CRISIS.
The very word makes you sick to your stomach. It's no coincidence, because the word itself means an unexpected turn of events and, as a physiological reaction, it immediately triggers one of the basic human emotions: fear. But if we prepare for it in advance, it can be controlled by planning.
Why is it important for an NGO to be proactive, what can crisis communication do and what are the most important steps?
In the following lines we present a guide and some tips.
The Chinese character for crisis is made up of two concepts, one representing danger and the other opportunity. So the complexity of the concept shows that in a crisis, alongside danger and fear, there is always opportunity. Fear is a natural human reaction. When fear kicks in, we focus on the danger first and find it harder to see the opportunity in a challenging situation.
The physiological background to this is discussed at length in Al Ghaoui Hesna's book, Fear with Courage (recommended reading!), in which she writes that "fear is linked to the reptilian brain, the deepest, most primitive and primitive part of the brain, whose primary function is survival. It's useful when you need to jump away from a bear or a car (...), but in a sophisticated situation it can be a nuisance. In itself, however, by noticing and accepting the fear, we become observers and step out into a kind of helicopter perspective, thus being able to extricate ourselves from the reptilian brain reaction and be able to respond in a way that is appropriate to our values. ...fear causes the release of more than 30 hormones in the body, the two most important of which are adrenaline and cortisol. This is why more blood is pumped to the major muscles to increase strength, the brain uses more glucose to concentrate and every part of our body works to survive, to cope mentally and physically. ...The trouble starts when we become frightened by the symptoms that fear triggers in us - increased sweating, tiny tremors, heavier breathing, a strange feeling in the stomach. The blockage is often caused by fear of the fear, rather than fear of what is causing the feeling. But the message from our physical reactions is that every part of us is mobilised to deal with a situation."
If we don't work to eliminate fear in a crisis, but instead become aware of it and see it as a source of strength, then fear can be an energising engine rather than a blocking factor. We now know how we behave as individuals in a crisis, but what can we do if we are faced with an unexpected situation? We prepare in advance (what we can), we plan. We become aware of the situation and turn it into a resource
What is a crisis communication plan and why is it worth the time/energy?
A crisis communication plan is a plan to prepare for the unexpected. Of course, the age-old wisdom is true that you should cross the bridge when you are there, but as we have seen above, an unexpected situation usually triggers our reptilian brain, which may be useful in a spontaneous encounter with a lion, but will prove inadequate in a more complex situation. And complicated situations and unexpected attacks always happen, especially in the civil sector.
For example, if your organisation has a mission that goes against your current political orientation, you can easily expect direct or media attacks. But a crisis situation can also be created by financial support from abroad for which domestic organisations can apply and which attracts media attention. Or a misguided management decision could put the reputation of the organisation at risk.
If we thin about it, we have all heard and read similar stories.
Have a plan! This may sound simple and easy at first hearing, but in reality it is a lengthy, in-depth exercise that requires extra time, energy and resources for the organisation to energise rather than stall in an unexpected situation.
But! The good news is that working together will/can have many unexpected benefits, such as:
thinking together clarifies concepts that we thought we meant the same thing
who our exact stakeholders are and what their pain points and needs are
and what the organisation's priorities are in weighting each risk (linked to its original mission)
What does a crisis communication plan consist of?
Similar to strategies, the purpose of any written document of this type is to provide direction by capturing the ideas in the minds and providing an information platform for staff and volunteers in the organisation. Keep in one direction and speak one language.
A crisis communication document is therefore, similar to the Chinese crisis character, a complex written summary, one part of which assesses the threat:
list the emerging risks (risk-weighted)
records possible scenarios and related communication activities,
during the creation of the scenarios, it may arise that there is a need for change or reinforcement in other areas of our operation, which must be addressed
analyzes the stakeholders around the organization, who can be affected by the crisis,
then ranks the chances and possibilities:
defines the communication team and defines the process (who/when/to whom/what can be communicated),
prepares for possible scenarios in advance, if it can (preliminary message formulations),
prepares to respond to unexpected events (conscious planning and preparation),
prepares the participants in the process (unified communication messages).
The basic pillars of crisis communication:
Prevention and preparation
This is the reflection and recording of the survey and the plan itself.
