Friday, August 04, 2006
Crisis Communication Plans Remain Essential
byIf there’s any question about the need for an organization-wide crisis communications plan, look no further than Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. Over at Ragan’s Corporate Writer & Editor, there’s a good reminder of why these plans remain an essential tool for most organizations.
Gerard Braud outlines why the plan’s format, definition and simplicity are important. He also outlines four steps for creating a plan:
- Vulnerability assessment: look across the organization and conduct interviews to identify and rank what could go wrong
- Template creation: identify stakeholders, build a notification plan and create pre-approved statements to use in any situation
- Crisis scenarios: use the vulnerability assessment findings to plan, write and approve key steps and messages for various crises
- Test the plan: conduct drills and refine the plan to keep it fresh and current
As Braud points out, time and money are the most common obstacles. A good plan can take hundreds of hours to create – and developing one with a consultant can get expensive. However, those resources are well-spent when a crisis hits.
If your plan was developed several years ago, it probably relies heavily on traditional media relations and public relations techniques. While those remain relevant, it’s also important to consider the growing significance of the Internet and social media during crises. Look for a follow-up post on that topic.
