A CRISIS PLAN IS NOT A STATEMENT: How Companies Should Prepare Before Something Goes Wrong
A CRISIS PLAN IS NOT A STATEMENT
How Companies Should Prepare Before Something Goes Wrong
By Andrea Khoury | Founder & Principal, Khoury Public Relations & Media Group
Strategic Communications + Reputation Advisory | Serving Clients Nationwide
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Organizations often believe they have a crisis communications plan because someone prepared a document containing sample statements, emergency contact information and a list of possible scenarios. Those materials can be useful, but they are not, by themselves, a strategy.
A real crisis communications plan establishes how an organization will make decisions when information is incomplete, pressure is increasing and multiple audiences need answers at the same time. It determines who has authority, how facts will be verified, how legal and communications counsel will coordinate, who will speak for the organization and how leadership will assess whether a public response is necessary.
The value of crisis preparedness is not predicting exactly what will go wrong. Most organizations cannot. The value is creating a decision-making structure that still works when something unexpected happens.
Start With the Risks That Actually Exist
Crisis planning should reflect the organization rather than a generic list of hypothetical disasters. A technology company, hospital, manufacturer, developer, professional services firm and consumer brand face different operational and reputational risks. Leadership should identify the events most likely to create significant consequences for employees, customers, operations, regulators or reputation.
That may include litigation, regulatory action, workplace incidents, executive misconduct allegations, cybersecurity events, accidents, customer issues, public opposition, operational failures or inaccurate information. The objective is not to write a complete statement for every possible scenario. It is to understand which risks could create communications pressure and what information the organization would need to respond effectively.
Define Who Makes Decisions
During normal operations, communications materials may move through multiple rounds of review without significant consequences. A crisis does not always allow that luxury.
Organizations should know who will be part of the crisis team and who ultimately has authority to approve communications. Legal counsel should be incorporated when the situation creates legal or regulatory exposure. Operational leadership may be essential for establishing facts. Human resources may need to address employee issues, while communications counsel evaluates media, stakeholder and reputational considerations.
The structure should be clear before an urgent situation occurs.
Know How You Will Verify Information
The pressure to communicate quickly can be intense, particularly when social media or news coverage is moving faster than the organization's internal fact-finding. A crisis plan should identify how information will be verified before it becomes part of a public statement.
Who has access to the facts? Who determines whether information is reliable? What remains unknown? Which details cannot yet be confirmed?
Communicating uncertainty accurately is preferable to filling information gaps with assumptions. An organization can update a statement as new facts emerge. Correcting confidently stated misinformation from the organization itself is much harder.
Prepare People, Not Just DocumentsA crisis binder does very little if nobody knows how to use it.
Executives and potential spokespersons should understand their roles before a crisis occurs. Media training, scenario exercises and leadership discussions can expose gaps in the plan that are difficult to see on paper.
What happens if the CEO is unavailable? What happens if a reporter approaches an executive directly? What happens if employees begin receiving inquiries? Who communicates internally? Who monitors media and social conversations? Who coordinates with outside counsel?
Prepared people make better decisions under pressure.
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Crisis communications is easier when an organization already has established communications infrastructure. Leadership should know how to reach legal and communications counsel quickly. Employees should know where media inquiries go. Communications teams should understand which reporters cover the organization and its industry. Stakeholder relationships should exist before the organization needs support or understanding during a difficult moment.
Reputation itself is also part of crisis preparedness. An organization that has communicated consistently and credibly for years enters a crisis with a different foundation than one that becomes visible only when something goes wrong.
Test the Plan
A crisis communications plan should not sit untouched until an actual crisis occurs. Organizations should periodically walk through realistic scenarios and test how decisions would be made. The purpose is not to produce a theatrical simulation. It is to discover practical problems.
Can leadership be reached quickly? Does everyone know who approves a statement? Can the organization verify facts? Are contact lists current? Does the team understand which stakeholders require direct communication? Can communications and legal counsel work through decisions efficiently?
Finding those problems during an exercise is significantly better than finding them while reporters are waiting.
Preparation Creates Options
No crisis plan can predict every situation. What preparation can do is create structure when the situation itself is chaotic. Leadership knows who needs to be involved, how information will be verified, how decisions will be made and where communications counsel fits within the larger response.
That structure creates something particularly valuable during a reputation crisis: time to think.
The goal of crisis preparedness is not to have a perfect statement sitting in a folder. It is to ensure the organization can make good decisions when the statement it needs has never been written before.
ABOUT ANDREA KHOURY
Andrea Khoury is Founder & Principal of Khoury Public Relations & Media Group and a strategic communications and reputation advisor. She works directly with executives, companies, legal teams and organizations navigating crisis communications, reputation management, national media attention and other high-stakes communications matters.
Khoury Public Relations & Media Group provides strategic communications, crisis communications and reputation advisory services to clients nationwide.
