When a crisis is upon us our attention inevitably shifts to employee and community
safety, recovery of plant and services, reputation management, financial and legal
concerns. In many cases, we set aside the human factors – the suffering that people –
internal and external – experience and the strain that is placed on our own crisis training team.
We suggest that every crisis training communication plan consider the following:
1. Assure that the crisis training team has the strongest leaders and remember that internal politics,
personalities, competitive factors, jealousies and other concerns can quickly assert
themselves when the pressure is on.
2. Remember that the crisis crisis training team – and other key operational teams – cannot live on
pizza alone. They need time away from the crisis to regenerate, see their families,
catch their breath and rest. The job of a crisis training spokesperson is incredibly intense, and
without rest a spokesperson may make critical mistakes.
3. Key crisis training team members may be unwilling to leave matters in the hands of others, but
they need the rest and the fresh perspective a break provides. Remember that
family considerations (young children, disabled or elderly dependents) can impact
the attitude of a crisis training team member.
4. Be sure your crisis training team members understand how people, whether family members or
colleagues, deal with loss of life or serious injury. Key people should trained in
crisis training in advance and you should have arrangements with outside experts (i.e.,
psychiatrists) to move quickly during and after the crisis.
5. Have clear crisis training procedures for providing support for those directly affected by the
crisis. This may include visits to hospitals, attending funerals, providing cash
stipends, transportation housing for immediate family members.
6. Understand Federal, State and local laws as they relate to the release of personal
information. During a crisis there will be intense media pressure to give names
and other family information. Your first responsibility is to protect the privacy of
employees, their families, customers and suppliers.
Source: Norm Hatrman link
Related: Crisis Training