Disaster Planning and Crisis Communications

Public Relations Counselors Provide Crisis PR Training, Advice

May 13, 2009

Emergency communications and disaster planning should include a sound crisis communications plan complete with effective crisis, media training and evaluation.

All organizations, in both the public and private sectors, need a crisis communications plan that should be reviewed annually, ideally by a public relations counselors with backgrounds in crisis communications planning and execution.

A crisis communications plan acts as a quick reference guide to communicate immediately with key audiences, such as members of the community, media, government, shareholders and donors, when an organization finds itself on the firing line. The crisis can involve a product disaster such as tainted food or pharmaceuticals or involve an oil spill, natural disaster, a rampant hospital infection, an accident, fire or a scandal surrounding employees or executives.

Crisis Management Plans Include Crisis PR

For many organizations, disaster planning and crisis communications are used to manage risks to a good reputation and trust among customers, employees, shareholders, community members and other key groups and individuals. Having a solid plan and following it during times of crisis, or when a crisis is emerging, is key to an organization’s survival.

The most senior person responsible for public relations should be the leader of the team and members should include any other communications staff and key leaders in operational areas of the organization. In a production environment, members of this team should include senior production managers; In a health care setting, the senior person responsible for patient care should serve on the crisis communications team.

Designate a Spokesperson During PR Crisis

The head of the organization, such as the President and Chief Executive Officer, will have the responsibility for speaking to the media during a crisis. During trying times, people need to hear publicly from the most senior person in the organization.

Follow Crisis Communications Media Policies and Procedures

These policies act as roadmaps to public relations during a crisis, giving an organization an instruction manual with details about how it will ensure that reporters’ deadline are met and the types of information that will be publicly release or commented upon.

A crisis communications plan should include a sample of disaster scenarios and a list of tough questions that the organization could face from the media.

Use Public Relations Counselors to Prepare Sample Crisis PR Materials

Create a template for a news release that is ready to use when time is of the essence. A dark website is a site that is not made live until crisis strikes and audiences begin looking to an organization for updates and facts about the situation.

Pages should include a crisis update section with frequently asked questions, a message from the organization’s leader about how the situation is being handled, contact information that includes a toll-free number that people can reach any time of the day with updated information, background information about the organization and links to related disaster planning organizations that may be assisting.

Communications Planning Should Identify All Audiences

Media opportunities allow key information to be communicated to many audiences at the same time. However, plan for communications to be delivered directly to key audiences such as employees, volunteers, municipal leaders, partners, donors, customers and shareholders.

Emergency Communications Contact Log for Evaluation

This log will assist in keeping track of media interviews, articles and media coverage. It will also help evaluate the organization's response to a crisis when it is time to review how and what communications occurred as part of a debriefing.

Crisis training and disaster planning must include good crisis communications planning. Delivering accurate and fast information allows emergency communications to occur in a manner that best addresses a crisis and protects an organization’s reputation.

The copyright of the article Disaster Planning and Crisis Communications in Marketing/PR is owned by Shelley Aylesworth-Spink. Permission to republish Disaster Planning and Crisis Communications in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.