Quick (but not impulsive) response
Time plays an important role, the first 12 hours are critical. But let's give ourselves time to calm down our first, intense emotions. With a temporary announcement or post, we can reassure our community, while broadcasting that we have the matter under control, and at the same time gain time for conscious action.
Let's inform all stakeholders at their own level of information
You can't overcommunicate. In the absence of information, people fill the void and start to manufacture stories and theories according to their own values and worldview. If they feel informed, they will feel safe.
Let's take a closer look at what the crisis communication plan itself consists of.
1. Defining a crisis management team
First of all, it is important to record who will be the "project team" in the event of an unexpected situation, which will deal with the event and the implementation of the plan.
Those who are definitely part of the team: the head of the organization, the communication and fundraising staff, but the colleague dealing with volunteer management is also an important resource in the management of the community. The more everyone needs to be coordinated, the more opportunities there are for communication to go astray, so it is worth keeping the number of crisis teams within reasonable limits
Let's choose a leader (and this can be a colleague dealing with communication) who holds the conductor's baton. Strictly. In an emergency, the official boss is also only a team member. As we learned after the covid epidemic, a special legal order works in a state of emergency, nothing is as we are used to.
2. Identification of risks
Imagine in advance critical situations and attack surfaces related to the organization's mission or activities and list them. Let's identify which area of the organization will be affected, on what topic, and assess the chance of the risk materializing. Based on this, we should put these possible risks in order and link the planned responses to them.
Risk number
Risk description
Who is affected by the risk (organization, community, partner, etc.)
Risk category (which area is affected: informational, ethical, reputational, operational)
Likelihood (1=unlikely, 5 very likely)
Effect (1=negligible, 5=critical)
Risk classification (very low, medium, high, very high)
What do you plan to do with the risk? (avoid, intervene, reduce)
Planned response, action
Planned timing (immediate, under development)
3. Possible scenarios
Attach possible response scenarios to the emerging risks. What would we do in that situation?
In the listing and thinking, it is worth involving a supporter, a volunteer, a sympathizer watching from a little further away, they can bring a new aspect that we might not think about.
4. Communication outcomes
Let's formulate communication messages for the scenarios that we want to be delivered hands-free. In a tense situation, we might be easily blocked, but with pre-written communication panels, we will have a line leader that we can reach out to. Let's put together a question-and-answer document - for this, let's collect questions from our wider community!
5. Communication order
a) Statement order: record who will respond to (media) inquiries and who will make a statement. If possible, our communication should have one face.
b) Communication processes: record the process of internal communication: how we notify each other, who communicates with which target group, when communication messages can go out, what channels we use (maybe a quickly assembled Messenger or Whatsapp group, where inquiries can be quickly responded to.)
6. Stakeholder communication map
Let's collect who is affected by our cause and our organization. Let's list what pain points they might have in the event of a crisis and put together the communication messages that we can use to reassure them.
Stakeholder communication plan
Stakeholder: E.g.: Will I have a job? Will my salary be paid?
Key questions/painponts: What's going on? What will be the outcome?
Comm. goal: to reassure, to inform, to listen
Message: Things are in hand. It didn't come as a surprise. We are moving forward with plans for 2024.
Mean/Channel: Internal comm, personal and regular email
Notes: Key colleagues
7. What we do / don't do list
It can be useful to make a blacklist, which we certainly don't do in a crisis situation (because it doesn't fit into the organization's values, goes against the brand values, code of ethics...), so misunderstandings can be avoided during acute situation management, when everyone is moving at a high energy level anyway.
8. Preparation of employees and community:
It is important to find an opportunity to introduce our employees who are not members of the team, so that they know about the plan, which should be available to all team members.
9. Arising questions and answers
The above list should be supplemented with questions that still arise during the crisis communication plan.
Crisis communication checklist:
Do you have a plan in your account?
Notify organizational colleagues and the narrow community! (reassurance)
Conscious communication (according to plan)
Use the same messages consistently across all channels
Supporting data and facts can help the argument
Take the question-and-answer document
Notify our stakeholders
Let's stay calm :)
The most important thing: COMMUNICATE (as much as each target group needs to know)
Tip: Create a Canvas! Prepare a one-page summary of the information, data, and plan in a live situation so that all participants can easily see the planned steps.
Author/Source: Varga Brigitta