Crisis communication plans, although critical to a comprehensive continuity capability, are not addressed in most recovery planning methodologies. WTG works with your communications department to develop a comprehensive Crisis Communication Plan that addresses communications to the public, the press, suppliers and other external entities and focuses on damage control and public relations. We predefine your disclosure policy, which determines how much information is released based on the type and nature of the disaster.
We identify the most likely type of disasters and pre-develop speaking points, press releases and press kits. This approach ensures that the sensitive issues for various disaster scenarios are identified before the stress of the crisis and that appropriate communication stances are formulated in advance.
Controlling who speaks to external sources, what they say, and how they say it can make a huge difference in how the press and the public react to your business’s interruption and how they accept your recovery efforts. All team members likely to have exposure to the press will be coached on the issues of dealing with the press and trained on the most effective techniques to controlled disclosure.
The plan will facilitate coordinated communication to a crisis event by pre-planning, to the extent possible, the order and nature of response and communications so as to minimize the effect of the crisis on concerned parties and to protect corporate image and reputation. Since the specific events of a crisis cannot be predicted in advance, this plan will not attempt to define context-specific responses. Instead, it will offer checklists and guidelines that are intended to provide a frame of reference to management’s philosophy and intent so that actions can be guided by a predetermined and approved strategy.