Crisis Scenarios You Should Be Ready For

First responders train for all kinds of emergencies. They practice until their response becomes muscle memory. They hope many of those skills never need to be used, but if the moment comes, they want their actions to be second nature.

Communicators should approach crisis situations the same way: pre-plan, practice, and perform when the moment arrives.

At Clarity Channels Communications, we use a simple definition of an organizational crisis:

A crisis is any event or situation that threatens to harm your reputation, disrupt operations, or negatively impact your staff, programs, or stakeholders.

For any organization, a crisis communications plan is not a luxury — it's a necessity. (If you don't have one, here's a resource to help you get started.)

Many people assume the role of a communications team during a crisis is limited to managing negative press, social media backlash, or public missteps.

But our definition is much broader than that.

A crisis isn't limited to situations where lives are on the line and every second counts. It's not just a damaging headline or a viral video, though those certainly qualify.

A crisis can take many forms: the death of a colleague after a long illness, a tornado or fire, the loss of a major funding source, or even a tragedy outside your organization that affects staff morale and their ability to work effectively.

Not all of these situations require the same level of response. But they all require communication, whether that communication is internal, external, or both.

One of the most valuable exercises communicators can undertake is preparation. We can think ahead. We can identify vulnerabilities. And we can practice our response before emotions are running high.

Gather key leaders from across your organization and spend time brainstorming potential crisis scenarios using the definition above. (Fair warning: it's not the most uplifting meeting you'll ever hold. You may want to schedule it late in the day so people have time to decompress afterward.)

Once you've identified potential scenarios, start organizing them into categories and ask questions such as:

• Which situations require only internal communication, and which require a public response?

• Which crises warrant their own standalone response plans? For example, severe weather and the death of a staff member may each require dedicated protocols.

• How will leadership, HR, operations, and communications coordinate their response?

• Are there situations where additional support, such as an onsite counselor, should be part of the plan? If so, who is responsible for communicating those resources?

• Who are the key decision makers for each scenario? Are they different from the team identified in your broader crisis communications plan?

Then put those plans into practice. Discuss a scenario during leadership meetings. Review your crisis plan on a regular schedule. Train new team members on the process.

Big or small, crises are often accompanied by uncertainty, emotion, and rapidly changing circumstances. Preparation won't eliminate those challenges, but it can make them far less stressful and make your communication far more effective when it matters most.