COMMUNICATIONS IN TIMES OF CRISIS 337z Tell your story fi rst and be honest. It is much more diffi cult to neutralise rumours or to
defend yourself against allegations than it is to give a clear overview of the facts fi rst.
Furthermore, it is counter-productive to lie, since pressure groups or the media will fi nd
out sooner or later, with even more consequent harm to the company’s image.
z Never go ‘off the record’. Th ere should only be one story which is the same for everybody.
Act as if all questions and answers will be made public.
z Keep your employees informed , to avoid rumours that take on a life of their own and
that are fed by the employees’ speculations. Communicate internally and externally, in
parallel.
z Position your company or products in a larger context, stressing the positive elements, to
divert attention from the element that caused the crisis.
z Details. Give as much information about the incident as possible.
z Compassion. Show understanding and regret, and make apologies.
z Reassurance. Everything is under control, there is no further danger.
z What are we doing about it? Present in-depth research by an independent organisation.Aft er the crisis, the company enters the readjustment phase and has to rebuild a new
reservoir of goodwill, based on the same principles discussed before.On Friday afternoon, 26 September 2008, the CEO of Fortis Bank and Insurance held a press conference to state
that there was nothing wrong with the bank’s solvency and liquidity. A couple of hours later he had to step down,
and less than 48 hours later the Belgian and Dutch governments had to intervene to prevent Fortis from going
bankrupt. One week later, the French banking group Paribas stepped in to partially take over Fortis Bank. These
communications mistakes undermined the credibility of Fortis with its stakeholders and destroyed its carefully built
good reputation. Following this disastrous weekend, Fortis decided to withdraw its shares from the stock exchange
for a couple of days. This withdrawal lasted one and a half weeks. A couple of weeks later, one of the major TV
channels in Belgium aired a programme called ‘ The big money debate’. The CEOs of all major banks were present,
but Fortis sent a lower-level manager. Crisis communications experts claim that this would have been the ideal
moment for Fortis and its CEO to show that they took their responsibility seriously and were not hiding from their
stakeholders. Also, in the negotiations between Paribas and the Dutch and Belgian governments, it was unclear
what the role of Fortis had been. The bank did not communicate clearly about this and this deteriorated further its
already tainted reputation. To add insult to injury for its shareholders, who lost a lot of money due to the Fortis
crash, news got out that various top managers were granted multi-million-euro bonuses, even during the 27–28
September negotiations. Finally, in the same period, Fortis held a luxurious and expensive party in Monaco in honour
of its agents. In normal circumstances this would have gone unnoticed, but at a time when many shareholders and
customers of the bank felt uncertain and cheated, the party triggered a new wave of indignation and negative media
stories. Fortis broke many rules of good crisis behaviour and communications in this period, even to the extent that
communications experts feel that the reputation of the financial group is so damaged that it will have to be replaced
by a different corporate identity altogether.^32BUSINESS INSIGHT
Fortis blunders during financial crisisM10_PELS3221_05_SE_C10.indd 337M10_PELS3221_05_SE_C10.indd 337 6/5/13 3:26 PM6/5/13 3:26 PM