The main objective of crisis communications is to respond appropriately and promptly to maintain confidence and minimize damage.

During this Coronavirus Crisis, when you think of crisis communications, who do you think of? Do you think of the U.S. President or your state governor giving updates on COVID-19 and stay in place orders? Why do you think the communications from these offices are frequent? Do you think the communications are necessary? Do you think that they are “winging it”?

By communicating daily updates about the COVID-19 crisis and stay at home orders, our government officials are attempting to maintain confidence that the government is doing all it can to assist us. Additionally, by communicating frequently the conditions of the stay at home orders, they are trying to minimize the damage of the crisis, and, in turn, minimize the amount of fatalities.

To fully understand effective communication during a crisis, let us first examine the meaning of the word crisis.

What is a crisis?

A crisis usually entails an unpredictable event that can cause undesirable results or damage. The COVID-19 global pandemic certainly fits the definition of a crisis. Anything that disrupts operations of a business, organization, or government qualifies as a crisis—be it a natural disaster or of a financial, personnel, organizational, or technological nature.

What is the main objective of crisis communications?

Frequent communication creates trust. We have all been in a relationship where the other party just will not open up about a problem.  When that happens, we create our own narrative as to what the problem is. And let’s be honest, that narrative is usually far worse than the real issue.  Therefore, you want to control the narrative, disallowing others to come up with their own narrative—like conspiracy theories.  It is best to communicate the facts that you know as you know them. This establishes trust.

What is a crisis communications plan?

According to Deloitte research, “80% of organizations worldwide have had to mobilize their crisis management teams at least once in the past two years. In particular, cyber and safety incidents have topped companies’ crises (46 and 45%, respectively).”

We know that most businesses will face a crisis within the next two years, outside of COVID-19.  Knowing that the odds are great that a crisis will occur within every two years, it is alarming that only one in four businesses have a crisis communications plan.

You will not know what crises you will face.  And face them you will. However, you can prepare for one when inevitably one strikes.

A crisis communications strategy should entail:

• Establishing a Crisis Communications Team
• Identify Spokespeople
• Identify and Know Your Stakeholders
• Identify Potential Crises in Advance
• Create a Crisis Communications Response Plan
• Establish Notification Programs
• Establish Monitoring Programs
• Develop “Holding Messages”
• Develop Key Messages
• Don’t Forget to Learn

Establish a Crisis Communications Team

A Crisis Communications Team is usually led by the CEO, a public relations executive, and legal counsel. Senior executives, which are division leaders, also comprise the Crisis Communications Team.

Identify Spokespeople

You should identify potential spokespeople for your business. You can identify potential spokespeople in your organization by determining the subject matter experts. You may categorize subject matter experts based on the divisions of your organization. These spokespeople should be trained in advance. They should be aware of all the different channels of communications, both internal and external, that you need to use.

Identify and Know Your Stakeholders

Make sure you have a complete and up to date database of internal and external stakeholders. During a crisis, you need to make sure that you can communicate the exact messages that you want them to hear and potentially repeat to other individuals and media outlets.

Identify Potential Crises in Advance

The Crisis Communications Team should identify potential threats based on the organization’s vulnerabilities. By identifying these threats, some crises may be able to be avoided. If not, you can consider possible responses and best and worst case scenarios.  For example, some possible crisis scenarios can include security breach, product failure, natural disaster, financial crisis, workplace violence, and environmental crises. Addressing possible crises, the next step is to evaluate some possible scenarios with your team and record them in a document.

Crisis Communication Response Plan

A Crisis Communication Response Plan is a plan you can follow when a crisis occurs.  This plan should include the following:

• Event name
• Communication goal
• Target audiences
• What happened?
• Which credible information sources confirmed?
• What additional facts are needed about the event, for perspective?
• When did it occur?
• Who is/was involved?
• How did it happen?
• What is currently being done.

Establish Notification Systems

Establish the channels of communication that you will use to reach your stakeholder. Text?  Email? Phone Calls? This is not your mom’s first grade call tree. Know which communication channels are best used for each stakeholder. Additionally, there are emergency notification systems you can purchase or subscribe to that will automatically contact pre-established databases.  If you are not using an automated emergency notification system, you must appoint people within your organization who will be responsible for notifying stakeholders.

Establish Monitoring Systems

Monitor what is being said about your organization. Use social media, review sites, Google Alerts, and marketing automation software, like HubSpot, to help monitor what people saying about your organization.  Remember that receptionists and customer service representative often have a pulse on what is being said about an organization. They should be trained to report any possible issues to the Crisis Communications Team.

Develop “Holding Messages”

In a crisis, it takes time to identify and verify the facts of the event. It is imperative to derive some pre-determined “holding messages” that will give you some time and space to work on the matter. Some sample “holding messages” include:  “Please check our website, LinkedIn and Facebook for updates on this matter” or “Our CEO will be making a statement within two hours.”

Key Messages

Develop three crisis-specific messages for all stakeholders. These can be modified based on the actual crisis. However, be aware that messaging must be adapted to accommodate different forms of media. For example, a healthcare practice’s key message may be, “As a primary care healthcare practice, our promise remains to consistently deliver quality patient care affordably.”

Don’t Forget to Learn

Once a crisis has passed, it is imperative to conduct a formal review with the Crisis Communications Team. Review what worked, what did not, and what was problematic.

Now that you know what a Crisis Communications Plan entails, now is the time to put things in motion.  Check out HubSpots’s free crisis management plan templates.

Want help?  Contact us at MPWRSource, and we will help you out. Communications is one of our superpowers, after all. Reach us at evolvetogether@mpwrsource.com, and….Let’s Evolve Together!