Know All About Crisis Communication Training And Planning

by Purvi Dalvi Writer

The corporate world as of today is uncertain and unpredictable. Corporate crisis refers to an unexpected event that threatens the ability of the organisation to operate effectively. As no two incidents are identical, no plan can anticipate every possible circumstance. In response, many organisations staff a Crisis Management Team and assign roles and responsibilities to curb the crisis. For the team to function efficiently, the crisis communication training program is undertaken. To obtain an appropriate level of organisational resiliency, a positive Crisis Management Team must plan, train, and monitor its risk profile to create an effective crisis response.

Why is crisis communication planning important?

The first immediate step is to communicate. A key component of the preparedness program is the crisis communications plan. A business organisation must be able to respond promptly, accurately and confidently during the emergency hours. If the operations are disrupted, the customers will want to know how they will be impacted due to the crisis.

Know your audience within the plan:

Communication with your immediate audience is an essential step within the crisis communication plan. The challenge is to recognise potential audiences, determine what information to communicate and then identify who within the business is the best representative to interact with that audience.

The following is a list of potential spectators that ought to be included in the first step of crisis communication planning:

Clients
Immediate consumers impacted by the incident and their families
Employees and their families
Stakeholders
News media
Community—especially neighbours, living near the facility
Company management, directors and investors
Government elected officials, regulators and other authorities
Suppliers

Protocols:

The purpose of crisis communication is pacifying your audience and not scaring them off completely. During these incidents, each audience will seek information that is specific to them. Pre-scripted messages should be prepared using information developed during the risk assessment proceeding. The risk assessment process should identify settings that would require communications with stakeholders.

What is crisis communication training program?

Given the probability of the of the disruptions to increase, crisis communication training exercises should be built upon the current situation and forecasted changes to the organisation's risk profile.

To ensure that the corporate executives, managers, and employees are prepared to execute their responsibilities in support of the organisation's crisis management plan; adequate training must be offered to confirm all personnel are familiar with how this process works.

Typically a crisis communication training program includes: