Crisis communications when trust is fleeting: A conversation with crisis veteran Chris Beard 

The Edelman Trust Barometer suggests consumer trust in most institutions has plummeted. How does a lack of trust impact how you communicate during a crisis?

A lack of trust means you are starting at a disadvantage. People are more likely to doubt your organization’s messaging and more inclined to believe misinformation. When trust is low, false narratives can quickly gain traction.

That’s why transparency is critical when communicating about an issue. It’s essential not to spin, withhold, or obscure the truth. However, transparency should be appropriate to the situation. For example, a consumer goods company dealing with a product recall must clearly disclose the scope of the recall, which products are affected, and the potential risks to consumers. On the other hand, a financial institution under SEC investigation may not need to disclose every detail publicly but should ensure that directly impacted stakeholders are properly informed, even if broader public statements are unnecessary.

For financial services firms, trust is paramount.  What can companies do to put deposits in the reputation bank account?

Financial services firms should align their actions with what their stakeholders value. They should actively develop and then communicate the programs they have in place that support those values. For instance, if trust is a top priority, firms should proactively implement thought leadership initiatives that go beyond regulatory requirements to build and reinforce that trust. Importantly, these efforts should be put in place before a crisis hits, not just in response to an issue. By establishing a foundation of credibility in advance, firms are more likely to earn the benefit of the doubt and maintain stakeholder confidence when issues arise.

What did you learn from your work with a credit reporting agency responding to reports of data breaches, whether those breaches actually happened or not.  What guidance do you have for all companies where the protection of personal information and data is critical?

Companies must have robust security measures in place and be fully prepared to respond if a breach occurs. This means not only having incident response plans and systems ready to activate but also ensuring that teams are well-trained and able to execute those plans under pressure.

And remember, it's not enough to have a documented plan; organizations should conduct breach simulation exercises at least annually, ideally twice a year, to test and refine their response.

Companies also need to inform their impacted customers or stakeholders before the rumors and misinformation start flying around the internet.

How do you keep a crisis team, and even the executive, calm and focused as you navigate a crisis?

Few things disrupt a communications team more than a panicked leadership response during a crisis. To prevent this, it’s essential that leadership is familiar with the crisis communication plan, understands the processes, and has confidence in the team executing them. Make sure leaders know that your communications team is well-prepared and regularly conducts simulations. A well-drilled team not only responds more effectively, but also instills confidence in leadership, creating the calm, coordinated environment necessary to manage a crisis successfully.

And make sure the leadership team understands the cadence of updates they will receive as well as when they will need to be involved.

What’s your post-crisis playbook?

Post crisis, it is important to do 2 things. Firstly, debrief what happened and how the crisis communication team handled the issue. Ask yourself:

• Did we achieve our goal?
• Where did the process work and not work?
• Where were there delays in the process, and how could those have been avoided?
• What unexpected things happened?
• What could we have done differently?
• Who else should we have involved?

Secondly, start putting deposits back in your reputation account. Think of programs and initiatives related to the issue that your organization can proactively implement to gain trust and enhance your reputation with key stakeholders.

In the past, we’d help people create a crisis plan that they’d save or literally put in a binder on a shelf.  How do you create a living/breathing crisis plan in this age of AI?

Crisis plans and processes need to be living documents. It is important that they update them at least once a year and, importantly, that they conduct crisis simulation exercises. Companies need to develop muscle memory in handling crisis simulations. These exercises may also expose holes in the crisis plan that you can address while the stakes are lower.

Thanks, Chris!