Today, every organisation, business, government, and country constantly face the challenge of crisis. It can be anything ranging from natural disasters to human-made disasters to online scandals and blunders. To effectively and tactfully overcome these crises, having a thorough crisis management and communication plan helps.

These plans ensure a higher survival rate during the crisis and minimal damage. They usually include the first steps taken when crises happen to ensure preparedness, quick action, stability, and recovery.

What is crisis communication?

Crisis communication means a strategized practice of managing and sharing information during a crisis to protect the reputation of everyone involved in the company and crisis. It involves delivering timely and accurate messages to the public, stakeholders, media, etc. Passing the right messages at the right time to the right people reduces the magnitude of damage caused by the crisis.

Having proper and timely communication helps tackle the crisis quickly and sustain the reputation of the company. The following are the phases of crisis management:

·         Pre-crisis This involves preparing ahead of time for the crisis. The tasks in this phase include designing a plan, accumulating enough resources, training, delegating tasks and responsibilities to the right people, testing the plan, bridging the gaps in the plan, etc.

·         Crisis: Implementing the steps planned in the pre-crisis stage falls here. Providing the right assistance at the right time through the right people can help overcome this stage as quickly as possible.

·         Post-crisis: It occurs after the crisis has subsided. Here, a thorough evaluation is conducted to understand why the crisis happened in the first place and what can be done to avoid its occurrence in the future.

What is a crisis management plan?

A crisis management plan is a document filled with tools, techniques, and guidelines for systematically overcoming crises. It acts as a guiding light for organisations to approach and overcome crises with utmost care and diligence. CMP aims to respond quickly, minimise the impact of damage, protect stakeholders and resources, and restore normalcy as quickly as possible.

Since crises come unannounced, every organisation and government body need to prepare for them in advance so that everybody is safe and secure during the crisis. Without a crisis management plan, organisations may fumble with their actions, pass on inconsistent messages, lose control over the situation, and eventually tarnish their reputation. CMP needs to be devised months and years in advance.

Conclusion

So, having crisis communication support via a proper plan can help the organisation navigate the most difficult circumstances and fight through them without losing its dignity.