Crisis Communications: How Do You Say "Fire" in Spanish? ** You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the by-line is included. Notification of publication would be appreciated. Please send notification to mgalindo@translationsandmore.com ** It is a sign of our times that crisis management has become an important and often defining role for corporate management. Hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, forest fires and a variety of other natural disasters head the list of crises faced by all of us but especially by those responsible for the people and property of their company. Add to the list manmade crises like criminal activity whether white-collar or otherwise, negligence, mistakes, and all those things covered under Murphy's all-purpose Law that says if something can go wrong it will. A crisis can be a grease fire in the cafeteria or an exploding oil well; it can be a ship aground, an aircraft down, or a building collapsing. Whatever the characteristics of the crisis, people need to take action quickly to deal with it; they need to know what has happened, what the consequences are, and what their role is in resolving it. Crisis management includes communicating the facts of the matter, the rules of conduct or engagement, who does what, and who should not do what. Some employees will be directly responsible for taking action to resolve or minimize the effects of the crisis. Others will be responsible for explaining to interested parties what has happened, what is going on and why. Still others will be affected in one way or another by the unfolding events. Within the smallest local company a crisis requires a chain of command and a clear communications plan. In a global company crisis communications requires much more. A global company needs to have its crisis communications plan published and distributed in advance in as many languages as the countries in which the company operates. The accuracy of translated material for crisis communications is even more critical than that for sales or marketing. Translators must be part of both the planning and communications development and the crisis management team. They must validate the accuracy of the written plan and be available as the crisis unfolds to translate instructions and commands. Within the United States alone an estimated sixteen per cent of the workforce is of Spanish descent. When a company neglects to publish its crisis communications plan in Spanish as well as English it is creating rather than resolving a potential crisis. In a crisis, when events are moving fast, misunderstanding of orders or directives can lead to the worst possible outcomes. Language matters because understanding matters. Without understanding the correct action cannot be taken. Language matters because the right words are the shortest route to effective action just as the wrong words can lead to further disaster. Wouldn't you agree? Both planning and operational crisis teams need the services of experienced translators to create and implement an effective crisis communications plan. Don't wait until the fire starts to look up the Spanish word for "Fire!" Or the Mandarin word for "Quickly!" Or the Portuguese for "Help!"
See you soon ! Martha. ********************************************************************** About the Author, if using, please include: Martha E. Galindo, President and CEO of Galindo Publicidad, Inc. A multilingual translations agency, selected twice as a Florida 100 company. Author of “How Do You Say…?” an eNewsletter designed to help you improve your business communications in other languages, Subscribe http://www.translationsandmore.com/subscription.html GPI, Inc. Request a free project quote- http://www.translationsandmore.com/contact.html ***********************************************************************