“My company has a business continuity plan. Why do I need a crisis communication plan, too?”
Business continuity and crisis management are increasingly on the minds of organizational leaders worldwide. As well they should be. Many senior leaders with a business continuity plan in place believe they are well prepared for a crisis. And some are.
More often, however, we have found that organizations are not as prepared as they think they are. While a business continuity plan is indeed critical to the operation of any organization, absent a crisis communication plan, business continuity plans do nothing to protect brand and reputation in the event of a crisis. “Goodwill” is a line item on many company P&Ls these days, and one poorly managed issue can wipe out that value faster than lightening. Poor crisis communication (or none at all) can exacerbate losses to sales, profitability, stock price, market share, earnings, and more. The very future of the company may be at stake.
At ICM, we advocate for three crisis plans: 1) the operational crisis plan, which covers the actions needed to mitigate the crisis and keep the organization functioning during that time, 2) the business continuity and recovery plan, which covers the actions needed to get the organization back to normal following a crisis; and finally, 3) the crisis communication plan.
The crisis communication plan is the keystone that makes the other two plans work effectively. It is important not only to do the right thing in a crisis; it is critical to effectively communicate to all stakeholders what’s being done and why. That’s where the crisis communication plan enters the picture. The communication plan covers the strategies, processes, tactics and tools needed to protect the corporate brand, its reputation and financial health.
Ideally, the crisis communication plan and the other two plans all share this important feature: each includes specifics for responding to the most common kinds of crises, rather than just a generic approach. By assessing your vulnerabilities and including a variety of potential crises in your planning, you are better prepared for the unexpected and the expected crises.
