by Mark Nylander

We’ve all seen great examples of organizations that, when faced with a crisis situation, react and respond with urgency, honesty, and compassion for those who have been impacted. On the other hand, we can cite all too many examples where businesses or organizations have completely botched their response. “What were they thinking?”, we say to ourselves and in conversations with others.

As noted in our previous blog posts, the advance work to craft a crisis communications plan will help to ensure an effective and efficient response when a crisis occurs. However, despite all the preparation, practice, and training, there is no substitute for following a thoughtful process that will guide your clear, critical decision-making in the heat of a crisis.

In the absence of adequate internal and external communications during a crisis your stakeholders may become confused and angry, your organization will be perceived as inept, and possibly criminally negligent, the time required to resolve the situation will be extended, and the impact to your financial and reputational bottom line will be more severe. Have a communications plan that you can follow but approach the process with the flexibility to make adjustments as the crisis unfolds.

With more than 40 years of combined experience in crisis communications management, we have assisted organizations navigate their crisis situations on a range of local and national issues following these four steps:

1. Assess the crisis situation by engaging your Crisis Communications Team to quickly, accurately, and efficiently determine the level of the crisis, those who are impacted, and the appropriate response that is required.
2. Finalize and adapt key messages that are audience specific, utilize the appropriate forums or media to reach key stakeholder groups, and identify the spokesperson(s) to deliver the message.
3. Monitor responses to “stay out ahead” of the crisis and continue to demonstrate to key stakeholders that you are in control of the situation.
4. Conduct a post-crisis analysis to assess what was done right, what was done wrong, what could be done better next time, and how to improve various elements of the plan.

Preparedness is the key. But, also having the plans, processes, and people in place to manage the crisis communications will serve you and your stakeholders well.

To learn more about our Messaging & Post Crisis Analysis capabilities and experience and how we can help you and your team communicate with key stakeholders during a crisis, contact us at [email protected]. And, watch for additional updates in this series on our work with Brand Vulnerability Audits.