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Principles of a Successful Crisis Communications Strategy

This session explores the key principles and assumptions that emergency officials should embrace when designing and implementing a crisis communications strategy. Topics include customer focus, leadership commitment, inclusion of communications in planning and operations, good information, and media partnership.

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Principles of a Successful Crisis Communications Strategy

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  1. Principles of a Successful Crisis Communications Strategy Session 16 Slide Deck Session 16 Slide 16-

  2. Session Objectives Objective 16.1: Review five critical assumptions concerning crisis communications. Objective 16.2: Discuss the nine principles that emergency officials should embrace in order todesign and implement a successful crisis communications strategy. Session 16 Slide 16-

  3. Five Critical Assumptions • Customer Focus • Leadership Commitment • Inclusion of Communications in Planning and Operations • Good Information • Media Partnership Session 16 Slide 16-

  4. Customer Focus • Focus on customers and customer service • Guide communications with the public and with all partners in emergency management • Placing the needs and interests of individuals and communities first • Being responsive and informative • Managing expectations Session 16 Slide 16-

  5. Leadership Commitment • Commitment to sharing information • Endorse open communications • Model behavior Session 16 Slide 16-

  6. Inclusion of Communications in Planning and Operations • Communications Specialist is included in senior management team. • Communications is on equal footing with Planning and Operations. • Demand is high for timely and accurate information. • How to communicate what is going on critical to all phases of response and recovery. Session 16 Slide 16-

  7. Situational Awareness • Key to an effective disaster response • Collection, analysis, and dissemination of information from the disaster site • Sharing this information is all important Session 16 Slide 16-

  8. Media Partnership • Primary role in communicating with the public • Greater reach to public • Provide timely and accurate information • Partnership between emergency managers and media Session 16 Slide 16-

  9. Characteristics of an Effective Media Partnership • Communications network • Media access • Define roles • Manage public expectations • Speed the recovery Session 16 Slide 16-

  10. Principles Provide Guidance On: • How to talk to their customers • How to ensure that they can talk to their customers • What to say and what not to say • How to be accurate and timely • When to talk and how to connect to your customers when you talk Session 16 Slide 16-

  11. Principles of Good Crisis Communications • Focus on the needs of your customers. • Make a commitment to effective communications. • Make communications an integral part of all Planning and Operations. • Be transparent in your communications. • Ensure that your information is accurate. • Release information in a timely manner. • Make yourself, your staff, and others, where appropriate, available and accessible. • Create an emotional connection with your audience. • Build a partnership with the media and the “first informer” community. Session 16 Slide 16-

  12. Principle: Customer Focus • Drives all actions • Provide needed information • Work on customer’s schedule • Use language customers understand • Work with trusted community leaders • Recognize language and cultural differences • Respect functional needs populations Session 16 Slide 16-

  13. Customer Focus: Understanding what information customers need • Response • Preparedness • Mitigation • Recovery Session 16 Slide 16-

  14. Customer Focus: Work on your customer’s schedule and not your own • Simple and common sense • Small business example Session 16 Slide 16-

  15. Customer Focus: Use language that most people can understand • No jargon • Don’t use pronouns • Use accessible language Session 16 Slide 16-

  16. Customer Focus: Recognize language and cultural differences among your customers • Non-English speakers • Translations and translators • Tulsa Language/Culture Bank Session 16 Slide 16-

  17. Customer Focus: Identify trusted community leaders who can facilitate communications in disadvantaged neighborhoods • Messages ignored • Identify trusted community leaders • Communications hub and more Session 16 Slide 16-

  18. Customer Focus: Respect functional needs populations and take action to meet their specific communications needs • Sight • Hearing • Learning • Cognitive Session 16 Slide 16-

  19. Customer Focus: Use the appropriate media to reach your customers • Television • Radio • Internet • Newspapers • Social media Session 16 Slide 16-

  20. Principle: Leadership Commitment • Be an active participant in communications. • Include Communications Director on senior management team. • Hire and maintain professional staff. • Invest in ongoing training for staff. • Invest resources in communications. Session 16 Slide 16-

  21. Leadership Commitment: Be an active participant in communications • Principal agency spokesperson • Campaign design and implementation • Working with elected officials Session 16 Slide 16-

  22. Leadership Commitment: Include communications director on senior management team • Planning and operations meetings • Communications issues considered • Leadership priority Session 16 Slide 16-

