Crisis Communications for Microsoft

When researching Microsoft's crisis response I was actually able to find some pretty detailed information.  I found a powerpoint. A quick break down of the basics. Microsoft uses five different teams to manage all different crisis' that might pop up. The breakdown is: global security, governance committee, US IMT (United States Incident Management Team), Planning Committee, and Core Stockholder group.

Then I figured out how they label each crisis that pop up in label of importance. They use a 3 tier rating system.  Level 1 is on the local level, these are irregular events with minor risk to the organization.  Examples of these are local fires, normal procedure complaints, and limited power outage.   Level 2 is for the regional aspect of the company. It usually involves moderate risk; examples being large fire or bomb threat. The highest level is Level 3 or Corporate. This is for something that would affect the company as a whole. Examples of what would be a level 3 are things like a national disaster, workplace violence, or anything that is a threat to Microsoft public image.

As in what can be considered the latest crisis when it comes to Microsoft would be the Paul Allen tell all book. While Microsoft hasn't come out to say anything specially. Bill Gates, though, did respond. "While my recollection of many of these events may differ from Paul’s, I value his friendship and the important contributions he made to the world of technology and at Microsoft.”