Changing in a moment
Changing in a moment
The images of former US president Donald Trump with blood on his face after surviving an assassination attempt were shocking. It is a reminder of how everything can change in a moment.
There have been hundreds of rallies and the security detail at them will have gone through the checks many, many times. Whatever job we do there will be aspects of it that we do every day and that are on repeat. But in the world of risk and crisis management there can be no routine moments.
It is vital that we find ways to keep refreshing what we do and to challenge ourselves if we feel we are working on autopilot. In addition, we have to ensure we are not approaching things without fully assessing the individual circumstances. So what does this mean for those communicating in a crisis?
I have spoken a lot about what I call ‘cut and paste’ communication. This is where we take the same approach because we have ‘seen this situation before’. It makes it easier to manage the workload if we can get things completed quickly. I appreciate that communication teams are busier than ever but failing to review situations can create more work.
Here are my three tips for taking a fresh look at situations that emerge:
Gather all the information you can before jumping into suggesting actions to take.
Challenge your first approach to the situation and consider alternative actions.
Look for the differences rather than the similarities in situations.
There will always be times when we don’t see the full picture and life changes in a moment. Attempting to approach each issue with a fresh and challenging mindset can help.
Crisis planning and exercises
Amanda recently spoke on the podcast produced by the team at crisis simulation platform Conducttr as part of their series. The discussion covered honesty, learning from events, and prioritising people above reputation. If you want to hear what was said check out the podcast here.
Amanda will also be taking part in a round table discussion session that takes place on 24 July. The session will consider the issues in crisis exercise design and how to keep it realistic. (Find out more here.)
New legislation planned?
The changes in the UK Government have led this week to a flurry of new legislation being highlighted in the King’s Speech. Among the legislation to be mentioned were Martyn’s Law, which is ensuring security measures are in place at events and gatherings. It follows a campaign from Figen Murray the mother of Manchester Arena attack victim Martyn Hett. But also mentioned was Hillsborough law and the duty of candour, both of which will require significant changes from both communicators and leaders in organisations. It is positive to see them being raised as key parts of how organisations should operate when issues and incidents occur. I will come back to this important issue in a future edition of Under Pressure.
Reflections on Hurricane Beryl
There were both good and bad communication responses to Hurricane Beryl which was the earliest forming Category 5 hurricane on record. It affected parts of the Caribeean, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf Coast of the United States.
The Jamaican Government used a new communication system to keep people updated as the storm arrived. A $2billion investment was part of an initive to improve emergency communication in Jamaica. It includes developing a national emergency communication system to coordinate the incident response and 15 early warning siren towers.
But in Houston CenterPoint Energy was put under pressure because 1 million customers were still without power three days after the hurricane. This was while the area was experiencing significant heat of over 90 degrees. There were claims the company was slow with information. Read more here.
In Brief
In a recent blog Amanda considered the importance of authenticity in managing crises and incidents. Check out the blog post here.
The UN Disaster Risk Reduction website includes details of how early warning systems can help climate resilience in Africa. It details how early warning systems are critical. Find out more here.
An interesting article in the Jamaica Observer considers crisis plans and how to approach responding to wedding events at a time of disasters. It is relevant to all event planning. Find out more here.
A new emergency alert system has been tested in Thailand in a bid to improve public safety and disaster preparedness. Read about it here. Milwaukee County has also been introducing new emergency warning systems. Find out more here.
Extreme weather events are affecting tourism in South Africa according to a recent report. Find out more here.
The UN University - Institute for Environment and Human Security has published a report that considers natural solutions to disaster and crisis risk management. Find out more here.
New research has been published that considers the position that communication teams have within organisations. Find out more about it here.
Diary Dates:
On 15 August Amanda will be running the Developing a Crisis Communication Strategy two hour training session. For more information email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
Amanda will be running the popular half day session on Developing a Communication Strategy for the PRCA on Tuesday 17 September. To find out more about the session click here.
A 90 minute crisis management webinar from Amanda will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 17 September. The session provided through the PRCA looks at preparing, responding and recovering from challenging situations. Find out more here.
