prepare for the unexpected.