Effective communication with key stakeholders is a crucial element of effective crisis or incident management, which requires careful planning and particular skills.

Successful management of a crisis is not only about taking the appropriate actions to remedy the situation, it is also about being seen to be taking them and being heard to say the right things. In other words, your stakeholders’ perception of your crisis management capability is their reality. And the best business or technical recovery plans in the world may come to nothing if that perception is not managed effectively. Unfortunately, history is littered with the casualties of poor crisis communications.

A robust crisis communications plan, including a crisis media communications capability, is therefore a key part of your crisis management preparedness. And it is essential that your nominated spokespeople are sufficiently trained and practised in the role. But it is also important that your planning efforts are not restricted to your senior spokespeople, as experience has shown that managers and front-line personnel ‘on the ground’ are likely to be the first target for the media.