Crisis Communication Lecture 4

P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S :
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Sir Athar Ali
W H AT I S A C R I S I S ?
• In business, a crisis is a situation that threatens the
public safety, finances, and reputation of an organization,
its industry and most importantly its internal and external
stakeholders.
• There are myriad types of crises that can occur which
range from technological and confrontational to
bankruptcy and natural disasters.
• As seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, these
emergencies can occur without warning and because of
this, it is important to take control of the situation and
maintain organizational and public communications.
W H AT I S C R I S I S
C O M M U N I C AT I O N ?
oCrisis communication is a strategic approach to
corresponding with people and organizations during a
disruptive event.
oCrisis communication is a communication strategy that
enables an organization to protect its reputation when a
crisis or business disruption strikes.
oEffective crisis communication should include protocols for
crafting, distributing and monitoring messages throughout
the full life cycle of the business disruption (from initiation
to stand-down).
W H AT I S C R I S I S
C O M M U N I C AT I O N ?
These protocols include business processes and
technology solutions to help ensure effective
communications with key crisis stakeholders.
oWhen a crisis occurs, proactive, quick, detailed
communication is critical; a crisis communication
strategy, plan and tools can ensure such
communication happens.
THE NEED FOR CRISIS
C O M M U N I C AT I O N
oEvery business should have a communication plan
that documents the protocol for distributing
information in a time of intense difficulty or danger.
oBecause a business's reputation is at stake in those

situations, it's important to impart information to the
public and other stakeholders to ease concerns and
counteract rumors or false information.
C R I S I S C O M M U N I C AT I O N
PLAN:
Crisis communication plans act as blueprints for the company in
times of crisis so that they can respond immediately.
It is an emergency plan that includes steps of communication and

future prevention to help prepare and navigate through
unexpected crises.
It is essential that you understand that all businesses are vulnerable

to crises, therefore, having a crisis communication plan is valuable
to every occupation.
For crisis communication plan, you may develop five components

of your communication plan that are:-
DETERMINE A SPOKESPERSON
Determine whom would effectively represent your company
and train them to communicate across multiple media
platforms.
IDENTIFY YOUR CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Spokespersons are important but the team who makes major
decisions in times of the crisis must be determined.
Assign individual responsibilities to team members.
Depending on the crisis, teams typically consist of the CEO,
chief advisers, legal experts and PR professionals.
DEVELOP YOUR MESSAGE
Develop multiple messages that are specific to each audience.
CREATE TEMPLATES
Create templates and holding statements.
Creating templates in advance will allow you to respond
immediately without having to produce an entire message from
scratch.
ESTABLISH NOTIFICATION AND MONITORING

SYSTEMS
Determine what forms of communication you will implement to
notify your stakeholders (email, social media, television, etc.).
Depending on the crisis, it is also important to establish
monitoring systems that monitor the situation and allow you to
respond to external audiences.
S TA G E S O F A C R I S I S
A typical crisis includes five phases or stages:
PHASE 1: PRE-CRISIS
Strictly speaking, the pre-crisis phase is not part of the crisis itself, it involves planning and
education that can help an organization avoid or mitigate a crisis.
During this phase, the business must monitor emerging risks, anticipate possible crises, educate
interested parties about possible risks and suggest actions to take in the event of a crisis.
The business also reaches out to necessary authorities and groups for collaboration and future
help.
PHASE 2: INITIAL
During the initial phase, the crisis has started and the organization begins communicating.
Because it can be a confusing, intense period, the organization should seek to provide clear,
accurate direction, provide resources for more information and calm fears, if necessary.
Even if there isn't a lot of information to provide, crisis communication is still important and
should reassure people that the organization is working on a solution.
PHASE 3: MAINTENANCE
In this phase, the organization provides crisis updates and details any ongoing risks.
It also gathers feedback from anyone affected by the crisis, corrects misinformation, and continues to
assess and respond to the situation.
PHASE 4: RESOLUTION
When the crisis reaches the resolution phase, the situation has effectively ended but recovery and
communication continues.
The organization should communicate how it is recovering and rebuilding and provide more detailed
information about how the crisis happened.
The resolution phase is a good time to remind people how to be prepared in the event of another crisis.
PHASE 5: EVALUATION
During crisis evaluation, two-way communication is important.
The organization evaluates and assesses how the response went and how it could be improved in future.
An after-action report comprehensively documents the crisis and response. The crisis communication
plan is also reviewed and updated as needed.

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P U B L I C R E L AT I O N S :

oBecause a business's reputation is at stake in those

It is an emergency plan that includes steps of communication and

It is essential that you understand that all businesses are vulnerable

For crisis communication plan, you may develop five components

ESTABLISH NOTIFICATION AND MONITORING

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