Crises wait for no one: the clock is ticking
Under Pressure 17 April 2025
Crises wait for no one
This newsletter arrives just as we are preparing for a long Easter weekend break. For many there will be a chance to switch off, relax and recharge our batteries but in the world of communication we always need to be alert. In the fast moving world when a crisis hits the clock starts ticking both on the response and the communication.
The big challenge is that the speed of how the crisis develops and is being talked about doesn’t move faster than the crisis response. It sounds simple. But when there are layers of approval to go through and legal aspects to consider a few minutes can quickly turn into a few hours. By the time the statement is ready to be shared people have delved into their views of what has happened, will have been reading eye witness accounts, and may have been duped by fake commentary.
In recent training, I have been exploring this issue and importantly how we can prevent being forced into a reactive stance.
Plan your crisis communication and build a swift approval mechanism together with delegated authority to move quickly the moment a problem occurs.
Ensure you have effective social media and media monitoring in place, together with customer service and other alerts so problems are identified quickly.
Provide information quickly once the crisis has occurred and keep information flowing.
Challenge the risk averse approaches that may be discussed by using case studies of where situations have deteriorated because of a lack of action. (I produce a monthly case study on my website amandacolemancomms.co.uk which may be a helpful starting point.)
Test the approach in a realistic way to demonstrate to the wider business how the clock is ticking from the moment the crisis emerges.
Speed and accuracy are important and must work together to support the crisis response and communication. If the clock is ticking and we are not moving the damage may be intensified.
Being part of the solution
More than 150 people joined Amanda and disaster expert Professor Lucy Easthope for a discussion about misinformation, disinformation, malinformation and gaslighting. The session considered the big challenges for crisis and emergency response and communication. Some thoughts on the discussion about the session can be found here.
Internal comms and crises
Amanda was in conversation with fellow author Rachel Miller on a recent Off the Page Podcast. The discussion considered internal communication and its importance to both crisis preparedness and crisis management. Find out more about what was discussed here.
Foundations of Crisis Communication - Training
Amanda’s next training session is about Crisis Communication 101. It will cover all the basics you need to face any problem or issue. The session is on 7 May from 1pm to 4pm BST and will cover how to be crisis prepared, building a crisis communication plan and the simple steps to take to put you in a state of readiness. To find out more email office@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
In Brief:
Amanda talked to Viva PR’s Tony Garner for his podcast series PR in the Real World. They covered everything from working on typewriters through to dealing with the challenges of social media. Amanda also gave some insights into her experiences managing crises. Listen to the discussion here.
The possibility of climate crises during the summer has been raised after the UK’s Foreign Office issued a warning to holidaymakers to have the Greek authority emergency alerts on their phones when travelling to the country. Read more here.
Trust in authorities in Norway has been reducing since the pandemic according to recent research. And trust is identified as critical to future crisis management. Find out more here.
The Swedish Defence University website has shared an article considering a recent study looking at team learning. The article details how trust is important between organisations taking part in exercises and training. Read more here.
Diary Dates:
24 April - Amanda is running an online session on crisis preparedness for legal firms as part of a risk management series. Find out more here.
On 30 April - Amanda is joining CIPR SW conference to talk about the latest thinking and issues in crisis communication with some points to take away and consider. Find out more here.