Sabine Kuch

The communication textbooks always call for early and transparent communication. This is an honourable demand, but in practice those who communicate are not always the ones who have access to the complete picture. There are many reasons for this: in the case of stock corporations, price-sensitive information may not be shared, information relevant to competition is not communicated for fear of a data leak, and there are also company leaders who have had bad experiences with open communication. And finally, it always plays an important role what status communication has in the company, is the job holder a direct report of the CEO or an employee of the marketing department...the honoured reader may anticipate that I prefer the first variant.

Crisis communication should be an element of general and comprehensive emergency planning within the company. All too often, corresponding plans exist in individual departments in different data formats. Software such as #smart2success can be used to consolidate and visualise data so that in a crisis you know who is responsible, what resources are available, etc. This makes the work of a company spokesperson much easier and safer, as messages can be created on the basis of valid data. Regular spokesperson training with senior management is also important as they often need to cooperate in addition to the spokesperson, depending on the severity of the crisis.

This statement surprises me greatly - even in small and medium-sized companies there are of course media-relevant crises - you become the victim of a cyberattack and the business comes to a standstill - as a supplier in a tightly-tacked supply chain, possibly with a major impact on the customer... The phone rings very quickly and the local press is on the line, not to mention viral communication.

In my first PR years, I worked for Edelman PR in Frankfurt and Shandwick in Edinburgh. In large agencies you are well trained in strategy and project management. As a PR agency, it would be ideal to have a competent counterpart at the client, but everyone in our industry knows that this is unfortunately often not the case, as PR is managed under marketing and the corresponding know-how is lacking. This is where small, specialized consulting agencies come into play, which familiarize themselves intensively in-house with the client's spefific challenges of the dynamic and ever transforming tech industry and competently fill the interface. In this way, both advantages can be played out together for the benefit of the complex customer.

Many years ago, I was head of Product PR at Dr. Oetker, Germany. During this time, the wall came down and we developed a communication concept for the new Federal States with 10 ladies who held cooking and baking seminars with our products in kindergartens, schools and women's organizations. During a visit to a colleague, baking was taking place in a women's community and one participant did not follow the instructions for preparing a cake exactly and asked the group whether she should stop. My colleague then stood in front of the group and said with complete conviction - no problem, with the Dr. Oetker guarantee it will definitely work. She was a wonderful brand ambassador and lived with all her heart and conviction our company values.

It is totally important to set time limits within which projects are to be realised. When I was younger, I had a tendency to invite all the tasks that came my way to my desk. As a single and full-time working mother, I quickly had to learn to set boundaries and prioritise. I simply use my Outlook calendar in which I also block out specific times for certain tasks and when I am not available for meetings and calls. What motivates me is a handwritten note on which I write the three most important goals of the day and then cross them out by hand. This gives me a feeling of control and success. If processes are not running smoothly, I discuss this with the team and also ask for support - this is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary.