Covid-19, economic recession of 2008, 9/11 attacks and a great many other events should have taught us one thing: crisis management. I firmly believe that if you have been paying attention to these events then you’d have picked up at least a few lessons in crisis management/ communications along the way. If you haven’t, no worries; I have some tips for you.
I shared some insights into crisis communications and management, for anyone – whether you are a business manager, a professor, a teacher, a business owner or a government official. Everyone needs to have some level of crisis management/ communications skills.
As I shared with the attendees at the Hub 101 workshop I conducted last week, a crisis is any situation where all the rules of the game are changed. A crisis is an existential threat to either you/ your organization/ nation. Think of big events like the ones I have mentioned earlier or a great many that are taking place, around you.
So, are there any “best practices” for crisis communications/ management? Are there golden rules to follow?
Many public affairs and practitioners will default to “holding statements,” “Press releases etc.” but I think the more fundamental step is one that starts before that : being prepared.
So, how does one prepare for a crisis? Here are some steps:
- Figure out who the “leaders” are going to be, during a crisis response. Not everyone can or should be responsible for it
- Figure out who will be the spokesperson(s) during a crisis
- Figure out the resources you will allocate for crisis response
- Determine the channels you will use to communicate
- Do you have friends in the media/ blogosphere? Create a list of those, with contact details
- Do you have your crisis response team trained in media relations? If not, invest in that
- Are you responsive and have a transparent culture, at work? If not, work on developing it.
These are just some tips I shared. For more, and a recording, watch this space. If you need more details, feel free to reach out to me.
