You’ve worked years, perhaps decades, to build your good name and reputation in the community and with your customers. Yet poor handling of communications in a crisis has the potential to take it all down in minutes.

Ample examples of communications gone wrong are available every year. One need only think back to the BP oil spill and Tony Hayword, recent past CEO, for a trophy candidate this year.

Few of us are trained in communicating with the media.Few of us are as glib as the professional commentators we view each evening on the news. Yet someone may need to step up to the microphone in a crisis. But that’s not all. Often our most important communications in a crisis are with staff, their families and our customers.

A crisis plan for your organization will help you identify all the audiences you must speak to, how you will communicate, and even help you with what to say. Develop a written Crisis Communications Plan now for your organization. Such a plan will include:

Who must you speak to? Start with the obvious—your staff, their families, your customers, the community. Are there other unique constituencies in your business? You will find the answer in another question: Who will be touched by a crisis impacting my business?

How will you communicate? There are a number of tools available for each group you need to reach. Don’t forget to consider the value and efficiency of social media. Don’t forget to consider the loss of your preferred tool by including backup modalities in your plan.

Who will speak for you? There are many things to consider here. First, make sure your speaker(s) have prior authorization to represent you. Midcrisis is no time to have to scurry about for permission. Who has the appropriate knowledge to communicate effectively with the target audience? And finally, who has the training to speak effectively?

What will you say? This is the real crux of crisis communications and the most difficult piece. Of course every crisis is different. But there are some common threads. At the very least, anticipate the following questions most constituencies will have: What is happening? What are you doing about it? How am I impacted? What should I do now?

Note also that the information you will convey changes as the event evolves. Over time you must anticipate the new questions (or, new answers to the same questions) as the event is stabilized, then concluded.

Speak with one voice. Putting out conflicting information can do tangible harm to your response and contribute to an appearance of confusion and disorganization. This is not the image you wish to portray. Your plan must ensure that there is coordination of all messaging that goes out in your name.

As with all areas of emergency planning, we close by referring back to the cycle of planning: Plan – Train – Exercise. The work has only begun as you complete your first Crisis Communications Plan. You must make sure the plan actually works. This will come through training selected staff, and finally, by practicing in a simple exercise designed around a crisis that is realistic for your organization. Events such as a simulated fire or tornado are always appropriate in Michigan. In the scenario, include injuries, property damage and interruption to your operation to invoke the key

questions necessary to measure the effectiveness of your new plan.

There are many excellent resources available to assist organizations with building a Crisis Communications Plan. Begin with the always valuable Ready.gov website: www.ready.gov/business/talk/crisisplan.html. If budget allows, there are also highly qualified professionals in our community who stand ready to assist.

		Joe DeFors, AD, BS, MPA, is a cofounder and principal officer of Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA). CEMA is a full-service emergency planning firm based in East Lansing specializing in emergency planning services for families, businesses and communities.