Crisis Management
After a recent talk from Susanna Fier, VP of Public Affairs and Marketing at Elliot Health System, my eyes were really opened to what this job title entailed. When I initially thought of public affairs and marketing, things that came to mind were along the lines of selling your organization to people so that they will want to invest in the company (whether it is monetarily or actually being a patient/client at the facility). Ideally, I thought this job title really meant just making the organization look good and while that's true, the job is really so much more than that.
One of the biggest pieces of the job is crisis management. While I touched upon emergency planning in another blog post, this is not what I'm referring to when I say crisis management. While emergency planning is part of crisis management, I'm more so referring to how someone in Susanna's position would manage a crisis both internally (dealing w/patients, physicians, other staff etc.) and also how she deals with this crisis in the public eye. One of the biggest pieces that distinguishes Susanna's job from others is her interaction with the media. Now as someone who is not the most calm in emergency situations throwing the media on-top of that I would be a complete and utter mess. I can honestly say that while this job isn't for me, I can very clearly tell that it was made for someone like Susanna. For one, her talk with my management class was so engaging and captivating that I felt I was truly going through that crisis with her. She really knows how to pinpoint her audience and speak to them in a way that will resinate with them. This is something so important in crisis management because when dealing with these situations and the media gets involved, it's important to know how to communicate with your audience.
Susanna also emphasizes the importance of effective communication. This is something that has come up time and time again from numerous professionals that we've heard from throughout the semester. In fact, the University of Michigan lists effective communication as an area that hospitals need to improve upon to help better prepare them for when tragedy strikes. After listening to Susanna and her experiences, this sounds like an area that she has already mastered. In the case of an emergency situation it's vital that you know how and who to communicate with when these stressful situations arise. Susanna talks about how she communicates with physicians and other staff to learn the facts in a crisis and then how she also communicates to the media to help give them what they want, but to also help her show the rest of the community that what is going on inside the hospital is under control.
I was really engaged and interested by what Susanna had to say about her professional experiences and I now have a greater appreciation for people who take on jobs in the realm of public affairs and marketing (because I know that is just not something I'm cut out for). It sounds like a very exciting job in the sense that there is always something new happening and it keeps you on your toes. I enjoyed Susanna's talk to our management class very much and I hope she is able to come speak to future classes. It was a really enjoyable and intriguing class.
How Hospitals Can Improve Crisis Management When Tragedy Strikes
One of the biggest pieces of the job is crisis management. While I touched upon emergency planning in another blog post, this is not what I'm referring to when I say crisis management. While emergency planning is part of crisis management, I'm more so referring to how someone in Susanna's position would manage a crisis both internally (dealing w/patients, physicians, other staff etc.) and also how she deals with this crisis in the public eye. One of the biggest pieces that distinguishes Susanna's job from others is her interaction with the media. Now as someone who is not the most calm in emergency situations throwing the media on-top of that I would be a complete and utter mess. I can honestly say that while this job isn't for me, I can very clearly tell that it was made for someone like Susanna. For one, her talk with my management class was so engaging and captivating that I felt I was truly going through that crisis with her. She really knows how to pinpoint her audience and speak to them in a way that will resinate with them. This is something so important in crisis management because when dealing with these situations and the media gets involved, it's important to know how to communicate with your audience.
Susanna also emphasizes the importance of effective communication. This is something that has come up time and time again from numerous professionals that we've heard from throughout the semester. In fact, the University of Michigan lists effective communication as an area that hospitals need to improve upon to help better prepare them for when tragedy strikes. After listening to Susanna and her experiences, this sounds like an area that she has already mastered. In the case of an emergency situation it's vital that you know how and who to communicate with when these stressful situations arise. Susanna talks about how she communicates with physicians and other staff to learn the facts in a crisis and then how she also communicates to the media to help give them what they want, but to also help her show the rest of the community that what is going on inside the hospital is under control.
I was really engaged and interested by what Susanna had to say about her professional experiences and I now have a greater appreciation for people who take on jobs in the realm of public affairs and marketing (because I know that is just not something I'm cut out for). It sounds like a very exciting job in the sense that there is always something new happening and it keeps you on your toes. I enjoyed Susanna's talk to our management class very much and I hope she is able to come speak to future classes. It was a really enjoyable and intriguing class.
How Hospitals Can Improve Crisis Management When Tragedy Strikes
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