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COMMUNICATIONS FOR RISK, ISSUES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT (G009)

Workshops > Complete List > Crisis Communications

WHY SHOULD YOU ATTEND?

There will be a crisis! And suddenly the world changes – time appears to accelerate; the pressure of events and demands for action from on high intensify; media, stakeholders, key audiences and others are all calling, emailing, posting; the blogosphere is moving rumour to fact at incredible speed.

Sooner or later, as a trusted communications advisor, you will have to help manage a real life crisis in your organization. For all involved, including you and your colleagues, it will be a frustrating, stressful, perplexing and confusing experience. You will be expected to support senior management by providing, on the spot, a full-blown communications strategy and action plan including timely, compassionate and accurate messaging, delivered through appropriate vehicles. And, just when you think that things could not get any worse, you will realize that the media, the public and even your colleagues are looking directly at you and wondering when you will make the crisis go away!

Yet crises rarely emerge full-blown from some secret place. They incubate in the issues surrounding an organization, more specifically the unaddressed issue or issues, and these are usually known. And each presents risk. But, in the high-pressure world of government and politics, perception often trumps reality and drives peoples’ assessment of the risks they may face. This, the ill-managed risk, makes your task even more daunting

There is, in fact, a continuum of issue, risk and crisis that communicators and others who should be involved in managing the organization’s issues, and who will be on the front line of any crisis, need to understand and be able to effectively respond. Damage to your organization’s operational capacity and reputational capital could have been averted or at least mitigated, if only ‘we had seen it coming’. . .

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

This workshop will show you how, through collaborative forward thinking and proven processes, the communications team can help manage and address issues and both prevent and address crises. The learning is structured around and focused on two key communications functions: issues management, and crisis communications.

You will strengthen your knowledge and skills through presentations, discussions and simulations based on a case study and covering the following:

Understanding the Issues/Risk/Crisis continuum;

Understanding what issues and crises have in common and how they differ;
Learning the importance of perception, trust, credibility, reputation and the achievement of organizational objectives;
Appreciating and knowing how to take advantage of pro-active communications in the management, prevention and resolution of issues and crises;
Understanding the W-5 of issues management, including the ‘two-seven-two’ step approach;
Knowing how to manage and survive a crisis in cyberspace;
Understanding the steps in building a crisis communications strategy and action plan;
Knowing your role and the role of others in your organization regarding issues management and crisis communications;
Exploring and understanding the basic principles, processes and tools that support effective issues and crisis communication.

WHAT WILL YOU TAKE AWAY?

In addition to the course workbook and exercises, you will also take away useful templates, handouts and references.

Agenda Day 1
8:45 - 9:15 AM	Participant Introductions and Workshop Overview - The course participants will provide a brief overview of their respective roles and responsibilities and expectations for the workshop - The course instructor will outline the course program
9:15 - 9:45 AM	Introduction Participants will provide short three-minute presentations on: - Their department’s mission and key outcomes - One example of potential risk, issue and crisis, in that context - Their role as a communications professional in that context
9:45 - 10:30 AM	The Basics - Key definitions of risk, issues, emergency and crisis will be clarified and connected to examples provided by the participants - The risk-issue-crisis continuum will be explained - Participants will discuss how and why perception often prevails over reality and the importance of reputation and trust - The linkages between operational and reputational issues/crisis will be further explored - Clarification of the work undertaken by communicators on effective issue management and crisis communications - Participants will discuss who else plays a role in effective risk, issues and crisis communications
10:30 - 10:45 AM	Break
10:45 - 11:15 AM	Group Exercise - Participants will be provided with a case study and will be required to determine the most desirable reputational attributes to be established and protected, from the perspective of tax payers, stakeholders and elected officials.
11:15 - 12:00 PM	Context and Conditions Common to Risk, Issues and Crisis Communications - Participants will discuss the context - such as growing partisanship, fierce media competition and the impact of social media and the conditions such as extreme speed, fear of failure and paralysis by analysis - common to risk, issues and crisis communications.
12:00 - 12:15 PM	Introduction to the Case Study Exercise - Participants will briefly review the requirements for the case study exercise.
12:15 - 1:00 PM	Lunch
1:00 - 1:30 PM	Case Study Exercise - Participants will work in small groups on the case study exercise
1:30 - 2:45 PM	Overview of Effective Issues Management - Participants will discuss the ‘W-5’ of issues management, define and better understand the ‘Two+Seven+Two’ steps and identify frequent sources of issues in the public sector.
2:45 - 3:00 PM	Break
3:00 - 3:45 PM	Roles and Responses - Participants will identify and discuss the roles of communications professionals and other key players and review typical communications responses to address reputational damage
3:45 - 4:15 PM	Group Exercise - Participants will undertake an exercise on the critical success factors for effective issues management
4:15 - 4:30 PM	Wrap-up and Context Setting for Day Two - Participants will close their discussions on day one, complete a short evaluation of day one and receive an outline on the proceedings planned for day two.

Agenda Day 2
8:45 - 9:00 AM	Coffee & Networking
9:00 - 9:15 AM	Questions From Day One - Participants will discuss outstanding questions and matters arising from day one
9:15 - 9:45 AM	The Management Principles of Crisis Communications - Participants will learn to differentiate between crisis management and crisis communications and how to manage communications during a crisis situation - Discussions will also focus on the crisis communication lifecycle
9:45 - 10:30 AM	The Initial Response to a Crisis - Participants will discuss and learn about the crucial importance of communications throughout the crisis and the strategic importance of the initial response to a crisis situation - Participants will briefly discuss and learn about human behaviour during a crisis situation - During this session participants will also focus on the fundamentals of information disclosure, messaging and the use of “language” during a crisis
10:30 - 10:45 AM	Break
10:45 - 11:30 AM	How to Survive a Crisis in Cyberspace - Participants will engage in a discussion about surviving a crisis on the Internet and the impact of social media on crisis communications - Participants will discuss the fundamentals of using the Internet and social media as a communications tool during a crisis situation
11:30 - 12:30 PM	How to Prepare a Crisis Communications Strategy and Action Plan - Participants will review the essential strategic components of a crisis communications strategy and learn how to be strategic when time is short - Participants will discuss the importance of identifying key audiences and message development and distribution during a crisis situation will also be discussed
12:30 - 1:15 PM	Lunch
1:15 - 2:00 PM	Working with the Media During a Crisis - Participants will discuss and learn about the essentials of working with the media during a crisis situation, including how to establish and maintain a working relationship with the media and how to manage the media during a crisis situation - Participants will also learn how to identify the tell-tale signs of impending trouble with the media
2:00 - 4:00 PM	H1N1 Crisis Communications Simulation Exercise - Participants will take part in a realistic crisis communications simulation exercise based on the H1N1 - Each workshop participant will be asked to role-play a specific member of a crisis team. During the simulation, participants will walk through the initial stages of a crisis and prepare an action plan based on a previously prepared crisis communications strategy. Throughout the crisis simulation exercise, participants will be required to adapt to a fast changing situation as new information on the crisis emerges and is delivered.
4:00 - 4:30 PM	Summation and Round Table Discussion - Participants will assess the results of their interventions during the simulation exercise and identify lessons learned.
4:30 - 4:45 PM	Evaluation and Session Close - Participants will complete a formal evaluation of the workshop.

InstructorS

David Kardish

David Kardish, APR, is a founding partner and current President of the Centre for Excellence in Communications.

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Denis Vézina

Denis Vézina is a communications executive with over 30 years of experience in the federal public service. He has held senior communications management positions with the Canada Revenue Agency, Elections Canada, Canadian Heritage and other departments.

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