Abstract: Today everybody with a computer and internet connection can write, share, twit and check out online almost anything that he or she is interested in. Information is just few clicks away – this is a notorious fact, but recently the discussion upon the role of the publics in the process of work of the communication experts is growing. Many people are looking for information online, and the opinion of active online users is often considered important. Modern online reality brings us to a situation where online crisis can appear literary at any moment. This new technological environment brings new rules for crisis communication – the time for reaction is much shorter, being honest and transparent is a must and neglecting the online processes could turn out to be a direct threat to the existence of every organization. We should keep our constant attention towards two main groups of people – our clients and our employees. Employee communication – both, when predicting a crisis and in time of a crisis, having in mind that our employees are among the main factors for success and could become a valuable asset if treated right. In the text we focused our attention on the notion of the terms crisis and employee communication and the importance of the process of communication at the three main stages of a crisis – before, at the time of and after. We offer some efficient tactics for communicating with the main public at any stage.
Keywords: online crisis, employee communication, communication management, internal, tactics.
Rhetoric and Communications Е-Journal, Issue 9, July 2013, http://rhetoric.bg/, ISSN 1314-4464