How To Create A Crisis Communication Plan?
Emergencies would be a lot less stressful if we were informed ahead of time. There would be no need to make any preparations for them.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Crises strike at the most inopportune times. You will almost likely fail to avoid disaster if you wait until a crisis happens to begin planning. As a result, every company should have a crisis communication strategy in place.
What is crisis communication?
Crisis communication refers to an organisation’s distribution of information to address a crisis that impacts customers and the organisation’s reputation.
Writing down a crisis communication plan is an important part of corporate affairs strategy. For some businesses, writing a plan is difficult. Therefore, start with the stages below.
What to include in a crisis communication plan?
Choose on the plan’s aim
Before you begin, your team must determine the plan’s purpose. This plan establishes a system for communicating with internal and external stakeholders in a crisis that threatens the organisation’s reputation or ordinary business procedures. It ensures that every aspect of your approach gets directed toward the same goal.
Ascertain stakeholders
While developing a strategy, it is vital to determine who the plan gets designed for. Make a list of everyone you need to keep informed about the problem.
This list will likely include employees, customers and users, partners, investors, media outlets, the government, and the public. The latter is likely to involve social media followers or people in the region in a location-based crisis. Make sure to include the appropriate contact information for each of these organisations in your strategy.
Establish a hierarchy
The person or team in charge of crisis communications is not always the person or team who reports a problem. As a result, a hierarchy detailing how information gets transmitted throughout the organisation must get created. If a crisis arises, whoever notices it will know who to contact first.
The organisation of your team determines this succession. The organisation’s CEO or president must get contacted first, followed by communications or public relations. The plan must also outline what information must get delivered to these parties as soon as possible. It contains details regarding the issue, the cause of the occurrence, and any existing backlash.
Make fact sheets
Your corporate affairs strategy must specify who on your team oversees developing crisis fact sheets. Fact sheets are compilations of publicly available data on the crisis. They prevent rumours and misinterpretations from reaching the public.
You must also set a deadline for finishing these fact sheets. Depending on the severity of the condition, you may need them within 24 hours, six hours, or even 30 minutes.