What will 2022 bring for crisis communication?

Under Pressure 6 January 2022

What will 2022 bring for crisis communication?

At the start of the year it is tempting to make predictions of what may happen, but as we have seen these are very changeable and turbulent times. One thing that is clear as January is upon us is that crisis communication skills and knowledge are going to continue to be important during the coming 12 months.

Communicators may have hoped that crisis communication would have disappeared from their priorities in 2022. But more focus is needed on it at this challenging time. There are variants, vaccinations, restrictions and scientific discussions that are making the situation more complicated for people to understand. In England, the lack of restrictions in any real form is putting pressure on people to be able to make their own risk assessments.

All this means that people will continue to look for advice and support from organisations, institutions and even businesses. Being ready to respond to these demands will be important for all organisations.

Emergency planning and business continuity will be prioritised by organisations that want to ensure survival. This is already being highlighted with the UK facing projections of up to 25 per cent staff vacancies due to the Omicron Covid variant sweeping the country. Being able to keep a business functioning no matter what may happen will be increasingly important.

I wish you all a happy and safe new year. If you have any crisis, issues and reputation communication requirements that I can help with during 2022 get in touch - amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Healthcare Covid Support

A professor from the University of Toronto has created an online support programme for healthcare workers to help them manage the stress of dealing with Covid-19. Steve Joordens and Dr Heather Gordon have provided the information free. Details of the online course are available here.

January Case Study

The January edition of my crisis communication case study Testing Times has been published. It looks at the importance of having back up plans to replace media and social media when a crisis leaves you without technology. To receive a copy email me at amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

Latest blogs

In my latest blogs I look at whether the time is right for public sector communicators to move on. Find out my conclusion here. And I look at the three words that would sum up my 2021, learn what they are here.

In Brief:

• A new risk communication book has been published and it is attracting a lot of interest as it comes from world-renowned Dr Vincent Covello. T

• In a recent Forbes article those organisations that had to deal with self-inflicted crises during 2021 are highlighted. Read more here.

• An analysis of the good and bad of crisis management and communication from 2021 is covered in a US based website The Hill. Unsurprisingly Facebook, or Meta, are highlighted for their problems during the previous 12 months. Find out more here.

• Forbes regular specialist Edward Segal has considered how the climate crisis may impact on businesses. Find out what he says in the article here.

Diary dates:

• Amanda will be guest chairing the SASIG webinar on Friday 7 January at 11am. The session is an exclusive look at the ESET’s T2 2021 Threat Report with security awareness specialist at ESET Ondrej Kubovic. Find out more here.

• Amanda is running a new course for the PRCA on 11 January 2022. The half day workshop will focus on making better decisions under pressure. It will look at practical tips and techniques for making sure you can keep calm and manage the situations you face. Find out more here.

• If you are a fire service communicator watch out for an exciting new training programme being developed with UK based FirePro. More to come in future editions.