Is a crisis still a crisis if no one admits there was a crisis?!

My time at Swan Districts Football club as their PR intern has been interesting and last week I encountered the most interesting moment of all. What we would call a 'PR crisis'. Well, it wasn't a full blown crisis but something did come up that needed to be addressed by the club.

The interesting thing was though, not everyone within the club came to the same conclusion on how big the issue was. Some thought it was only slightly important, while others thought it was a non issue. This all comes down to a personal opinion but within a PR professional setting, opinion shouldn't be the driving force behind crisis management, there should be some specific motions in place that decides what needs to occur after a crisis occurs, but also to stop it from happening in the first place.

This got me thinking about the importance of communication plans within a company. Every person in every single company need to be aware of what their communication strategies are in order to relay a consistent message to the public and to the key stakeholders. This awareness comes from internal communication plans and making sure everyone is up to speed with the way they are expected to cooperate in the professional setting. This is why professional sportsmen are coached in how to deal with the media, and the whole reason behind having PR people there in the first place! What I discovered through some of the events last week is that it is integral for a company's growth and prosperity to have these plans in place for reference in the case of any problems.

Without specific strategies and communication plans, the professional face of a company can be damaged in a moment due to inconsistent messages reaching stakeholders and mix ups happening. These communication plans also have to be recognised by everyone in the company, to abide by, and every form of communication needs to be run through the public relations or marketing department.

The reason why I felt the need to write about this is because it surprised me when it came up in a professional setting. We, as PR students, are constantly reminded to make sure we have identified our key messages and communication strategies that it seemed odd to me that things can slip up in some cases, or go unnoticed to create problems. I think it's extremely important to develop these plans in order for that smooth transition of communication from company to stakeholder.

What has surprised you in your time as a PR intern?

Lucy