Description of the Crisis
I work at a national bank as a CEO, where a recent crisis has attracted nationwide coverage due to its massive effect on the economy. The bank is the largest one in the country and has clients in the entire nation, including its biggest customer, the government. There was a recent attempt to improve the bank’s software as the previous one was overwhelmed by the vast number of transactions owing to the increased customer base. The bank is planning to venture into the banking market of neighboring countries. The software upgrade would account for the anticipated increase in clientele.
All the customers had been informed of the planned upgrade 48 hours ago, and the improvement should have taken 12 hours and been completed 24 hours ago. There was a delay during the installation so the software engineers had been forced to redesign the software afresh, keeping our customers at bay for a total of 36 hours. They were unable to transact their business, and the government has also been unable to conduct various national projects. This scenario has led to protests in various parts of the nation, and the bank plans a press conference to settle the dust and put the customers at ease.
Relationship with Media and Actions to Establish that Relationship
It is crucial that the media is considered and regards itself as a friend of the bank. This is due to the disastrous effect negative publicity is likely to have on the bank’s business in general. Friendship with the media will be established by ensuring the news is released to the media regularly and reliably to eliminate the possibility of false reports (Raupp, 2019). The public relations department will release regular updates to the media on the progress of the installation to provide our clients with hope. The bank will also offer interviews to the most popular media houses, and various representatives will be availed, to ensure that the banks sense our cooperation (Patrona, 2018). Finally, the bank will allow minimal live coverage of the events occurring during the least risky aspects of the software upgrade. This will ensure the image of the bank as a dedicated entity, is maintained throughout the operation.
Summary of Press Conference Activities
The press conference will occur at 2 pm and within the conference hall in the bank as it is large enough and has the equipment necessary for a press conference. The media conference will be conducted professionally, and all the media houses including, the print, television, and radio stations, will be invited. International media houses will also be involved owing to the bank’s plans to expand into the region. The public relations manager will manage both the start and finish of the press conference. The public relations department will draft the press statement in consultation with the general manager, who will sign it. The general manager will be the spoke person owing to his popularity amongst the clients and the media (Berry, 2019). The attending media houses will be requested to send their questions before the press conference to ensure adequate preparation.
Trick Questions and their Answers to them
One trick question likely to be asked by the press is why the duration to restore the bank software has taken this long. The answer to this question will be that the upgrade to the software was planned to take less than 12 hours. The contracted engineers are the best in the region, and their assurance was more than enough for the bank, given their vast reputation creating software updates elsewhere. The unprecedented glitch in the process caused the programmers to redo the program afresh, and it is now in the course of installation. The program we wanted was custom designed to ensure it meets the bank’s dedication to excellent service delivery. The installation will be concluded in the next 24 hours, and our clients will be able to conduct their business better than before.
A second trick question likely to be asked by the media is what measures management is taking to ensure that the new deadline for software installation is achieved. The answer to this question is that I will personally follow the rest of the processes in the connection to ensure the deadline is attained. Additionally, before the press conference, I held consultative meetings with reputable banking software experts for advice. They assured us that: the 24-hour timeline would be possible, and operations resumed soon after. I thank all our customers for their patience and apologize for the inconvenience. I assure them that within the next 24 hours, they will be able to access their money and transact in a better and easier way.
The third trick question is why the bank sought to install a new software yet the previous one worked efficiently. The answer to this question is that the previous software was overwhelmed by the increased customer base and size of transactions daily. Additionally, the bank planned to venture into a new market, and the software update would serve the prospective new customers effectively. The update will handle several transactions at once and have a more user-friendly interface.
References
Berry, M. (2019). The media, the public and the great financial crisis. Sringer.
Patrona, M. (2018). Crisis and the media: Narratives of crisis across cultural settings and media genres. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Raupp, J. (2019). Crisis communication in the rhetorical arena. Public Relations Review, 45(4).