FOR CONFIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS INQUIRIES:
By Andrea Khoury | Founder & Principal, Khoury Public Relations & Media Group
Strategic Communications + Reputation Advisory | Serving Clients Nationwide
[SEND AN EMAIL] | [CONNECT ON LINKEDIN] | [START A CONVERSATION]
How Companies Should Prepare Before Something Goes Wrong
By Andrea Khoury | Founder & Principal, Khoury Public Relations & Media Group
Strategic Communications + Reputation Advisory | Serving Clients Nationwide
[SEND AN EMAIL] | [CONNECT ON LINKEDIN] | [START A CONVERSATION]
Organizations often believe they have a crisis communications plan because someone prepared a document containing sample statements, emergency contact information and a list of possible scenarios. Those materials can be useful, but they are not, by themselves, a strategy.
A real crisis communications plan establishes how an organization will make decisions when information is incomplete, pressure is increasing and multiple audiences need answers at the same time. It determines who has authority, how facts will be verified, how legal and communications counsel will coordinate, who will speak for the organization and how leadership will assess whether a public response is necessary.
The value of crisis preparedness is not predicting exactly what will go wrong. Most organizations cannot. The value is creating a decision-making structure that still works when something unexpected happens.
Start With the Risks That Actually Exist
Crisis planning should reflect the organization rather than a generic list of hypothetical disasters. A technology company, hospital, manufacturer, developer, professional services firm and consumer brand face different operational and reputational risks. Leadership should identify the events most likely to create significant consequences for employees, customers, operations, regulators or reputation.
That may include litigation, regulatory action, workplace incidents, executive misconduct allegations, cybersecurity events, accidents, customer issues, public opposition, operational failures or inaccurate information. The objective is not to write a complete statement for every possible scenario. It is to understand which risks could create communications pressure and what information the organization would need to respond effectively.
Define Who Makes Decisions
During normal operations, communications materials may move through multiple rounds of review without significant consequences. A crisis does not always allow that luxury.
Organizations should know who will be part of the crisis team and who ultimately has authority to approve communications. Legal counsel should be incorporated when the situation creates legal or regulatory exposure. Operational leadership may be essential for establishing facts. Human resources may need to address employee issues, while communications counsel evaluates media, stakeholder and reputational considerations.
The structure should be clear before an urgent situation occurs.
Know How You Will Verify Information
The pressure to communicate quickly can be intense, particularly when social media or news coverage is moving faster than the organization's internal fact-finding. A crisis plan should identify how information will be verified before it becomes part of a public statement.
Who has access to the facts? Who determines whether information is reliable? What remains unknown? Which details cannot yet be confirmed?
Communicating uncertainty accurately is preferable to filling information gaps with assumptions. An organization can update a statement as new facts emerge. Correcting confidently stated misinformation from the organization itself is much harder.
Prepare People, Not Just DocumentsA crisis binder does very little if nobody knows how to use it.
Executives and potential spokespersons should understand their roles before a crisis occurs. Media training, scenario exercises and leadership discussions can expose gaps in the plan that are difficult to see on paper.
What happens if the CEO is unavailable? What happens if a reporter approaches an executive directly? What happens if employees begin receiving inquiries? Who communicates internally? Who monitors media and social conversations? Who coordinates with outside counsel?
Prepared people make better decisions under pressure.
Build Relationships Before You Need Them
Crisis communications is easier when an organization already has established communications infrastructure. Leadership should know how to reach legal and communications counsel quickly. Employees should know where media inquiries go. Communications teams should understand which reporters cover the organization and its industry. Stakeholder relationships should exist before the organization needs support or understanding during a difficult moment.
Reputation itself is also part of crisis preparedness. An organization that has communicated consistently and credibly for years enters a crisis with a different foundation than one that becomes visible only when something goes wrong.
Test the Plan
A crisis communications plan should not sit untouched until an actual crisis occurs. Organizations should periodically walk through realistic scenarios and test how decisions would be made. The purpose is not to produce a theatrical simulation. It is to discover practical problems.
Can leadership be reached quickly? Does everyone know who approves a statement? Can the organization verify facts? Are contact lists current? Does the team understand which stakeholders require direct communication? Can communications and legal counsel work through decisions efficiently?
Finding those problems during an exercise is significantly better than finding them while reporters are waiting.
Preparation Creates Options
No crisis plan can predict every situation. What preparation can do is create structure when the situation itself is chaotic. Leadership knows who needs to be involved, how information will be verified, how decisions will be made and where communications counsel fits within the larger response.
That structure creates something particularly valuable during a reputation crisis: time to think.
The goal of crisis preparedness is not to have a perfect statement sitting in a folder. It is to ensure the organization can make good decisions when the statement it needs has never been written before.
ABOUT ANDREA KHOURY
Andrea Khoury is Founder & Principal of Khoury Public Relations & Media Group and a strategic communications and reputation advisor. She works directly with executives, companies, legal teams and organizations navigating crisis communications, reputation management, national media attention and other high-stakes communications matters.
Khoury Public Relations & Media Group provides strategic communications, crisis communications and reputation advisory services to clients nationwide.
FOR CONFIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS INQUIRIES:
By Andrea Khoury | Founder & Principal, Khoury Public Relations & Media Group
Strategic Communications + Reputation Advisory | Serving Clients Nationwide
[SEND AN EMAIL] | [CONNECT ON LINKEDIN] | [START A CONVERSATION]