crisis communications: are you ready for the unexpected?

Are you ready for the unexpected?Successful use of SnapComms Alerts in crisis situations

Preparing to communicate in a crisisDEFINE

SET UP ALERT

SET UP CHANNELS

TEST, TEST, TEST

ADJUST

REVISIT

Define CrisisWhat are we talking about, really…

DEFINE

Crises are any ‘critical incident’ that threatens the value and reputation of a company –

and increasingly its survival.

“…a company can expect a value-destroying incident at least once every five years.”

It’s no longer a case of “if it happens” but “when it happens”.https://www2.deloitte.com/au/en/pages/risk/articles/a-crisis-of-confidence.html

What’s a crisis?

Companies are under-preparedA major study from Deloitte looked at the beliefs of board members when it comes to crisis preparedness:

76% of board members believe their companies would respond effectively if a crisis struck tomorrow, but only 49% have taken steps to be truly crisis-ready.

Only 50% have evaluated key crisis scenarios or done a basic SWOT evaluation.

Only 43% have evaluated worst-case scenarios.http://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/risk/articles/a-crisis-of-confidence.html

Define Your Crisis Scenarios• What exists already? • Crisis, contingency plans• Disaster recovery plans

• Which scenarios are most important for you right now?

Engage your colleagues and build on existing plans

Four crisis categories• Danger/Hazard • Weather/Situational• Major Announcement (good or bad)• Outage

AlertsSettings for Crises

• Visual• Fast• Targeted• Impactful• Measureable

SnapComms Alerts for Crises

• Prepare SnapComms Alerts now to ensure:• Speedy delivery• Coherent communication• Accessibility

(Be a hero when the time comes)

Crisis incident:

Alert settings for crisesWho - target audience

What – your message/instructions

How – delivery, display options

Admin – Best Practice

Who is your target audience?• Target the right people for the incident.• Leverage Target Users Options• Whole Organization• Divisions, depts, teams• Application user groups

(i.e. SAP users)• Location - machine groups

• Try to avoid Manual Groups

• Keep it simple• What should they

do? • Reassure• Show empathy• Point to resources

What – your message content

Make them easy to absorb• Avoid scrolling text! • Give visual cues• Color code your

templatesRed = severeYellow = criticalGreen = all clearCorporate = important

What – your message visuals

• Make templates EASY TO FIND• Folders, Bookmarks, Details field

• Set up Admin Access• Back up Admins• Bookmark a good landing page!

• Choose your publish method• Resend – overwrite existing message, publish• Copy/Send – easier management, BUT more steps• Create from scratch – takes time

Administrator tips…be fully ready

• Bookmark login to tool for quick access• This makes it the first page you’ll see at login

• If possible, set up Admin access from your mobile phone• If you’re away from the office or your desk• Ensure you know your password

Administrator Tips:

Test, Adjust, Revisit…(we’re not done just yet)

Test

Adjust

Revisit

• To yourself• Visual display

• To a group• Feedback on content

• To your audience• Emergency Drill• Well publicized, expected• Ask for feedback

Test, test, test

• What was confusing? • What was missing• Were there unintended consequences?

Update your plan, message, and/or Alert templates accordingly..

Adjust

• Schedule your next review and future tests• Update logos? • Update lists/locations/target audience?• Update links?

• Add anticipated scenarios as you go• Schedule Admin training esp. for back up people who

don’t use frequently.

Keep it alive, keep it relevant...

Revisit

Checklisto Define your crisis scenario

o Define situations and messageso Prioritize in order of importance

o Prepare Crisis Alertso Message content, parameterso Delivery insurance – back up Admins, mobileo Test, test, testo Adjust

o Repeat for the next message type

SnapComms provides a reliable channel to deliver crisis communications quickly and effectively.

For more information visit SnapComms.com

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