When a crisis occurs, it puts risk assessments and continuity plans to a real test.
However, no matter how good we are at planning, communication at a time of crisis can often turn hectic and lack adequate speed and efficacy. Decisions are hard to document, which can make your team prone to miscommunication. The added stress of managing a live crisis can also lead to mistakes happening in the communication chain. How can you counter that?
- Make sure you have a reliable way of reaching your employees and key personnel. Always keep the contact details updated and make sure you have more than one communication channel available. If you can’t reach someone, your communication has already failed
- Consider preparing messages or creating templates beforehand – they can help you communicate effectively even under pressure. If you have any automation tools available, set them up so that you can effortlessly send crucial information in a time of need to all the relevant people
- Document your decisions and make the data available for reference. By doing that you not only ensure compliance and increase the responsibility levels, but you also make sure that the crisis management team can easily hand over the situation if needed. Moreover, this data will allow you to look back at the crisis and carefully examine the circumstances to find areas for improvement
Good communication can offer a way of countering various threats. If the information is passed on to relevant people early enough, it provides valuable reaction time. Depending on the situation, it can have a tremendous impact on the outcome. How do you make sure your communication runs smoothly?
If you want to improve your communication at a time of crisis, check out our Mass Comms and Crisis Management modules!
