The challenges of recovery
The challenges of recovery
Under Pressure 31 March 2023
The challenges of recovering from a crisis
Plans and tests always focus on the moments when that crisis emerges or that disaster happens. It is understandable. We need to be ready to respond and do it more quickly than ever before. If we have thought things through we will have pre-prepared statements ready to go and will have a process that wraps around us. But one of the most challenging phases of a crisis is as you move towards recovery.
Why? For me it is a perfect storm of demand, exhaustion and potentially a lack of focus. Communication professionals will continue to manage the impact of the crisis and they then need to start planning for recovery. They will most likely be exhausted with the demands of the crisis taking their toll. At the same time any additional resources or staff that they may have had will have been removed. While the rest of the business, except leaders, are going back to the day job, the communicator will still be focused on the crisis response.
If you are concerned that you might not be ready to deal with the aftermath or end of a crisis there are some points to consider that may help.
Have you developed an outline recovery communication plan that would provide a framework for moving forward?
Can you call upon additional resources or support at the end phases of a crisis? If not then make it a part of your planning?
What structure would you put in place to allow you to do the day job, manage the crisis and plan for recovery? Trust me this is not as easy as it sounds when your resilience is low.
Consider the roles that you need to deal with the aftermath of an incident. These could be supporting affected people, managing humanitarian aspects, or managing necessary change communication.
Have you run an exercise to consider your plan or to help you develop one? This would focus on the aftermath of an incident and how it should be managed effectively.
The most important thing to remember is that to be really effective you have to plan for recovery. Once the worst is over is not the time to relax and start to rush ahead to return to ‘normal’. Gather the date and insights, review the impact of crisis communication, and take control of the move into recovery.
New Training Dates for 2023
New training sessions by Amanda have been put in place between April and December 2023. Details include new sessions on planning for recovery and a recovery crisis exercise. This will test how you make the move from crisis into recovery and how you make key decisions. It is the first time an exercise has focused on the end of a crisis rather than the start.
The next three months see three training sessions available for anyone looking to learn, develop or refresh their crisis communication. On 20 April it will be focused on Preventing a Reputational Crisis, on 11 May the latest Crisis Communication Exercise will take place, and on 15 June the focus is on Social Media in a Crisis.
All run for two hours and cost £50. If you are interested in any of the sessions email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
UK testing alert system
The UK will run the first test of an emergency alert system on Sunday 23 April. It will the the first such situation and communication about what is happening is underway. Explaining why such an alert system is needed and encouraging people to remain opted in to receive them is the challenge at the moment. The system will be operated by the Government, emergency services and public bodies with responsibilities for emergencies. Find out more here.
In Brief:
The communication response to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is considered in an article in PR Daily. Find out more about the communication response here.
The monthly crisis communication case study Testing Times will be published next week. To receive a copy email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk
The Institute for PR has published details of five trends for corporate communication in 2023. It includes ‘the unimaginable’ where events previously seen as unlikely are becoming a possibility. Find out more here.
In a recent blog, Amanda talked about the importance of leadership in managing a crisis and how those at the top of the business can be involved with the communication. Read more here.
On 23 March 2023, as well as it being three years since lockdown happened in the UK it was also the third anniversary of the establishment of Amanda Coleman Communications Ltd. To celebrate Amanda gave away a copy of her new book, so congratulations to Andrea Newman who was chosen at random.
Following another school shooting in America there is an interesting interview on KITV talking about how to discuss safety measures and crisis management with children. See the report here.
Diary Dates:
Amanda will be chairing the SASIG webinar on Wednesday 5 April. The session at 11am will look at Five obstacles to secure coding and how to overcome them. If you want to find out more click here.
The next edition of Under Pressure will be published after the Easter break. Wishing you a safe and relaxing Easter.