PR Crisis Communications Kit - How-To Guide

3
8
Introduction
The 5 Step Crisis Communication Action Plan
4
14
Preparation in Advance of any Crisis
§  Build a Crisis Communications Plan
§  Create a Crisis Communications Team
§  Monitor Changes to the Plan
Step 5 – Monitoring the Media
Table of Contents
15 Final Thoughts
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Public Relations Crisis Communications Kit – How-To Guide 2
16 Acknowledgements
17 About Demand Metric
10 Step 1 – Initial Assessment of Crisis
11 Step 2 – Notifying the Crisis Team
12 Step 3 – Managing Crisis Communication
13 Step 4 – Preparing Crisis Messaging

INTRODUCTION
You never know when disaster will hit your public relations (PR) team, and when it
does, is your team prepared?
A crisis communications plan is as important as a fire extinguisher in the hallway of
your office, the firewall for your computer network that keeps hackers out or the
insurance plan on your property that protects your assets. If your organization is
fortunate it will never need to use one of these safety nets, but emergency plans are
still an important insurance on your ability to respond to a crisis situation where every
decision, every moment, second or minute is absolutely critical.
Public relations is no different; your organizations public image and brand must be
protected by a crisis plan when something goes wrong, and the media or family
members of employees get involved. A crisis communications plan is the first line of
defense for your organizations reputation, and in some cases can actually help save
the lives of your employees themselves.
In this How-To Guide you will discover how to:
•  Build your Crisis Communications Team
•  Empower them with a step-by-step plan for any crisis
•  Describe exactly who they should contact and when
•  Explain the entire crisis management process from start to end
Throughout this guide we will also be linking to ‘Resources’, in the form of ‘Tools’,
’Templates’ and ‘Checklists’ you can leverage to prepare your organizations crisis
response. With these resources and processes in your company's tool belt, you can
rest assured that if a PR-related emergency occurs, you will be ready to protect your
brand from disaster, and guard your employees from harm.
3Public Relations Crisis Communications Kit – How-To Guide

PREPARATION IN ADVANCE OF ANY CRISIS
Being proactive is the over-arching goal in preventing and managing any crisis. When
a crisis appears, you will want everything ready to react immediately without
hesitation. When it comes to crisis communication there are three key goals you will
need to take to truly be prepared for a future crisis:
I.  Use Templates and Resources to build a Crisis Communications Plan
– Your first goal will be to get a document prepared that will guide your
organization during any crisis.
II.  Create a Crisis Communication Team – Your next goal will be to
establish a complete crisis communication team that is prepared to work
together to follow and administrate that documents policies and
procedures.
III.  Monitor changes to the plan over time – Your final goal is an on-going
one; to monitor the document over time, and record any updates or
changes to the document itself.

BUILD A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
5
Using our ‘Templates’, ‘Checklists’ and ‘Resources’, your first goal is to build a Crisis
Communications Plan that you can share with the entire organization, and establish a
policy for how the company will respond to any crisis.
You should start by building out the crisis communications plan based on our resource
called the ‘Crisis Communications Plan’ Template. This plan follows the five steps in
the Crisis Communications Action Plan (which we will review in more detail later in this
How-To Guide).
The main plan itself should be anywhere from 20-30 pages long. The first few pages
should give an overview of how to handle a crisis, and the rest of the document
should provide detail on how each of the five steps are executed. It’s also a good idea
to include a glossary of industry terms for both media and internal use, as well as
compiling industry facts and statistics for later use when writing messages as a
response to a specific crisis.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Communications Plan’ Template
Public Relations Crisis Communications Kit – How-To Guide

CREATE A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
6
With a Crisis Communication Plan in hand, you will need a team to execute the
policies within the document. This team is a very important part of your readiness for
a crisis, and securing the best people for each position should be a significant priority.
If necessary, consider external resources to fill any internal HR gap.
You will need to assign the following roles to the crisis team:
•  Crisis Communications Team Leader
•  President/CEO
•  Public Relations/Communications
•  Senior Advisors/Vice Presidents/Department Heads
o  Finance
o  Government Relations
o  Human Resources
o  Investor Relations
o  Operations
o  Safety
•  Legal Counsel/Advisor
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Communications Organizational Chart’ (Hierarchy of Command)
•  ‘Crisis Communications Team Framework’ (Roles and Responsibilities)

MONITOR CHANGES TO THE PLAN
7
Once the Crisis Communications Plan document is completed, and you have a team in
place to execute its policies during a crisis, you will need to ensure that any changes
made to this document are monitored and recorded. Indicate any changes to the plan
on a review chart, including what changes were made and what date they were
approved.
Using our ‘Crisis Communication Plan Review Chart’ helps avoid confusion, and is also
helpful when updating existing employees on what has changed since the last time
they reviewed the crisis plan document.
You should also setup an on-going scheduled review of the plan. This could be
monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly or at the very least, annually, and focused on ensuring
the contents of the plan are still valid, discussing how successful the plan was as a
post-mortem for any crisis, as well as discovering any additional content that could be
helpful if included in the document.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Communications Plan Review Chart’

