Think of the last time you were in an argument with a friend or family member about something they had done that hurt you. A sincere apology would likely have resolved the matter quickly, right? But if your friend or family member wouldn’t admit fault, the disagreement probably lingered for days, months, or even years.
This principle applies to both personal and business interactions. If your company makes a mistake or causes harm, a sincere apology can go a long way. All companies make mistakes from time to time and need to apologize. When considering a public apology, it’s important to remember these key points:
Address the issue immediately.
If the problem is getting public attention, you need to address it quickly before others, such as the news media, start telling your story without you.
Explain why the incident happened.
In the early stages of a crisis, you might not know why something went wrong, but you can promise you’re trying to find out. Be clear in your apology, then explain what happened, why it happened, and what you’re doing to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Be sincere.
If you receive a personal apology from a family member and don’t appear open, you might not believe them. Your company’s apology needs to be well thought out and genuine. For example, if your company said or did something offensive, don’t apologize that someone was offended by what you did. Apologize for what you did.
Any corporate apology should be a team effort.
Your key internal stakeholders should help draft the apology to help make the best of a difficult situation. While each organization is different, the group developing the apology would likely include the CEO, top communicator or marketer, legal counsel, operations, and human resources.
Admitting a mistake is never easy. However, if you sincerely and promptly apologize, you can recover from the incident and repair your reputation.
