For a health care provider, a crisis can come from almost any direction and threaten the reputation and trust that have been built over years – or even decades. And, while a crisis or emergency can be unpredictable, the response to it should not be.
Here is Padilla’s perspective on planning for a crisis.
And, while a crisis or emergency can be unpredictable, the response to it should not be. Click To TweetNo two organizations are alike, but this checklist contains important tactics to consider:
- Define roles and responsibilities. Identify a crisis team within your organization and ensure everyone within that team understands the role he or she plays during and after a crisis.
- Create a plan. In those meetings, design your disaster and crisis plans, outlining every step of a crisis response.
- Practice. Expose vulnerabilities and weaknesses in the crisis response by holding regular crisis drills and scenarios, forcing your organization and crisis team to perform and implement plans before a real emergency.
- Respond quickly. Organizations will gain control of a crisis by responding rapidly to the event. Be prepared with your message and do not hesitate to begin your communications outreach because you’ll be able to help define the storyline as the crisis unfolds.
- Take responsibility. By taking full responsibility for mistakes and the recovery, you’ll drive the response and the reputation in how your company rebounds and responds to the event.
- Restore your brand. The crisis is not over when the negative headlines dissipate. It ends when each of your target audiences is reached and your brand reputation is restored, so continue communication initiatives well after the event.
Here’s a crisis response case study from our crisis team providing strategic communication during a nurses strike at a large metropolitan health care system. Curious about how prepared your organization is to manage a crisis? Take our Crisis IQ Quiz today. If an urgent need for crisis communication arises, call Padilla’s 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 1.877.PR ER 911.
For more insights on communication and brand strategy, industry trends and more, subscribe today to the Weekly Buzz here.