5 STEP CRISIS COMMUNICATION ACTION PLAN
Crisis Communication Plans manage all communication before, throughout and after a
crisis. You will need to be prepared to deal with the media, key stakeholders in your
organization, family members of employees, and your overall working team
themselves. The following five step action plan (Figure 1) is designed to help
everyone in your company adhere to the correct policy and procedures, understand
what steps they should take in the correct order, and help everyone understand their
role throughout the crisis.
1.  Initial Assessment of the Crisis – In this first step, you will need to
figure out what has happened and collect all the data and facts available
about the crisis to share with the Crisis Communications Team Leader.
2.  Notifying the Crisis Communications Team – In the second step, the
Crisis Communications Team Leader will take over the emergency response,
determine the level of the crisis, and by following the approved crisis plan,
will coordinate the Crisis Communications Team to respond to the situation.
3.  Managing all Crisis-Related Communications – During step three, both
on-site and off-site communications will be managed, including internal
updates, beginning a crisis journal, assigning spokespeople to the crisis and
setting up an off-site media area (if the crisis is large enough).
4.  Developing, Approving and Releasing Messages – For step four, all
collected ‘facts’ must be verified and assembled into scripted key points to
address various audiences and groups, that will be released upon internal
approval.
5.  Monitoring and Responding to the Media – In the final step, you will
need to evaluate how the media is covering the crisis, including local
responses, and monitoring any social media, blogs, comments or forums for
comments reflecting public opinion.

5 STEP CRISIS COMMUNICATION ACTION PLAN
If the crisis is critical, these five steps can occur within just a few hours, and may
need to be repeated as the crisis unfolds. Each step must be prepared as much as
possible in advance, similar to a fire drill for evacuating during an inferno, so that
when a public relations crisis does indeed happen, the entire company is on the same
page on how to respond accordingly.
Evaluate the
handling of
the crisis
coverage,
recognize
trends in
opinion and
storyline.
Develop,
approve and
release
messages for
different
audiences
and groups
proactively.
Managing
Crisis
Plan
consistent
internal
updates,
begin a
crisis log
and assign a
spokes-
person.
Notifying
Crisis Team
Outline the
level of the
crisis, and
meet with the
entire crisis
team to co-
ordinate
activities.
Initial
Assessment
Determine
what has
happened,
and collect
data and facts
available.
01

02

03

04

05

Preparing
Messaging
Monitoring
Media
Figure 1: Our Five Step Public Relations Crisis Communication Plan

STEP 1 – INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF CRISIS
The first action step is to determine what has happened; and there may be plenty of
questions that need to be answered. To give you a great head start, leverage our
‘Crisis FAQ’ Template for some important questions to ask including, “When did this
happen?” and “How was the incident discovered, by whom and when?”. You will need
to add your own questions to this list related specifically to your industry and
organization. If the crisis involves a physical location, you will need to co-ordinate with
the site of the incident to ensure someone is managing the communications at that
location, and providing any additional insight.
While you determine what has happened, you should actively be collecting all data
and facts available so you can understand what exactly is going on to begin with. At
this time, a holding statement, media response, press release or press statement is
prepared in accordance with your organizations ‘Media Response Policy’.
Ultimately, the most important part of the initial assessment is to inform the Crisis
Communication Team Leader (CCTL) immediately and share all of the information you
have gathered for them so far about the incident.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis FAQ’ Template
•  ‘Media Response Policy’ Template
•  ‘Holding Statement for Media’ Template (with Example)
•  ‘Press Release’ Template

STEP 2 – NOTIFYING THE CRISIS TEAM
By the second step of this action plan, the Crisis Communication Team Leader (CCTL)
has been notified and is now managing the crisis communications on behalf of the
organization. The Crisis Communications Team Leader (CCTL) will first determine the
level of the crisis (using the approved crisis policy document). Next, the CCTL contacts
all team members required to be on alert with the current crisis level, and schedules a
conference call to discuss the crisis, as well as any next actions required.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Level Chart’
•  ‘Crisis Communications Organizational Chart’ (Hierarchy of Command)
•  ‘Crisis Communications Team Framework’ (Roles and Responsibilities)

STEP 3 – MANAGING CRISIS COMMUNICATION
During the third step of the action plan, the Crisis Communications Team must
coordinate communication with people both on-site and off-site.
For managing off-site communication the Crisis Communications Team (CCT) must
plan consistent internal updates on the crisis, as well as recognize key groups for
messaging (such as families, stakeholders and media). They will need to begin a crisis
inquiry journal from the public and/or media. They will also need to assign a
spokesperson(s) for the crisis to interact with each key group (families, media etc.)
The CCT must also manage all on-site communication. This starts with recognizing
who the main on-site contact will be, and then setting up a location for a
communications operations center. Be sure to clarify on-site hours of operation and
staffing throughout the crisis. It is important to establish an offsite media area
immediately, as well as to arrange a family/employee area away from media. Once
the media arrives, it is almost impossible to move them somewhere else.
RESOURCES
•  Off-site communication:
•  ‘Key Audiences and Groups Crisis List‘ Template
•  ‘Key Audience and Groups Crisis Questions’ Template
•  ‘Crisis Communications Team Schedule’
•  ‘Crisis Inquiry Journal’ Template
•  ‘Spokesperson Designation’ Template
•  ‘Spokesperson Procedures Guide’ Template
•  ‘Topic Matter Expert Contact List’
•  ‘Media Contact List’
•  On-site communication:
•  ‘Crisis Procedures for Family Members ‘Template
•  ‘Crisis Procedures for Media’ Template

