In the Crisis Committee, the most suitable people must be brought together to face the situation according to its nature.
Normally the crisis cell is integrated into the committee that will manage the conflict to the end, whose members will be joined by other people from the organization whose task and specialty are related to the origin or cause of the crisis and also, on occasions, external specialists or consultants of different profiles.
There is no specific number or established profiles regarding its composition, but, in addition to the aforementioned components of the crisis cell, two types of people must be present in the committee: those related to the functional resolution of the conflict and in charge of linking and coordinating the different departments and areas of the company. The latter must be key people in the organization, who have a good image and who have a flexible and open mind.
In my several years experience in crisis management, as a general rule the basic members of the crisis committee should be:
1. General manager or general director
2. Head of human resources
3. Legal adviser or lawyer of the company
4. Head of security
5. Public relations officer or director of communications
6. Financial director
From my point of view, these are the initial and permanent members, to which specialists from different branches should be added, depending on the cause, reason or circumstance that the crisis situation has generated.
For example, if there has been an explosion at a chemical factory, there is no doubt that a specialist in that area should join the crisis management team. If it is about labor conflicts, it is another professional, accusations of fraud, products in poor condition, computer crimes, abductions, etc. Each case is very particular and requires the assistance of very specific specialists.
We cannot avoid in this crisis committee the appointment of a spokesperson or spokesperson for the company. In most appearances before the media, you will be the person authorized to make statements and give opinions and official positions of the company.
Who should be this official spokesperson or spokesperson?
In times of crisis, the most logical thing is that this role should be played by the director of communications or public relations officer due to his experience and knowledge of handling the representatives of the media, with whom, in general, he maintains good relations.
However, sometimes crisis situations require great technical competence, handling highly specialized topics; Here the most recommendable thing is to appoint an expert and train him in handling the interviews with the media.
Let us remember that in moments of crisis the calm and relaxed atmosphere of press conferences changes to one of unexpected approaches on the street, by phone, visits without notice, and to handle this type of interview you have to be very well trained not to commit mistakes and, rather, take advantage of each meeting to get the most out of it and expose the previously elaborated key messages.
The director of communications is always integrated and is the spokesperson for very general statements and issues, in addition to always being the liaison and the one who makes contacts with journalists, especially those who are controversial or who are well identified as adverse to the company.
