How do you select the best members for your crisis communication team?

To form an effective crisis communications team, clarity of objectives is essential. Protecting reputation and credibility, informing and reassuring stakeholders, minimizing the negative impact and disruption of the crisis, restoring trust, and meeting legal and ethical obligations are crucial goals. These objectives should guide the selection of members, required skills and organization of the team. Cohesion and alignment with these goals will ensure a successful crisis communication response.

Social capital is an essential asset during a crisis, however it is too late to start building social capital during a crisis. You need to create high bonding before a crisis hits. You can and need to be prepared for a crisis well in advance. Obvious every crisis is different but if you have a clear structure and protocol and have selected the right team members, you can react quickly and concise. Your crisis team needs to be structured in such a way that small high skilled teams can respond with agility and flexibility, preferably using the concept of Team of Teams. In my opinion, Crisis management is a highly underestimated management skill and needs proper continuous training and preparation.

Your objective shouldn't start with you. Instead of thinking "How can I protect my reputation?", think "How can I help the people directly affected by this crisis?" Your response will be more effective as a result.

Montar uma equipe de comunica??o de crise eficiente é crucial para proteger a reputa??o e manter o controle em momentos desafiadores. Veja os principais critérios para escolher os melhores profissionais: ? Comunica??o clara e objetiva: Mensagens consistentes e alinhadas. ? Experiência em gest?o de crises: Vivência prática ou treinamento prévio. ? Controle emocional: Capacidade de agir sob press?o. ? Pensamento estratégico: Vis?o para antecipar cenários e solu??es. ? Habilidades específicas: Porta-voz confiável, especialista em monitoramento e apoio jurídico. ? Treinamento contínuo: Garantia de prepara??o constante.

Building a robust crisis communication team starts with identifying clear objectives that align with your organization’s mission and values. The core team members are chosen based on their domain knowledge, skills, experience, ability to handle pressure, and willingness to multitask round-the-clock. Support team members are added as extended resources to provide specific and additional expertise. Each member’s role and responsibilities are clearly defined to ensure smooth coordination and effective communication. Regular training and testing are essential to keep the team prepared and agile. This strategic approach ensures that when a crisis hits, your team is ready to manage it effectively and protect your organization’s reputation.

The core crisis communications team is the backbone of the response. Each member must bring specific skills. The crisis communication leader oversees, coordinating efforts. The spokesperson is the official voice. The media relations specialist monitors coverage. The social media manager interacts online. The content writer writes effective materials. The legal counsel ensures legal compliance. Your choice of these roles should be based on the specific needs of your organization and the nature of the crisis. Collaboration and effective communication are key to a coordinated and efficient response.

I have noticed that sometimes the best team players are not the one with the most authority, experience, and knowledge to make decisions but the ones who really want to be part of the team. Their enthusiasm, pro-activeness and ability to communicate effectively makes them valuable team members.

Your core crisis team should consist of key individuals who can directly shape and implement your crisis communication strategy. Select members with the authority, experience, and skills to make crucial decisions and communicate effectively with various audiences. Typically, this includes a leader to oversee operations, a spokesperson for public statements, experts in media relations and social media, a writer for creating content, and a legal advisor. These professionals will collaborate to manage all aspects of crisis communication, from planning to execution and evaluation.

An integral part of the support team should be a conversationalist who, for lack of a better description, is embedded or observing the type of communication flow originating from within the impacted business or organization. Have rumors formed and are becoming outbound? What questions are being raised? Does everyone understand the importance of single-source media relations? And of course, does everyone realize that in today's media -- everyone among staff from front office receptionist to backroom mail clerk is a member of the social news media. When conditions warrant, the conversationalist is oftentimes the first to identify pre-emptive media training while the crisis unfolds and is brought under control.

Beyond your core team, include support members who bring specialised knowledge and skills. These individuals enhance your crisis response without being directly involved in communication. They might be technical experts to explain complex issues, HR managers to address staff concerns, customer service reps to handle public feedback, risk managers to assess threats and opportunities, and analysts to measure communication effectiveness. This support team provides crucial backup, ensuring your core team has all the information and resources needed to manage the crisis effectively.

Defining roles and responsibilities is essential for effective crisis management. Assign specific tasks to each member to avoid confusion and omissions. Establish a clear hierarchy and communication protocol. Document these aspects in a crisis communication plan for common understanding. Smooth communication and coordination are the foundation of an efficient response. Make sure everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities to act quickly and accurately in critical situations.

After selecting your team, clearly define each member's role and responsibilities. This step prevents confusion and ensures everyone knows their tasks. Establish a clear chain of command and communication protocol - who reports to whom, who approves messages, and who talks to different stakeholders. Document these roles and processes in your crisis communication plan. Share this plan with your team and relevant parties to ensure everyone understands their part in managing the crisis effectively.

The final step in creating an effective crisis communication team is training and testing. Provide team members with the necessary skills, tools, and guidelines for their roles. Conduct regular drills and simulations to assess their readiness in various scenarios. Evaluate performance to identify strengths and weaknesses. At White Internet Consulting, we regularly updated our crisis communication plans and conducted mock drills, which proved invaluable during an unexpected data breach. These practices ensure that your team is well-prepared and can respond effectively to crises, maintaining trust and mitigating damage.

I think what is often overlooked are the tools required for a good crisis response. If your tools out of date and slow it can cause the crisis to be far worse on your employees then it needs to be. Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

To ensure your crisis communication team is ready, invest time in training and testing. Equip your team with the skills, tools, and guidelines they need to perform effectively. Regularly conduct drills and simulations to practice handling various crisis scenarios. After these exercises, evaluate the team's performance to identify strengths and areas for improvement. Use these insights to refine your crisis communication plan and make any necessary changes to team composition. This ongoing process of preparation and evaluation keeps your team sharp and ready to handle real crises.

Many crisis situations involve first responders. Make sure your outreach touches the first responders and emphasizes the importance of factual and non-acronym communications. In your crisis, those who matter most want information that relates to them individually. The fewer roadblocks, including those sometimes inadvertently created by first responders and even law enforcement, the quicker a crisis can be resolved. Another pre-emptive tactic it to identify a "pro or con" list of media in advance for wherever there is a likelihood of a crisis. This is a very effective crisis avoidance tactic I have used with corporate, private, and governmental operations. How the pro/con media list may be used is extremely important to your cause.