quotesCrisis Communications & Response

There are two types of crisis . . . an internal crisis and an external crisis.  An internal crisis is a situation occurring within your four walls. You have not been contacted by stakeholders, members of the media or any other outside source. An external crisis is just the opposite, the crisis is outside your four walls and you have been contacted by external sources, especially the media.

It is important to have both an internal and external strategy to engage at a moments’ notice regardless of the crisis issue. It makes sense to do everything in your power to keep a crisis internal whenever possible.  This can be difficult to do when every person in your building owns a personal cell phone. Anyone can text or email information, take photos, videos or even stream an event live which will automatically make your crisis external.  It is important to have a policy in place that employees are not permitted to discuss, text, email or use social media to fellow employees, family members, friends, the media or any other person not associated with the company.  Eliminating rumors and gossip is critical and as senior level management or ownership, your policy on this matter should be direct. Any employee violating this policy should be terminated immediately. Employees are the number one source for crisis issues moving from internal to external.

When responding to a life-threating crisis, law enforcement should be notified immediately followed by taking the appropriate action to safeguard lives. For a non-life-threating crisis, a determination must be made whether you have the resources to handle it in-house or whether to seek outside professional assistance. A crisis must be handled and addressed in writing to staff and/or stakeholders in 4-hours maximum, preferably within 2 hours.

There are two types of crisis . . . an internal crisis and an external crisis.  An internal crisis is a situation occurring within your four walls. You have not been contacted by stakeholders, members of the media or any other outside source. An external crisis is just the opposite, the crisis is outside your four walls and you have been contacted by external sources, especially the media.

It is important to have both an internal and external strategy to engage at a moments’ notice regardless of the crisis issue. It makes sense to do everything in your power to keep a crisis internal whenever possible.  This can be difficult to do when every person in your building owns a personal cell phone. Anyone can text or email information, take photos, videos or even stream an event live which will automatically make your crisis external.  It is important to have a policy in place that employees are not permitted to discuss, text, email or use social media to fellow employees, family members, friends, the media or any other person not associated with the company.  Eliminating rumors and gossip is critical and as senior level management or ownership, your policy on this matter should be direct. Any employee violating this policy should be terminated immediately. Employees are the number one source for crisis issues moving from internal to external.

When responding to a life-threating crisis, law enforcement should be notified immediately followed by taking the appropriate action to safeguard lives. For a non-life-threating crisis, a determination must be made whether you have the resources to handle it in-house or whether to seek outside professional assistance. A crisis must be handled and addressed in writing to staff and/or stakeholders in 4-hours maximum, preferably within 2 hours.

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