Crisis communication planning for today, not five years ago

In the past five years the world has changed dramatically. Things that were acceptable in 2019 are now seen to be massively out of touch. The world post-Covid is now very different for us all, and so it should be for the organisations and businesses that we support with communication. It becomes even more critical to have changed and adapted when you are facing a crisis.

The way we communicate needs to be more honest, more human and more authentic than at any point I can remember. It also needs to be more inclusive and to really understand what people need to know. Crisis communication plans need to be revised, training needs to be refocused, and exercises need to take a broader look at reputational as well as operational crises. 

I was listening to the amazing Professor Lucy Easthope talking at a CIPR event this week and she referred to it as doing 2019 communication. Are you doing 2019 communication and crisis communication?

A trust deficit

We are facing many more challenges with the uncertainty, conflict and pressures that exist in the world. This is at the same time as there is a trust deficit. If that wasn’t enough Transparency International’s corruption perception index that has just been released has the UK at its lowest position in 12 years. The report shows that the UK is viewed as more corrupt than Uruguay and Hong Kong. Effective crisis communication is about trust and confidence and against this backdrop the ability to gain trust in a crisis response must be a top priority for all. 

There is also a growing focus on the way organisations operate in light of a series of scandals and particularly the impact of the Post Office Horizon IT scandal. A lack of information is challenged as a cover up, and being slow is felt to be an attempt to avoid the issue or even gaslight people.

Focus, focus, focus

This is the time when we need to have 2024 communication and to be ready for a crisis. Just having a crisis communication plan is not enough. It needs to be focused on the right things – helping people, not protecting reputation – and be ready to implement at a moment’s notice. It needs to have been tested and for the team to know what it means.

During 2024 there are predictions of more cyber challenges, attacks on organisations, fake news, people establishing themselves as ‘experts’. If you are not considering the wider implication of the situation and your response to it, and communicating in an open and inclusive way, you will struggle to build trust and confidence. 

I appreciate that PR and communication individuals and teams are busy but there is no time to delay as that next crisis may be around the corner and could find you back in 2019.

Amanda Coleman is a crisis communication expert and consultant, founder of Amanda Coleman Communication and the author of Crisis Communication Strategies. Read the original post.