Back To The Future

Under Pressure 24 September 2021

Back to the future

With fuel shortages, empty shelves at supermarkets and Government messages to ‘don’t panic’, it feels like the UK is returning to the 1970s or even 20 years ago. It was in the year 2000 that I had the first taste of emergency planning after recently joining the police as a communication officer. There was a dispute over fuel and supplies were cut off leading to widespread panic.

There were stories of people filling wheelie bins with fuel creating problems for fire services. There were near riots at petrol stations when fuel supplies did arrive. I clearly remember making a plan of how I could sleep at work if I needed to. The plans to ration fuel, prioritise emergency and critical services and deal with unrest are still firmly in my head.

What has become clear from recent weeks is that protecting critical infrastructure goes way beyond water, gas and electricity supplies. There are distribution and logistics chains that need to be fully understood so that they can be protected. It is time for those leading governments and organisations to make sure they full understand those networks and have considered contingency plans for when problems occur.

If you need any support reviewing your contingency plans or considering the impact of disruption to logistics get in touch at amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

People First

I was delighted to see the National Police Chief’s Council in the UK sign up to the Charter for Families Bereaved through Public Tragedy. Read it here. The move is an important one that prioritises supporting people over protecting corporate reputation. I always remind PR and communication officers during training that reputation should not be the sole aim of your crisis or emergency response. What matters is how you respond and help those caught up in the disaster.

The points made within the Charter can, and I believe should, go way beyond those disasters that sparked its development. The idea came from a Bishop James Jones in a report published in 2017 about the experiences of the families affected by the Hillsborough tragedy.

More needs to be done to discuss the issues with communicators and I have contacted by the PRCA and CIPR to ask for their support in discussing the Charter more widely. If you are interested in getting involved email me at amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk and watch this space for some further work in this area.

Talking Crisis and Communication

I was recently interviewed by Robert Tornabene for the PIO Podcast. We chatted about two decades in police communication what had changed, and what I have learnt through the years. If you are interested and have time you may want to listen to the resulting podcast. Find it here

In Brief:

• September has been National Preparedness Month and I have been sharing some key points to help communicators. You can find out more here.

• There is an interesting commentary article on the Forbes website that highlights the key role empathy plays in leadership. I would also emphasise the importance of its role in media interviews and in crisis communication. Read it here.

• In a recent blog I have challenged communicators to ensure their messages are not becoming wallpaper. Overused phrases and language can resign your communication to nothing more than mood music. Read the blog here.

Diary Dates:

• Tuesday 12 October 10.30am - Amanda will be running a webinar for the PRCA looking at getting the maximum impact from a minimal or non-existent PR budget. Details here.

• Wednesday 20 October - a full day looking at Managing an In-house team will be provided by Amanda for the PRCA. Details are here.

• On the 22 October - Amanda will be the guest chair for the SASIG webinar. More information in a future edition of Under Pressure.