The worst time to develop a crisis communications plan is when you need one.
There has been an industrial accident with serious injuries. Or a factory burned to the ground over night. Or a regulatory body is holding a news conference about your firm. Inquisitive reporters have questions, frightened employees want answers, nervous suppliers and customers need reassurance. No company can communicate clearly, effectively and with one voice in these circumstances without being prepared.
Businesses that serve the public must anticipate a crisis and be ready for it.
They need a carefully detailed crisis communications plan in place — just in case. Even organizations that cannot imagine a crisis could have one unexpectedly.
• Computer companies are welcomed as clean businesses, but what if there is a plant fire and chips burn, releasing toxic pollutants into the air?
• Hospitals care for the sick, but what if a disgruntled employee is arrested for lethally injecting patients?
• A construction company may think of media as an opportunity to share the opening of a new high rise, but what happens if a worker falls off a crane and dies?
• A charity may be a vital force in the community, but what if an official embezzles donated money?
We help clients anticipate problems that are unique to their business or industry, and then work with them to be prepared for the worst. We help a range of organizations help identify potential crisis situations, and then develop a template that sits ready in case it is needed.
Crisis communications plans are time consuming to prepare and keep updated, and it takes even more time to train and prepare officials who will become the “face” seen by reporters and the public. But more than at any other time in an organization’s life, the need to know in advance what to say and do is critical before the CEO picks up the phone and hears, “We’ve got a problem.”
Please contact us to discuss tailoring a crisis communication plan for your organization.