Balcom Agency

Does your company have in place a good crisis communications plan? Is it collecting dust on a shelf or where your chief spokesperson and other top executives can find it at a moment's notice?

It may be time to brush up your crisis action plan this summer, and here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. First, determine what would be a true crisis for your organization. What would disrupt its normal operations and invite unwanted scrutiny from the media, neighbors, civic leaders, customers or other stakeholders for a prolonged period of time?
2. Aim for a clean, simple plan that's just a few pages long. The shorter the better so you can act fast.
3. Focus first and foremost on the practical, step-by-step aspects of your company's response.
4. Decide who should be contacted in the event of a crisis. Know exactly how these individuals can be reached 24-7. Create a list with contact information, and give the list to all who need it.
5. Determine who will be on your crisis response team and who serve as the subsitutes.
6. Generally, the CEO should be the company's spokesperson in a crisis -- after all, the buck stops with him or her. One exception is when the CEO is deeply enmeshed in the crisis (such as if he's been charged with a crime).
7. When the crisis hits, your public relations or communications counselor must quickly examine and prioritize your organization's target audiences with whom you must communicate, starting from the inside and working outward. This is a list that typically includes employees, shareholders, suppliers, customers, regulators, neighbors, civic leaders, and the news media.
8. Then, communicate, communicate, communicate. Even if you have no new information, get out there and communicate that there's "nothing new to report, but the company is doing everything it can to"  ... etc.
9. If people suffered harm, it is critical that your CEO or other spokesperson convey genuine concern and empathy for the victim(s). While an attorney may warn against doing so for liability purposes, your company's reputation is on the line. The CEO's humanity will go a long way to restore the confidence and trust of your stakeholders.