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How to Perform Solid Crisis Communications

As the vice president of corporate communications for home builder Taylor Morrison, Stephanie McCarty of Phoenix, Arizona, manages strategy for the company's communications campaigns. One of the elements Stephanie McCarty handles for Taylor Morrison is crisis communications, which requires a clear head and solid planning.

Crisis communications should be proactive and forthright. Good crisis communicators always start by taking responsibility for the crisis, staying transparent about plans to address the issue, and getting ahead of the story.

Developing a strategy often proves less important than putting the organization's best foot forward and responding as quickly as possible. Expressing regret and sadness goes over better with customers than a noncommittal agreement to look into the issue.

Apologies in a business context must go beyond an expression of regret, however, and include a remedy for both the immediate issue and the circumstances that led to the issue, ensuring that the same problem won't recur.

Recruiting Talent with Employee Value Propositions

A former communication executive for the University of Phoenix, corporate communications expert Stephanie McCarty has led homebuilding company Taylor Morrison’s communication department since 2015. During Stephanie McCarty’s tenure, the firm launched TMLiving, an employee value proposition (EVP) grounded in the company’s core values.

To attract the best talent in a more competitive job market, employers must clearly explain the unique benefits that candidates can obtain by working with their organization. An EVP incorporates more familiar benefits such as a higher salary as well as more personalized advantages like career advancement and specialized projects. 

HR departments can develop EVPs by gathering information from current employees to learn what attracted them to the company and why they choose to stay. The resulting EVP will highlight the company’s unique offerings and is used as a recruitment tool. To ensure that companies meet their existing and new hires’ expectations, EVPs should also inform employee reward programs, professional development opportunities, and company policies.

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