As a vice chair of ULI’s Residential Neighborhood Development Council (RNDC Blue), I was asked to give a presentation during our May 14 virtual council day on crisis communications.

Why is that important?

If COVID-19 has proven anything, it’s that crisis situations are unpredictable and can impact a company’s bottom line and shake confidence in its various audiences including consumers, shareholders, and the internal team. While this crisis is of epic proportions, every company should have a plan in place to mitigate a crisis of any size.

Yet, it’s said that 95% of U.S. companies are unprepared for a crisis. Ample budget and time are generally spent to build a company’s reputation, yet all can be undone with one mismanaged crisis. Having a carefully crafted crisis communications plan in place before a crisis strikes is key to minimizing damage to a company’s reputation and bottom line.

Here are four things you need to know to get a crisis communications plan off the ground, whether that’s responding to our current pandemic crisis or the myriad of crises that can occur in real estate development.

Crisis communications plan elements

First, identify your core crisis communications team – ideally the CEO, legal counsel, CMO, in-house head of PR or a PR agency, and have all forms of contact included for each person in the plan. If you have divisions in the company, have secondary spokespersons (presidents of division, if possible).

Identify and train a spokesperson(s). That person must have the right skills (not everyone, including a CEO, is the right fit as a spokesperson), the right position of authority within the company, and the right training to communicate with the public, the media, and stakeholders.

Meet with the crisis team to anticipate the kinds of crises to which your company may be subject. Again, crises typically come out of nowhere, but taking action like a well-oiled machine can dramatically shorten response time. For instance, homebuilders should plan for scenarios like jobsite injuries, natural disasters, or defective products. By developing responses to potential scenarios, you can quickly draft responses to media inquiries and be prepared to communicate quickly with all audiences.

Establish a crisis hotline, a number where the crisis team can call when a crisis happens. Establish a protocol that each person in the company, whether at the corporate office or in the field, will sign off on and follow. The policy should exempt anyone but the company spokesperson from talking to the media, and all media inquiries should immediately be sent to the crisis communications team to handle. Develop scripts for anyone who answers the phone or anyone on a jobsite so they know exactly what to say and not say if the media comes calling.

Put your plan to the test

Hopefully you won’t ever have to use your plan but if you do, here are the steps you need to take.

Gather the crisis team, then gather all information about the crisis before any communication of any kind takes place. Do research into the reporter(s) contacting the company so you understand that person’s reporting style and typical subject matter. Find out if any press coverage has already occurred, then decide if a press interview or written response is right for the crisis. This needs to happen rapidly, so it’s critical that the plan clearly define who is in charge of each task so the team can divide and conquer.

Next, decide if the crisis has risen to a serious enough level that the Board of Directors should be notified. When appropriate, draft emails/letters to the internal staff, vendors, trade partners, shareholders, homeowners, and homebuyers explaining the situation, assuring them it’s being handled and the company’s business is secure. If the crisis has been publicized, homebuilders will also want to prepare a statement for the sales staff at new home communities to communicate to customers who have questions.

Working with the press

When the press contacts you and you’ve decided your spokesperson will do an interview, be prepared with message points (three strong talking points is standard) by anticipating what questions a reporter may ask. The points should also include company messaging that reinforces your company brand and ethos.

During a press interview, the spokesperson should answer questions honestly and directly and then circle back to the main talking points. Never say ‘no comment.’ It implies guilt. Find another way to say you cannot answer the question at this time. Don’t say more than you have to as it  can lead to additional questions you may not be  prepared to answer.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, say that. Don’t guess or ad lib. Tell the reporter you’ll find an answer and get back to them.

Never talk ‘off the record’ to a reporter. Since you cannot guarantee that all reporters adhere to a uniform principal in regard to off-the-record comments, it’s safer to just communicate what you’re comfortable having publicized.

Post-mortem time

After the crisis is over, do an analysis of the response to see what was done right and what could be improved companywide, track any press coverage, and do an analysis of the spokesperson’s interviews. These steps will help guide you to adjust your plan before the next crisis occurs.

A new playing field with COVID-19

COVID has upturned our industry in ways no one could have imagined just three months ago and has caused unique situations that need to be addressed. For example, as construction, deemed essential, continues at jobsites, we’re seeing upset neighbors taking their complaints directly to social media, cities and municipalities, and news outlets. This requires a response in a  variety of ways.

A balance of empathy with an acknowledgement of the fear and anxiety we are all feeling right now, combined with a clear message stating the importance of providing housing to all sectors of the population, has gone a long way in mitigating this specific situation. A host of other challenges, such as layoffs, furloughs, and shrinking balance sheets all have to be addressed in a coordinated and organized way in order for companies to keep their reputations intact even in these extraordinarily challenging times.

Once we have emerged from this global crisis, companies will need to take stock of how they handled the various crises that have impacted and changed their businesses and decide how they will communicate going forward, both in everyday and crisis situations, to their customers, shareholders, partners, and internal teams.

As principal of Los Angeles-based NewGround PR & Marketing, a full-service communications and marketing firm, Carol has helped numerous builders and developers draft and execute their crisis communications plans. She is also vice chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Residential Neighborhood Development Council (RNDC Blue), past chair of  RNDC Gold.