Disaster/ Crisis Communication Plan

Transparent and accurate communications with stakeholders, especially the media, during and after a
crisis contributes to a successful resolution of the problem, including a positive evaluation by
stakeholders and the public.

● Consists of policies, procedures, and an incident command structure -- is the primary tool
management has to ensure employees follow protocols during an emergency in contacting
stakeholders, the media, and others
● Governs all communications within an organization and with external stakeholders, including
the media.
● Communication in the different phases of a crisis:
o Pre-crisis (Pre-impact phase)
▪ The communication objectives during the pre-crisis phase include the following:
● Plan and prepare.
● Foster alliances with stakeholders.
● Develop consensus recommendations.
● Develop systems and redundancies such as hotlines, joint information
centers (JICs), and websites.
● Test messages.
o Initial Phase (Impact Phase)
▪ A critical part of the communicator’s role is to manage the following:
● Collect information about what happened.
● Interpret and separate the factual information from rumors.
● Determine the communication response.
● Coordinate with other response groups and agencies.
● Verify the magnitude of the event as quickly as possible.
▪ Communication objectives during this phase will require that you as the
communicator:
● Acknowledge the event with empathy.
● Explain to and inform the public in simple and clear terms about their
risk.
● Establish organization and spokesperson credibility.
● Provide emergency courses of action, including how and where to get
more information.
● Coordinate messages with other organizations and agencies.
● Commit to stakeholders and the public to continue communication and
remain accessible
▪ What should be communicated
● Provide timely and accurate facts, including where the crisis occurred.
● Say what is being done now.
● Give credible answers regarding the magnitude of the crisis, including
possible threats to the public.
● Share the possible duration of the crisis.
 ● Explain as much as you can about who will fix the problem, and when.
o Maintenance Phase (Impact Phase)
▪ Communication objectives during this phase include the following:
● Help the public more accurately understand its own risks.
● Provide background and encompassing information to those who need
it. Work to answer questions such as the following:
o “How could this happen?”
o “Has this happened before?”
o “How can we keep this from happening again?”
o “Will I be all right in the long term—will I recover?”
● Generate understanding and support for response and recovery plans.
● Listen to stakeholder and audience feedback and correct any
misinformation.
● Explain emergency recommendations.
● Empower risk/benefit decision making.
o Resolution Phase (Post-impact Phase)
▪ Communication objectives during this phase include the following:
● Improve appropriate public response for future similar emergencies
through education.
● Honestly examine problems and mishaps, and then reinforce what
worked and address what didn’t work in the recovery and response
efforts.
● Persuade the public to support public policy and resource allocation to
the problem.
● Promote the activities and capabilities of the organization. Help
reinforce the identity of the organization as capable and responsive.
o Evaluation Phase (Post-impact Phase)
▪ Evaluate responses, including communication effectiveness.
▪ Document and communicate lessons learned—what worked and where were
the challenges?
▪ Determine specific actions to improve crisis communication and crisis response
capability.
▪ Create linkages to pre-crisis activities.
Universal Emergency Codes