Two words I had heard a million times throughout my degree. These words came to mind; definition, meaning, use, reality, past cases. It's all-great in theory right? Wrong. As it turns out, once faced with the daunting thought and realisation of a legitimate crisis in PR it becomes a lot harder to judge what is right or wrong, how you should carry out a task and what is the first thing that needs to be done once a crisis has occurred.
Muse Bureau experienced a mini crisis recently which affected everyone in the team. It was not so much the exact crisis that impacted us but the events to follow. I now have an understanding of what I learned in public relations principles that it is the steps and recovery, post event that are the most important.
We were no prepared for what happened and as a consequence, were unsure of what to do next and how to delegate the tasks. Confidentiality in this example was vital. Everything had to be kept within the agency and no information was to be released into the media or spoken about to anyone. I began to form an understanding of how imperitive it is to have trust between the client and consultancy. Without that a time of crisis would be very tough and taxing for both parties involved.
The book "Public Relations: contemporary issues and techniques" delves into the importance and theory behind crisis management with in-depth examples of it within the PR industry. Crisis management isn't just something we were taught at University, it is happening every day in all kinds of workplaces and situations. I just didn't think I would be involved in one so soon. In saying that, I have gained so many skills and extensive knowledge about what to do in this particular kind of crisis and even what is expected of you as an employee.
The crisis was resolved and handled by my bosses but I couldn't help thinking, will we be as prepared next time?
Georgia
