Crisis communication plan: how to prepare before it happens

A crisis communication plan is the document that tells your team what to do, and say, in the hours after something goes wrong. For an NGO or agency that might be a safeguarding allegation, an accident at a project site, a data breach, a disease outbreak in a programme area or a misleading post that spreads overnight.

Speed matters because crises are time-sensitive, and the first source of information often becomes the one people prefer.¹ The World Health Organization's guideline on emergency risk communication is clear that planning must happen well in advance and be a continuous process, focused on preparedness as well as response.² Writing a plan in the middle of a crisis means making slow decisions at the worst possible moment.

Crisis communication and risk communication overlap: one is about how your organisation responds, the other about helping people understand and act on a threat. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) built its Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) approach on six principles, and in our view they serve any organisation, not only health agencies:¹

• Be first: communicate quickly, because crises are time-sensitive.
• Be right: accuracy builds credibility, so say what is known, what is not known and what is being done.
• Be credible: never compromise on honesty.
• Express empathy: acknowledge harm and suffering in words.
• Promote action: give people meaningful things to do.
• Show respect: especially when people feel vulnerable.

The UK Government Communication Service organises a crisis communications plan under four headings: Strategy, Tactics, Organisation and People.³ Under Tactics it lists a quick reference handbook, holding lines and key messages, clearance requirements, contact lists, and channels and templates.³ The CDC adds that a plan should carry a signed endorsement from senior leadership and a clear agreement on who releases what, when and how.⁴ Adapted for an NGO or agency, a short plan should include:

Keep it short enough to use under pressure. A plan of a few pages, with annexes for contacts and templates, is more useful than a long manual nobody opens. Store a copy where the team can reach it offline and from a phone, because a crisis rarely starts during office hours or near a laptop.

• Likely scenarios for your organisation and who leads on each.
• The crisis team, with deputies and after-hours phone numbers.
• Sign-off rules, including who can approve a statement at night.
• Spokespeople for different types of crisis.
• Contact lists for media, partners, donors, authorities and staff.
• Pre-drafted holding statements and question-and-answer templates.
• The channels you will use, from your website to WhatsApp groups.

Slow approval is where many crisis responses fail. The CDC recommends that three people clear a document before release: the communications lead responsible for reputation, a policy lead who checks it does not contradict organisational policy, and a subject expert who is both fast and knowledgeable.⁴ It advises keeping the legal department out of routine clearance unless the subject has specific legal implications.⁴

Do not choose spokespeople solely because of their position in the organisation, and train and refresh them frequently.⁴ Plan for the people behind the response too. The Government Communication Service warns that crises take an emotional and physical toll, and that teams need a plan for support and surge capacity.³

A holding statement is a short, pre-approved message that buys you time while you gather facts. The Government Communication Service lists drafting and signing off a holding statement for immediate release as a first-hour task, and advises pre-clearing holding lines based on your key messages so they can be used at speed.³ The CDC suggests drafting messages with blanks to fill in, pre-clearing as much as possible, and checking that pre-written text suits the actual crisis before it goes out.⁴

Your first statement should say that you are aware of the situation and involved in the response, and it should express empathy and acknowledge public concern.⁴ People who are frightened struggle to take in a lot of information, so keep first messages simple and limited to what is immediately relevant.⁵ State what you know, what you do not know and what you are doing to find out, and do not speculate or use humour.⁵ A simple structure that works:

• What happened, in one factual sentence, with the date and place.
• Concern for the people affected.
• What you are doing now.
• What people should do, if anything.
• When and where you will share the next update.

The Government Communication Service's quick reference sets out a sequence.³ In the first hour: verify the facts, alert senior management, issue the holding statement, start monitoring media and social channels, and put unrelated scheduled posts on hold. In the first day: confirm roles and shifts, prepare the spokesperson, log every media enquiry, update staff and publish guidance that meets accessibility requirements. In the first week: share regular updates internally, with stakeholders and with the public, and evaluate the impact of your communications.³

Listening is part of the response. WHO recommends monitoring and responding to rumours, public reactions and concerns, and says consistent messages should come early from different information sources.² When facts change, update your information quickly, because inconsistent messages increase anxiety and undermine credibility.⁵

A plan that has never been tested is a guess. The CDC calls contact lists the most vital part of the plan, recommends verifying them and refreshing spokespeople as part of an annual tabletop exercise, and advises scheduling a review of the whole plan, usually once a year.⁴ WHO recommends that people working on emergency risk communication are prepared and trained regularly, with a focus on coordination.²

When a crisis is over, CERC's resolution phase asks you to document lessons learned and to evaluate and revise your plans.¹ In our own practice, we suggest a one-hour review within two weeks: what worked, what was slow, and which templates to change before the next time.

• Plan endorsed by senior leadership
• Crisis team named, with deputies and after-hours numbers
• Three-person sign-off agreed, including at night
• Trained spokespeople for different scenarios
• Holding statement templates pre-cleared
• Contact lists for media, partners, authorities and staff checked
• Monitoring set up and scheduled posts easy to pause
• Annual exercise and review in the calendar