With every passing day, it seems as though there is another sexual harassment accusation. Imagine your company is involved in a crisis. What do you do to keep your image intact? As brave victims step forward, the accused, and the companies they work for, are left scrambling to recover what is left of their tainted reputations. Investigations will help provide much needed answers, but in the meantime, crisis PR is necessary to take control of the situation at hand.

Although the problem impacts more than just Hollywood, we can see how it has led to the firing of TV news anchors including Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose. Shows such as ”House of Cards” have even been threatened with a halt in production, which would end with the loss of jobs for entire production crews because of the alleged actions of one person.

Instead of scrambling at the last minute to figure out what you're going to do, there should be a draft plan already in place. Questions will arise about past actions of the accused as well as what preventative steps the company may have taken. Make sure to hear from both the accuser and the accused separately, begin your investigation, and consider hiring an independent, unbiased third party to investigate.

Consider Holding a News Conference

With constant streams of false and opinionated news and citizen journalism on the web, you need quick, accurate updates as the fast-moving storylines change. One way to control this is with a news conference. You can get the necessary information out to the public in a short amount of time. With a bunch of moving parts, it can get hectic, but there are four main things to ask yourself.

  • Do you have a statement? You need to let people know that the accusation has come to your attention, you've began an investigation and you are taking the situation very seriously. Don't delay your actions.
  • Who is invited to attend? You should have an up-to-date list of media contacts on file so you are not scrambling to find email addresses and news desk numbers last minute. National TV is a given, but also consider radio and print. Think about those who specifically cover the industry you are in. They should be on your invite list.
  • Did you give them enough time? Reporters work fast, but they're not super-human. It takes time to get a crew together and out to your location. Consider online streaming of the conference for those who cannot attend. This will also be beneficial to those who might be at work, out of the country, or somewhere without access to a television.
  • Who will speak? This person will become the face of your company through this crisis. It should be someone in a position of leadership. They must be prepared to have hard hitting questions thrown at them, and trained on what to say, what not to say and how to say it. Make sure they know not to give out any confidential information that can interfere with the investigation. They must be informed of what to do if they are questioned by anyone looking for further details. Who should they direct people to if approached? It should be that same face of the company or your publicist who is thoroughly trained to work with you. As employees, they can, and will be quoted as a source directly from the company. Preparation will help control the message that the public receives.

There are a few things to do to help minimize the risk of even having to put a crisis plan into motion:

Remember the Rules and Repercussions

As we can all see, things like this happen everywhere. Open up the discussion. If you act like it cannot and does not impact people of all ages, races, occupations and genders, you are helping to breed a hostile environment.

Encourage

Silence enables inappropriate behavior to continue. Support those who speak out against bad behavior. Have a safe space where employees and clients will feel comfortable going to someone in charge should something ever happen.

While you can do all of the above, things don't always go according to plan. The best PR professionals keep calm during the mad rush of a crisis because they have a strategy established in advance. There are a few ways to get the message out quickly and effectively when you are under pressure.

Use Social Channels

Technology has come a long way. In this age of marketing, you want to take advantage of all available platforms to help you reach the most amount of people. Official statements should be posted on all of your social media channels. As a PR rep for the company of an accused employee, you want to make sure people know this type of behavior is not tolerated at your company, that there is an investigation is in progress and proper action is being taken.

One person can ruin the reputation of an entire company and snowball a negative impact on everyone. You can't hide behind their unlawful and inappropriate actions, or point fingers. With the right mixture of time, patience and uncovering of the truth, the innocent can recover. The process is a long, detailed one that has to be executed properly and in a timely fashion.

Julie Talenfeld is the president of BoardroomPR, an integrated marketing and PR firm based in South Florida. She can be reached at [email protected]