CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK TEMPLATE

Crisis is inevitable for just about any type of organization, so identifying the relevant people, systems, messaging, and other standards in advance makes good business sense. Here are steps you can take in advance to take control:

IDENTIFY PEOPLE

Identify the Crisis Communication Team

Ideally, the organization’s CEO will head up the team, with the top public relations executive (or outside agency or consultant) and legal counsel acting as chief advisers. You should identify senior executives, usually the heads of major divisions, to serve as your organization’s crisis communication team.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION TEAM
NAME & TITLE	ROLE & RESPONSIBILITY	CONTACT INFORMATION

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IDENTIFY PEOPLE continued

Identify Spokespersons

You should identify and train in advance the pool of potential spokespersons/subject matter experts, even though you will select the ultimate spokesperson only once the crisis breaks. Consider all the different channels of communication, both internal and external, that you may need to cover.

CRISIS SPOKESPERSONS
NAME & TITLE	EXPERTISE	CONTACT INFORMATION

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY PEOPLE continued

Identify and Know Your Stakeholders

Create a complete database of internal and external stakeholders to guarantee that they obtain the exact messages that you want them to hear and potentially repeat to other individuals or media outlets. Use the Smartsheet stakeholder communication plan template and update it frequently.

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION PLAN
STAKEHOLDER	POWER / INTEREST	KEY INTEREST & ISSUES	COMMUNICATION VEHICLE	FREQUENCY	COMMENTS

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY POTENTIAL CRISES AND A PLAN

Brainstorm Potential Crises in Advance

The crisis communication team should identify every potential threat based on your known vulnerabilities.

It may become clear that you can prevent some crisis situations by shifting existing conditions or operational methods. You should consider possible responses and best and worst-case scenarios. Organizations are often aware of an upcoming event like layoffs, a merger, or a move. In such cases, you can begin to plan well in advance of an actual event.

ADVANCE CRISIS PLANNING
POTENTIAL SCENARIOS Security Breach, Product/Technology Failure, Natural Disaster, Financial Crisis, Workplace Violence, Environmental Crisis
SCENARIO 1
SCENARIO 2
SCENARIO 3
UPCOMING EVENTS Mergers, Acquisitions, Moves, Layoffs
SCENARIO 1
SCENARIO 2
SCENARIO 3

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IDENTIFY POTENTIAL CRISES AND A PLAN continued

Crisis Communication Response Plan

Your brainstorming and assessment process should lead to the creation of a crisis response plan that you tailor to your organization.

CRISIS COMMUNICATION RESPONSE PLAN TEMPLATE
EVENT NAME
COMMUNICATION GOAL
TARGET AUDIENCES
ISSUE ANALYSIS & VERIFICATION
WHAT HAPPENED?
WHICH CREDIBLE INFORMATION SOURCES HAVE YOU CONFIRMED?
WHAT ADDITIONAL FACTS DO YOU NEED TO PUT THE EVENT INTO PERSPECTIVE?
WHEN DID IT HAPPEN?
WHO IS INVOLVED?
HOW DID IT HAPPEN?
WHAT IS CURRENTLY BEING DONE?

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY SYSTEMS

Establish Notification Systems

Set up notification systems to rapidly reach your stakeholders. Employing more than one type of communication platform (email and text, for example) greatly increases the chance of successfully disseminating the message. Using your stakeholder database, you can purchase or rent an emergency notification system to automatically contact a pre-established database.

NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION

Establish Monitoring Systems

Monitoring what’s being said about you on traditional and social media can alert you to negative messages that could exacerbate a crisis. Monitoring all stakeholder feedback during a crisis supports logical changes to strategy and tactics. Free services include Google Alerts and Hootsuite, but you can also use paid monitoring services to report results in various formats. Train personnel, such as customer service reps, who have front-line contact with stakeholders to immediately report to the crisis communication team.

MONITORING SYSTEMS DESCRIPTION

Establish Crisis Verification System – What, When, Who, How, and Why

The first step is to determine what has happened. Then, immediately identify and document as many facts as possible based on essential questions: What happened and have you confirmed the situation through credible information sources? What additional facts do you need to put the event into perspective? When did it happen? Who is involved? How did it happen? What is currently being done?

CRISIS VERIFICATION SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY MESSAGING

Develop and Use “Holding Statements”

You’ll need to develop full messages based on the facts and that may take some time. Using pre-determined “holding statements” immediately after a crisis gives you breathing space and communicates that you’re aware of, and working on, the matter. For example, “Expect a statement from our CEO within two hours.” Or, “Check Twitter or our website for updates.” You should review holding statements regularly.

HOLDING STATEMENT PLANNER • Acknowledge the crisis. • Give yourself some time. • Show commitment.
STATEMENT SAMPLES	DELIVERY MODALITY/MODALITIES

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY MESSAGING continued

Key Messages

Based on verified information, the crisis communication team should aim to develop three crisis-specific messages for all stakeholders. If necessary, the team should also create some targeted messaging for specific, relevant stakeholder groups. You can modify these messages according to the nature of the actual crisis. You will also need to adapt messaging to different forms of media. For example, Twitter may require links because of its character limit.

KEY MESSAGE PLANNER
AUDIENCE	TOP THREE KEY MESSAGES	DELIVERY CHANNELS & SPOKESPERSON
ALL STAKEHOLDERS
AUDIENCE 1
AUDIENCE 2
AUDIENCE 3

CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAYBOOK

IDENTIFY KEY LEARNINGS

Post-Crisis Review

Once the crisis is over, you should implement the following best practice: The full crisis communication team should meet to conduct a formal analysis. Review what worked and what failed. Also, consider what pre-event procedures you could improve. Use the results of the formal analysis to update the crisis communication response plan.

CRISIS REVIEW FORM
STRATEGY / TACTIC	DESCRIPTION	RESULT	POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS
SUCCESSFUL
SUCCESSFUL
PROBLEMATIC
PROBLEMATIC

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