During an incident it is imperative that the CMT (Crisis Management Team) has good overall Situational Awareness throughout the whole event. This will allow leaders to better understand the situation enabling them to make well informed and accurate decisions. In this short video clip from the Crisis Coordinator Webinar Series, Rob Burton defines Situational Awareness…
To ensure that your team is ready to respond in a crisis, you need an activation process. Some teams use emergency notifications like text or e-mail; others have systems like OnSolve’s advanced critical communication tool to activate members. No matter what process and technology you use, it is imperative that the team be activated in…
Crisis response strategies are purposeful actions taken to reduce the negative effects of a crisis on an organization and its stakeholders, and are critical resources for limiting negative effects on the organization’s reputation. The dynamic nature of crises make it difficult to plan for specific responses, so it important to be flexible. In this short…
Rule # 1 of Crisis Communications: Show Empathy — Be Human. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Going in front of the media during a crisis is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it affords the organization’s spokesperson a crucial opportunity to deliver the messages that…
The communications professional should establish the organization as the most authoritative source of news about the crisis so the organization’s messages are more likely to be included in the coverage. Hiding from the media will always make matters worse. Engaging with the media will enable the organization to disseminate its messages about the crisis to…
The Crisis Communications Plan as an essential component of the overall Crisis Plan. Many times during crises, employees are the most neglected stakeholder group. Having a comprehensive stakeholder list is important during an incident and crisis. Create yours today and validate it during simulation exercises. In this short video clip from the Crisis Coordinator Webinar…
It is important that members of your crisis management team can work together during the Horizon Scanning process. Make this a regular activity (at least a few times a year). Some team members can and will have key information to be shared to help identify issues before they become crises. In this short video clip from the Crisis Coordinator…
The role of the Crisis Coordinator is one that is vital to an organization’s crisis preparedness. This person ensures that the Crisis Management Team is properly trained and exercised, that the Crisis Management Plan is up-to-date and maintained, and that crisis response activities are executed effectively. There are also responsibilities after the crisis has ended…
One very important tool that can be implemented into a crisis management team’s tool kit is Horizon Scanning. Being able to respond to a crisis is something many organizations struggle with. Typically, their struggle stems from a lack of planning and testing of existing plans, and in some cases, plans don’t even exist in the…
Horizon Scanning is a systematic examination of potential threats, opportunities and future developments, which may have the potential to create new risks or change the character of risks already identified. In this short video clip from the Crisis Coordinator Webinar Series, Rob Burton discusses the important task of Horizon Scanning by your Crisis Management Team….