STEP 4 – PREPARING CRISIS MESSAGING
The fourth step in the action plan is focused on building, approving and releasing
specific messages to key groups and audiences. It all starts with building messages by
verifying all data collected are indeed facts, and then assembling a script with key
points. You should prepare a list of crisis-related questions different groups could ask
(partners, organizations, media, families etc.) and then adapt pre-scripted messages
or make new messages for the crisis. Be ready to speak to the company’s reputation
for the crisis situation. It is also important to establish how the company will deal with
questions about the CEO or senior management’s unrelated behaviors (such as
politics, past stories etc.). By using our included resources you can find the best
messages to deliver, and then observe the crisis and renew messages based on how
the predicament unfolds.
Once you have messages ready for each audience, it’s time to get approval to release
the messages by the following key people: Crisis Communications Team Leader
(CCTL), Legal Advisor, On-site Manager and CEO (Chief Executive Officer). You may
need to revise based on feedback, and then complete the messages for authorized
release to each specific audience. In the highest crisis levels, which indicate a serious
problem, the CEO should deliver the message directly. All approved messages being
released must be coordinated by the CCTL.
RESOURCES:
•  Build Messages:
•  ‘Crisis Messaging Map’ Tool
•  ‘Key Audiences and Groups Crisis List‘ Template
•  ‘Key Audience Groups Crisis Questions’ Template
•  Approve/Release Messages:
•  ‘Messaging Approval Form’
•  ‘Crisis Messaging External Notification List’
•  ‘Crisis Messaging Internal Notification List’

STEP 5 – MONITORING MEDIA RESPONSE
In the fifth and final step of the action plan, your Crisis Communications Team must
evaluate the handling of crisis coverage by the media. You should pay close attention
to any media channel that asked about the crisis directly, and follow up with how they
respond (what they write, show etc.) You should also examine local media responses
(near the site of the incident) to ensure you are not missing any geographically
relevant response.
The team will also need to assess responses by national and industry-related media
outlets, as well commit to on-going internet related searches for related keywords
including monitoring social media, blogs, forums, chat rooms and comments for public
sentiment regarding the incident. Company or crisis team members should never
respond to public comments, unless it was on a website, which was designated for this
purpose, and only with legal approval for each comment to protect future litigation.
The Crisis Communications Team will need to recognize trends in both opinion and the
storyline that is actively being discussed in public. It’s important to consider questions
such as “What topics are the media focusing on?”, “Is there any change in the media’s
focus or topic matter?” and “Is there any pattern that could shed light on a topic to
address?” Your team will need to discover public and key stakeholders, as well as
define major issues addressed via the media, including the questions or issues being
presented.
Lastly, your team will need to bring everything learnt into the on-going crisis planning
process, and utilize and highlight all lessons learnt for future planning purposes. This
includes soliciting feedback from management/employees outside of the crisis team.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Coverage Checklist’
•  ‘Story Trends and Stakeholder Issues Checklist’

FINAL THOUGHTS
Being prepared for an unexpected crisis simply makes your organization stronger and
more capable for surprise. Having a good crisis communications plan is a great sign of
both strong teamwork and proactive thinking in any company.
To reap these rewards, there is a lot of initial preparation work to be completed, and a
strict maintenance routine to be installed, to ensure the plan continues to be ready
when it is needed. To save you lots of time, please leverage the additional included
resources; you will immediately have the groundwork in place for a very capable crisis
communications plan.
We hope you never need to use this PR emergency action plan, but if you ever do, you
can be assured that having your plan will be just like having have a fire extinguisher
in the hallway, sprinklers on the ceiling and an evacuation procedure in place to
respond to any public relations crisis you may ever face.
RESOURCES:
•  ‘Crisis Communications Plan’ Template
•  ‘Crisis Communications Plan Review Chart’

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This How-To guide and the included resources are in part, based on the teachings,
books and research of Dr. Tim Tinker, and Dr. Vincent Covello, both recognized global
specialists in the field of of risk and crisis communication.

ABOUT DEMAND METRIC
Demand Metric is a global marketing research & advisory firm serving a membership
community of over 75,000 senior marketers with primary research & benchmark
reports, technology research & advice, consulting services, training, virtual events,
and a library of 500+ practical tools & templates.
Demand Metric’s core focus is to help B2B Marketing organizations improve internal
capabilities and connect their activities to revenue growth.
To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit: www.demandmetric.com.

PR Crisis Communications Kit - How-To Guide

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