Businesses and organisations looking at crises spend a long time considering what is required in those early days. They put plans in for a speed my response, for extra resources and for procedures detailing the actions. But what happens when the crisis is over?
Too often we leave it behind and move back to some form of ‘normal’ activities. We may conduct a debrief looking at what worked, what didn’t work and what we need to do in the future. We may refresh our crisis plans. We may put testing and exercising on the back burner as reality has done that work. Then we pick up normal business and move on.
Recovery and particularly recovery communication is the Cinderella of the crisis response. It is rarely thought of and little understood. Organisations dismiss it preferring to carry on. But this misses the opportunity to learn and change, and in the worst case will threaten to undermine the crisis response.
The crisis will have put pressure on trust and confidence within the organisation. It will have had an impact on people and their lives. It will have had consequences to what they do, what they think and how they live. Managing this is the final step towards an effective crisis response and communication.
So what do we need to do to be ready for the recovery phase?
It starts with really understanding the impact of the crisis. What actually happened? What did people feel about it and what did it do to your reputation? Where was there a challenge or criticism about what happened and what you did? Communication needs to be evaluated not just debriefed. Then consider what was happening to the business before the crisis emerged. What problems were you wrestling with and where were the pressure points?
Use that information alongside a realistic assessment of the resources that are available to produce a recovery communication plan. If we are going to be prepared and plan our way into a crisis, we need to be able to plan our way out. This can pick up the legacy issues and the challenges that remain once the problem has ended.
Here are my five suggestions about what to do to make sure you are ready for the recovery phase that crisis happens.
- Ensure your crisis communication plan has evaluation attached to it so you know what impact the activity has had
- Have a draft recovery communication plan in place that will outline the approach and what you can do including any additional resources that are required.
- Consider how to resource a recovery communication plan and the actions that may be needed
- Review the existing communication strategy and plans to ensure they align with the learning from managing the crisis
- Understand the trigger points going forward. Those points when the crisis will be brought back into people’s awareness and have a plan to manage the impact on the public and staff
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