Crisis spokesperson: who speaks for the business?

Key takeaways

Your business crisis spokesperson should be a named leader, usually the owner or managing director, who approves every public statement. PR advisers can draft and coach, and an outsourced team can monitor channels, log enquiries and send holding replies. Nobody outside the business should speak for it, because statements in a crisis can create legal and reputational commitments.

• Name one spokesperson and one deputy now.
• Every public statement is approved by them.
• Outsource monitoring, logging and holding replies.
• Staff and providers refer all media enquiries.

Why must a leader speak for the business?

Because a crisis statement commits the business: it may admit facts, promise action or affect legal claims. Customers, staff and journalists want to hear from someone accountable. A statement from an agency or a provider looks evasive, and a careless one can make things worse.

• Which business processes should you never outsource?
• Social media crisis plan for small businesses

What can advisers and providers do?

They make the spokesperson faster and better prepared.

• Draft statements and Q&A for approval.
• Coach the spokesperson for interviews.
• Monitor social media and reviews.
• Log enquiries and send approved holding replies.
• Brief customer service teams on what to say.

• Keep the decision, outsource the admin around it
• Escalations the owner should take personally

What should a crisis statement include?

What happened, as far as you know; who is affected; what you are doing; what people should do; and when you will update. Avoid speculation and blame. Take legal advice where injury, data breaches or regulators are involved, and keep the first statement short.

• Data breaches: who decides whether to report?
• Product recalls: run the response from inside

How do you prepare before a crisis?

Name the spokesperson and deputy, agree who approves statements, prepare holding statements for likely scenarios, and tell staff and providers to refer all media enquiries. A one-page plan reviewed once a year is enough for most SMEs.

• Social media crisis mistakes that make things worse
• Outsourcing red lines: write them down before you sign

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an employee or agency replies publicly in the first hour and contradicts the owner's later statement. A rule that every public reply goes through one person, with approved holding lines ready, prevents it.

• See client work
• BPO Solutions for UK businesses

Crisis spokesperson checklist

• Name a spokesperson and deputy.
• Agree statement approval in advance.
• Prepare holding statements.
• Tell staff and providers to refer enquiries.
• Review the plan yearly.

• Product recalls: run the response from inside
• Customer data: always own the list

Next step

Write the name of your spokesperson and deputy, and send it to your team and any agencies today.