It is only natural to want to avoid the discomfort of being the one on the hot seat answering questions from the media or a concerned/angry public when something bad has happened. "That's not my special expertise," you may be tempted to say. "Let's hire a crisis communications expert to handle these interviews so I can get on with running the organization."
While this might sound reasonable, it's usually not a good idea to bring in an outside communications expert to act as your spokesperson during a crisis. When I've been asked by companies if they can hire me to do this, I decline.
Why? Two main reasons:
(1) It would take entirely too much time for the executives of an organization to teach an outsider everything he or she should know in order to do a decent job of answering all possible questions. Someone who is thoroughly familiar with the organization can, instead, be given enough knowledge in a day-long media training session to allow them to be a good spokesperson.
(2) Your major audiences – be they your employees, customers, shareholders, or facility neighbors – need to be able to look your organization's managers in the eye and assess their credibility. It is these managers who will continue to be around long after a "hired gun" has packed her bags and gone home.
People who have been negatively impacted by an incident, whether physically, emotionally, or financially, need to know that the managers of the organization personally care about their situation. They need to see that the organization is trying to do the right thing. Having some stranger move to a microphone to mouth the company line is not nearly as effective. People will not respect the organization if they perceive you were not able to face the music when the going got tough.
Long after the specific incident is forgotten, this perception about the compassion and responsibility of your organization will remain. These attributes should be connected to representatives of your organization.
Make it a New Year's resolution to ensure your senior managers have received some basic crisis communications training so they will be prepared to make a positive impression when a crisis hits.
Copyright (C) 2005 JCH Enterprises
Judy Hoffman, Principalwww.judyhoffman.com Author of book "Keeping Cool on the Hot Seat: Dealing Effectively with the Media in Times of Crisis" and CD "Dealing Effectively with Angry People" 
