A year on - notes from Ukraine

Under Pressure 3 March 2023

A year on - notes from Ukraine

It was a real honour to speak to Sergii Bidenko for the latest in the 10 minutes with series. I have got to know Sergii over the past year and have been continually amazed by the resilience he, and his whole country, have shown. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the chat you can here.

If you don’t know Sergii he is a reputation and crisis advisor, co-founder and Chairman of The United PR Association of Ukraine, ICCO Board member, ICCO Global Award for Best Crisis Response 2022 Winner and winner of Best Crisis Communications Leader 2022, Davos Communications Awards. He is also the bestselling author of the book “Reputation antistress” (in Ukrainian) with a foreword of Dr. Charles J. Fombrun, the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of The RepTrak Company.

The conversation concluded with Sergii’s top professional hacks that he has discovered during the year. They provide an insight for those of us working with crises but who will have never faced the traumatic experiences of those in Ukraine.

So the hacks in Sergii’s words are:

1. People are a critical asset of a company. Your office and equipment may be destroyed. But your employees and their safety should be your priority if something happens.

2. Your crisis plan may not work 100%. But it will help because you have it! Your employees need to know the details of this plan.

3. Prepare your teams to work remotely and the temporary unavailability of one of the team members. Your employees must know what colleagues are doing and how to access their content.

4. Have external "reserve" specialists who can join the work if there are problems with the infrastructure in some regions.

5. Increase the autonomy and resilience of your team members and your business. Buy the necessary equipment for home and office.

6. Create information campaigns that can be available later.

7. Social networks forget posts very quickly, so your messages may not be seen by people who don't have electricity or mobile coverage.

8. Develop communication in groups in messengers. It's a faster way to communicate important things.

9.Teach clients that businesses must take a stand on critical social and political issues. If a company does not have a point of view, it does not exist for customers.

My thoughts continue to be with Ukraine and its amazing people, including many PR and communication professionals. Slava Ukraini.

New Book Launch

Today, 3 March 2023 is the publication day of Amanda’s second edition of the popular book Crisis Communication Strategies. The book introduces new elements and case studies. Amanda says: “The first edition was written before the pandemic had happened. While much of the approach is unchanged there are important new developments that needed to be included.

“I hope that people find the updated book helpful and that it gives practical ways to improve their crisis communication approach and response.” If you want to find out more go to publisher Kogan Page. Readers of the newsletter can get a 20 per cent discount on the Kogan Page website using the code CRISIS.

Extreme weather top reason for implementing crisis plans - report

The Business Continuity Institute has published it’s latest report on Emergency and Crisis Communication. There are interesting facts that can help those planning and preparing for crises. The top two reasons why crisis plans are activated are extreme weather events and an IT issue.

Other interesting results were:

• 70.5% of organizations are now using digital tools or software to manage their emergency communications within crisis scenarios

• At 85.9%, the most valued feature of an emergency communication tool remains its ability to quickly alert and organise a high number of people

Find out more about the BCI report here.

Training Update

There are still a couple of places left on the Effective Issues Management training taking place on Thursday 23 March at 1pm GMT. If you want to grab one of the spaces for the two hour session get in touch amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

In Brief:

• The UK Government has announced the creation of an expert panel to support victims after major disasters. It will create an Independent Public Advocate and will be focused on supporting people affected. Find out more here.

• The latest crisis communication case study Testing Times has been published. If you want to find out what Amanda was focusing on from the past month get in touch to receive a copy at amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

• A government minister in Jamaica has highlighted the importance of effective communication when dealing with disasters and crises. Find out more here.

• In a widely publicised move the Oscars have put a crisis team in place to deal with any situations. It follows last year’s event and the situation that developed between Will Smith and Chris Rock. Read more here.

• The impact of climate change on supply routes is considered in an article in European Business Review. As the situation in the UK is challenging with vegetables being rationed this seems a perfect moment to consider what needs to be improved. Find out more here.

• If you have ever wondered what emergency alert sirens sound in each country then an instagrammer has reviewed them. Find out more here.

Diary Dates:

• Amanda’s popular crisis management webinar run on behalf of the PRCA takes place again on 7 March. Find out more about it here.

• Crisis preparation and prevention is the focus for a session at HQNs Commsfest on 14 March. The session is focused on the housing sector and professionals and Amanda will be one of the speakers for the session. Find out more here.

• On 21 March Amanda will be running her popular Producing Engaging Content in the Public Sector for the PRCA. Find out more here.