No organization is immune to crisis. Unexpected disruptions can strike at any moment – the time to prepare your crisis communications plan is before you need it. Don’t wait until your organization is trending for the wrong reasons to figure out who’s saying what.
This blog will unpack how to build a crisis communication plan, including what a crisis is, what factors influence reputational damage, key tips & tricks for operating during the crisis and how to conduct a post-crisis evaluation.
The Basics
Are you dealing with an issue or an actual crisis?
- Issue: Manageable concern that can be addressed through regular communication
- Crisis: Threatens to significantly disrupt your operations and reputation
A crisis is an unanticipated event that violates stakeholder expectations and challenges an organization’s stability or integrity. Three important factors determine reputational threat to an organization in crisis:
- Initial crisis responsibility – When stakeholders view the organization itself as a victim of the crisis, they are less likely to be blamed for the crisis
- Crisis history – Considers any past crisis events of the same type by the same organization
- Prior relational reputation – Shows the history of how the organization treats stakeholders
An effective response relies on speed, transparency, empathy and responsibility. The 2021 Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, for instance, illustrates both the importance and pitfalls of crisis messaging. Though their response was relatively prompt, Colonial did not directly accept initial responsibility, instead attempting to diminish the severity of the incident. Colonial utilized victimage to shift blame towards the attackers and didn’t issue a formal apology to those impacted. While they managed to contain the operational damage, sentiment leaned negative, especially online, because the public felt left in the dark.
Building the Crisis Comms Plan
- Assemble a diverse team to ensure all operational functions are considered, so you can understand how each can be disrupted in a crisis, and what the impact will be. Typical roles include a PR/crisis lead, go-to spokesperson, legal counsel, HR and IT leads.
- Define protocols and decision-making before the incident. What are the escalation paths and approval processes? Who approves statements and what channels will they go out to? How fast can we get a response out there?
- Prepare for the most common scenarios and crisis types. Consider what to include in these templates – key talking points, social media posts, media Q&A prep, etc.
- Align internal and external communications to ensure consistent communication across audiences. Your employees can be your first defenders, or your first critics.
- Build the plan, test the plan, execute the plan when necessary, then review and refine the plan. Run simulations 1-2 times a year across departments. Remember, a crisis isn’t going to follow your script, so throw in a few surprise elements.
Best Practices and Common Pitfalls During a Crisis
Do:
- Monitor for chatter across all channels – media outlets, social media, internal forums like Slack, etc.
- Correct false information quickly
- Keep employees informed
- Acknowledge impact and show empathy
Don’t:
- Delay – every minute counts
- Overpromise – don’t commit to something you can’t guarantee
- Speculate – stick to the facts
- Shift blame – don’t play the victim
- Ignore feedback – especially from internal stakeholders
Post-Crisis Evaluation
A crisis doesn’t end when the issue is resolved, that’s actually when the real work begins. The post-crisis phase is your best opportunity to evaluate your performance and adjust as needed. Start by hosting a debrief with your crisis team and other stakeholders. Ask yourselves:
- What worked? What didn’t?
- How did stakeholders respond?
- What messages resonated most and least?
Go a step further – integrate these lessons learned directly into your crisis communications plan, and establish a continuous improvement loop to make sure your next response will be faster and clearer. Update your messaging templates, decision-making processes, escalation protocol and key roles to reflect what you’ve learned.
Equally as important is maintaining ongoing communication even after the immediate crisis has passed, and working to rebuild trust – this effort will require follow-through, corrective action, legitimate improvements and continued communication. Stakeholders will still be watching to see how you follow through on your promises. Use the opportunity to highlight tangible progress.
Ideally, organizations should stress test the plan before they have to deal with a real crisis. Preparation is your best protection. Crises expose weaknesses, but they can also reveal opportunities. Keep running updated simulations to test your response.
My guidance is: start today. Get your crisis team together, draft your first plan and conduct a tabletop exercise to test it. A transparent and proactive communication plan will build credibility long before disaster strikes.
If you need guidance in developing a Crisis Communications plan for your company, contact our team to learn how we can help you plan ahead.