Crisis Communications for Coronavirus / COVID-19

For almost every organization dealing with a pandemic such as coronavirus its uncharted territory.  Many of our clients have already reached out for assistance in navigating internal and external communication strategies both in preparation for potential COVID impact, or in response to an incident.

A general principle when dealing with a matter of public health and safety is to be proactive.  You never want a situation where potential harm could have been avoided, if only we had been more proactive and forthcoming with what you knew.  Anyone right now will understand and accept an employee that could be potentially be infected with the virus, and that might have come into contact with others.  What the public will not accept is if you knew this information and did not share it, or if you weren’t fully prepared.

With that in mind, we wanted to offer some best practices and considerations.

Crisis Communications Plan

• Develop relevant internal & external messaging pre-crisis and templates for post-crisis
• Identify your crisis team’s assignments and roles
• Compile a list of key team member contacts
• Perform a media audit and update the contact list
• Decide on a preferred vendor list
• Outline a digital communications plan comprehensive of best practices and guidelines

Crisis PR Team Internal Process needed for:

• Engaging Media during Crisis
• Staff Responsibilities in a Crisis
• Internal Protocol
• Crisis Team and Communication Channels

For more information on 5WPR’s crisis communications services contact us at info@5wpr.com