Keeping our friends in the loop - Fine Point Communications

In crisis communications, one of the first things that should grab our attention is defining the audience: Who needs to know what, and when?

If we describe this using concentric circles, with independent schools the innermost ring is always made up of parents, faculty and staff, and board members. Students may find a spot here, too.

Things become less clear-cut, though, beginning with the next ring. Do neighbors belong in this second ring? How about other schools in the immediate area (as with winter-weather alerts)? Likewise, media outlets may belong in the second ring in certain scenarios, but not in all cases.

These groups all share a distant relationship with your school. But what about people who know you well, such as alumni, past parents and leading donors — do they belong in your communications plan? And if so, on what ring do you put them?

My sense is that most schools see informing alumni and donors as nice but not essential — especially when time is precious and facts are few. After all, the news media and social media will carry any story to these folks long before the school can get to them.

This approach is understandable, especially for short-handed offices.

That said, just as you don’t want outsiders to define your crisis, you don’t want to rely on them to be your messengers, either. Otherwise, you may find your friends are concerned or even dissatisfied with what they’ve been told.

I don’t mean to suggest that alumni and donors need the same information, in the same timeframe, as current families do. But hearing firsthand from the school is always meaningful, and never more so than when there is important information to share.

The communication could take the shape of an email or mailed letter from the head after the critical event has concluded. It could even be an article in the school magazine, reviewing what happened and how the school responded and listing a few takeaways for the future.

This is not a default behavior for schools, who generally would prefer to turn the page on any crisis situation as quickly as possible and move on. Nor is it appropriate in all cases — where a legal case is underway, for example, or law enforcement is investigating.

But this should be something heads and their communications directors consider as they work through the crisis: Is this a situation where our friends need to hear from us, and if so, when and what do we say?

When the national news comes to town

What brings all this to mind are some recent tragedies at schools and universities, along with a 30th anniversary this year that carries particular meaning for me.

My first job out of college was at the newspaper of a small Texas city. A few weeks after leaving that job, I awoke on a lazy Sunday and flipped on CNN to find a spotter map of that city — Waco — on my television.

Oo, this can’t be good, I thought as I watched, 2,000 miles away from Texas, and no, it wasn’t.

The story was about a federal raid and gunshots fired. Soon the whole world would come to know Waco for the standoff that began this day between a fringe religious sect and the government.

My former employer had a prime role in this story: The previous day, the Waco Tribune-Herald published stories that looked closely at David Koresh, the sect’s leader. The writers of those stories were good friends of mine. So were the reporters who literally dodged bullets as they covered the Sunday raid.

My close personal connection to what was playing out on my TV screen felt surreal.

Soon after, when questions arose about the media’s role in Waco — Did the Tribune-Herald’s reporting trigger the raid in some way? Did journalists tip off the Branch Davidians to the raid that was coming? — it was hard to reconcile the questions and implications with what I knew of the people involved.

You can expect alumni and other friends to feel a similar emotional disconnect when a crisis comes to light.

Yet these folks are likely starting from a place of goodwill toward the school. A timely message that allays concerns and speaks as one friend to another will protect that relationship and even strengthen the positive, trusting feeling.

Don’t-miss clicks

Last month’s Refill encouraged communications directors to talk to people around their schools about generative AI. I was tickled to learn later about this story from the Peddie School, which resulted from such discussions and was just published in Peddie’s spring magazine.
Colleagues and friends have been highlighting Julie Faulstich’s blog for several months now, so you may already be a subscriber. If you are a latecomer, though, her new series Mission Critical Communications offers an easy entry point. The first post in the series takes a deep dive into ways that heads of school can set up their comms directors for success. A lot of food for thought.