Communicating Through an Emergency or Crisis Situation
How prepared would you be if your organization faced an emergency or crisis scenario 48 hours from now?
When a serious issue or crisis arises, there are many decisions that need to be made quickly in sensitive and high-pressure situations. As access to information, photos, videos, media and social media continually expand, there are mounting expectations and pressures to be accountable and transparent sooner than ever.
A couple of weeks ago, Cove Public Affairs spent a morning with a long-standing client who has a rigorous emergency response planning process, including regular practice of responding to scenarios created for each unique exercise. Sarah filled the position of Public Information Officer in the exercise, where the team adheres to the gold standard Incident Command System (ICS) emergency response system.
Below are a few tips for anyone responsible for planning for, or responding to, a serious issue or incident.
Understand the risks.
The risks and possible scenarios that would be considered a serious issue or a crisis, will vary greatly from one industry and organization to another. For some, the biggest risks are more obvious, like an injury or fatality, a fire, flooding, a serious accident, or environmental damage. Other potential crises, like a breach of privacy, accusations of inappropriate actions or associations by executives or other employees, or failing to follow a regulatory or legal procedure, are not always top-of-mind as potential risks. Increasingly, the risk and impact of cyber attacks is growing and one that seemingly less companies and associations are prepared for. A smouldering issue is one that typically starts out small but continues to grow and gain momentum until an organization finds itself facing a crisis. In all scenarios, the impact on reputation can be swift and long-lasting.
Be Prepared.
Having a crisis communications plan and operational emergency response plan removes the guesswork when an issue or crisis arises so that decision makers and their teams can focus on making and communicating decisions and actions in a timely manner. The level of detail within a crisis communications plan coupled with a robust operational emergency response plan will allow for teams to come together and act quickly and methodically. This level of preparation alleviates teams from feeling overwhelmed in a crisis.
Keep contact lists and reference materials up to date.
If you have done solid upfront planning, you should take time to revisit your plan a couple of times a year, even more frequently during times of operational changes. Updated contact lists, background information, templates and company facts can save precious minutes if a serious issue or incident emerges.
Put those plans to work.
Quarterly, biannual or annual group exercises are a great way to ensure information is regularly updated and team members are comfortable with the expectations of their role. Depending on the industry or organization, this might be a team of 2-3 or include dozens and dozens of people. These exercises help ensure plans are up-to-date and drilled down to small but important details. Exercises build confidence in the teams’ ability to work together effectively under pressure and to perform better as a response team.
Remember your values.
Just as your company and brand values guide strategic planning, they need to be at the forefront of decision making and communicating during a crisis. Oftentimes, values are something that are preached. In a crisis, both supporters and critics will be watching to see if those values hold true through decisions and actions during difficult moments.
Engage experts.
English author Ernest Bramah said, “a reputation for a thousand years may depend upon the conduct of a single moment”. It’s true – how an organization makes decisions and communicates them during a serious issue or crisis will hold great power over their reputation for a long time. So engage the experts, whether that’s communications support, legal advice, HR counsel, security personnel, or other areas of expertise. And because the your response to the crisis is being judged and evaluated by your stakeholders and public, bench strength helps keep everyone fresh and effective. So build a team you can rely on and trust.
“Oftentimes, values are something that are preached. In a crisis, both supporters and critics will be watching to see if those values hold true through decisions and actions during difficult moments.”
To manage an issue, develop a proactive crisis communications plan or brush up on some existing prep, contact Sarah at Cove Public Affairs https://www.covepublicaffairs.ca/contact