  23. Leadership Commitment: Hire and maintain professional staff • Communications Specialist • Additional staffing Session 16 Slide 16-

  24. Leadership Commitment: Invest in ongoing training for staff • Media training • Media relations • Marketing • Web-related Session 16 Slide 16-

  25. Leadership Commitment: Invest resources in communications • Information management • Production expenses • Consulting help Session 16 Slide 16-

  26. Principle: Transparency • Don’t lie. • Don’t talk about what you don’t know. • Don’t talk about actions of other organizations. • Don’t make promises you can’t keep. • Be informed. • Acknowledge the conversation. • Focus on performance. Session 16 Slide 16-

  27. Transparency: Don’t Lie • Critically important • Credibility • Never need to lie • Unintentional Session 16 Slide 16-

  28. Transparency: Don’t talk about what you don’t know • Destroy credibility • Don’t make up an answer • Investigate and respond Session 16 Slide 16-

  29. Transparency: Don’t talk about actions of other organizations • Let them talk for themselves • Misunderstandings • Inclusion in your communications Session 16 Slide 16-

  30. Transparency: Don’t make promises you can’t keep • Be 100% sure • Close is not good enough • Two days means two days Session 16 Slide 16-

  31. Transparency: Be informed • Avoid misstatements and misleading information • Pay attention • Information management process Session 16 Slide 16-

  32. Transparency: Acknowledge the conversation • Old and new media • Be aware and acknowledge • Public exchange Session 16 Slide 16-

  33. Transparency: Focus on performance • Doing • Done • Hope to do Session 16 Slide 16-

  34. Principle: Accuracy • Make information a priority. • Invest in information collection. • Invest in information management. • Use only confirmed information. • Make decisions based on good information. Session 16 Slide 16-

  35. Accuracy: Make information a priority • Situational awareness • Information management Session 16 Slide 16-

  36. Accuracy: Invest in information collection • Build infrastructure • Resources • Staff • Training • Partnerships Session 16 Slide 16-

  37. Accuracy: Invest in information management • Analysis and dissemination • Information management system • Staff, training, and technology Session 16 Slide 16-

  38. Accuracy: Use only confirmed information • Don’t spread rumors • Protocols • Types of information • Sources • Criteria to measure credibility • Do not ignore public sources Session 16 Slide 16-

  39. Accuracy: Make decisions based on good information • Use information. • Confirm information. • Be prepared to use incomplete information if needed. Session 16 Slide 16-

  40. Principle: Timeliness • Don’t hold onto information – share it. • Conduct regular updates. • Make special updates when new information emerges. • Reach out to as many media outlets as possible. Session 16 Slide 16-

  41. Timeliness: Don’t hold onto information – Share it • Power in sharing • Don’t let information age • Examples of sharing: • September 11 • Northridge • Hurricane Floyd • Oklahoma City bombing • Mechanisms used to share Session 16 Slide 16-

  42. Timeliness: Conduct regular updates • Regular schedule • Constant presence • Opportunity for preparedness and mitigation messages Session 16 Slide 16-

  43. Timeliness: Make special updates when new information emerges • Get new info out immediately • Use all forms of media • No need to hold back Session 16 Slide 16-

  44. Reach out to as many media outlets as possible • Inventory community media outlets • No outlet too small • Internet and bloggers • Media contact information Session 16 Slide 16-

  45. Principle: Availability • Be available and accessible to media. • Make the incident commander available to media. • Work with elected and appointed officials. • Support your Public Information Officer (PIO). • Make technical staff available to media. • Include officials from other emergency agencies. Session 16 Slide 16-

  46. Accessibility: Be available and accessible to media • Face of the crisis • Work with media to reach the public Session 16 Slide 16-

  47. Accessibility: Make the Incident Commander available to media • Commanding presence and credible source • Well briefed • Media training Session 16 Slide 16-

  48. Accessibility: Work with elected and appointed officials • Officials will talk to the media in a crisis • Ensure they are: • On message • Providing accurate and timely information • Coordinate Session 16 Slide 16-

  49. Accessibility: Support your Public Information Officer (PIO) • Empower the PIO • Works with media • Part of management team • Privy to all decisions • Confidence Session 16 Slide 16-

  50. Accessibility: Make technical staff available to media • Technical staff to the stage • Well prepared and understand their role • Talk to specific technical aspects • PIO decision Session 16 Slide 16-

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