Managing Crisis through Communication

For the most part, the daily activities of a corporation run smoothly because all employees are working toward a common goal. Sometimes crisis situations arise despite the best efforts of all to avoid such situations.

The Hub website for internal communicators has outlined four key communication questions that should be answered in a crisis situation. It is important to note that these questions should already be answered and a plan formalized before a crisis situation so that everyone knows what procedures to follow.
1. What are your key objectives in a crisis?
a. Asses the situation
b. Share information with affected parties
c. Should have a clear definition
2. Who should be on your crisis team?
a. Preferably the CEO
b. Should have contingency plan if not available
c. Provide consistent information to all departments
3. What should a response plan look like?
a. Should divide into immediate responses, medium term, and long term
4. What resources will you need?
a. Fact sheet with all available information and contact details for spokesperson and support agencies

Another thing worth noting is that this is not a departmental procedure; the communications team must work with operations and management as a whole to provide the best response, according to the hub article. This list above is by no means all-inclusive, but it is a strong foundation for how to smoothly navigate through a crisis and return to a normal work environment as fast as possible.