Quarterly Resiliency Forecast: The Importance of a Crisis Communication Strategy
Written by Andrea Davis
Welcome to The Resiliency Initiative’s (TRI) Spring Resiliency Forecast report. Each quarter, our Resiliency Forecast will focus on a specific risk or issue that leading security and crisis industry experts believe may impact your employees and operations in the coming months. Each Resiliency Forecast will provide you with actions steps and recommendations to help you mitigate impacts to your employees and disruptions to your operations.
Protecting your organization’s brand is a critical element of crisis planning. To help safeguard your brand in a crisis, it is important to think through your crisis communication strategy before a disaster strikes. Not having a plan in place to engage your employees and stakeholders during and after a crisis can create a significant and negative image of your brand.
Following the basic principles and guidelines from the Crisis Emergency Risk Communication, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can help establish a sense of order and consistency during a crisis situation.
To mitigate your risk, we recommend you take the following action steps.
Action Step #1: Follow Core Crisis Communication Principles
Be Timely: Crises are time sensitive. Communicating information quickly is crucial.
Be Right: Accuracy establishes credibility and trust. Even if all facts are not known at a given time, we can let people know a) what is known, b) what is not known, and c) what is being done.
Be Credible: Honesty and truthfulness should not be compromised during crises.
Express Empathy: Crises create harm, and the suffering should be acknowledged in words. Addressing what people are feeling, and the challenges they face, builds trust and rapport.
Promote Action: Giving people meaningful things to do calms anxiety, helps restore order, and promotes some sense of control.
Show Respect: Respectful communication is particularly important when people feel vulnerable. Respectful communication promotes cooperation and community.
Action Step #2: Establish Proactive – Not Reactive – Communications
A proactive approach to crisis communications will help set a tempo for the release of information to the media. Proactive methods include:
As soon as possible, release a statement about the incident to the media and social media channels. Observe the principles and guidelines above in crafting and delivering these messages.
Create a content calendar and use social media to post regular updates and address community concerns in a way that is proactive and not reactive. For example, post broad statements to address emerging trends and do not respond to individual posts unless they contain potentially harmful misinformation.
Action Step #3: Develop a Communication Game Plan
Assess the Current Situation: What are the highest communication priorities? What are the communication needs and available resources? What stakeholder relationships can be utilized?
Set Communication Goals: What do those impacted by the crisis need to know? What are the objectives you would like to accomplish?
Identify Intended Audiences: Who does the incident impact the most? Who needs the messaging?
Develop Clear Messages: Is the message informative – e.g., providing information without trying to change attitudes, beliefs, or values? Is this message persuasive? Is the message direct, succinct, free from jargon, and credible? Will the audiences understand the message?
Promote Action: Giving people meaningful things to do calms anxiety, helps restore order, and promotes some sense of control.
Select Medium, Channels, and Activities: What mediums are most appropriate for the message(s) being delivered? What channels and activities are most effective to deliver the messages?
Implement, Evaluate, and Modify Your Plan as Needed
TRI is here to help. From the US federal government to Fortune 500 companies, TRI has created crisis communication plans and helped repair brands. Email info@theresiliencyinitiative.com to find out more.
