Essential Elements of Effective Crisis Communication

If you’re involved in supply-chain management, chances are you’re revisiting some of your own continuity plans to shore up possible vulnerabilities. As you do, one area to look at is your crisis communications process.

A good operational plan doesn’t speak for itself. Organizations need a proactive and effective communications process to ensure people are where they need to be, doing what they need to do, and know what they need to know to make it all work.

Internally and externally, the right people must be notified of problems before or when they arise, and then be kept informed as the problem is solved. Otherwise, external pressures tied to poor flow of information only exacerbate an already tense situation.

Communications Preparedness

A good crisis communications process is comprehensive and customized to the organization, but there are some key considerations anyone responsible for supply-chain management should keep top of mind:

• Have a crisis communications plan in place that is actionable within the first hour of notice that a possible or imminent crisis may occur.
• Make sure the crisis communications plan incorporates communications team assignments, which will include members of the organization not typically involved in communications matters. This is important for information-gathering, situational monitoring and quick decision-making.
• Long before any crisis, name a crisis communications team captain. This doesn’t need to be the CEO or even the head of communications, but rather, someone charged with driving the crisis communications preparedness at all times.
• Have a process for designating a spokesperson. Sometimes it could be the CEO, while other times, it could be someone much closer to the situation. To be sure, these are situational decisions, but there should be criteria for making them. The critical need here is to ensure consistency of message though consistency of voice. Your key stakeholders need to get information consistently from a source they deem credible on the issue.
• Create a system for gathering and vetting information, and for crafting important messaging for each audience.
• Maintain current systems and contact information for all important stakeholder groups so you can reach them on a moment’s notice.
• Be sure that your crisis communications implementation infrastructure is designed to tap the power of any and every communications channel necessary, from emergency texts and emails, to news media alerts and social media postings. In no small number of cases, old fashioned phone chains and face-to-face meetings are still required.
• Make sure your spokespersons and decision-makers are coached long before they’re required on how to implement a crisis communications response. It does an organization little good if a crisis communications plan is crafted, approved and tucked away only to be forgotten when it's needed.

Tim O’Brien is founder of Pittsburgh-based corporate communications firm O’Brien Communications.