Crisis communication plan
Introduction
The crisis does not call for thinking about "when "but more of how to arrest the current situation. Since the crisis has already happened, the most effective response will determine the nature of damage and how huge it is to the organization. The key in managing this crisis is having all members of the team involved to undertake their role in adopting the necessary solution. The communication plan will be supplemental to the already existing strategies for dealing with emergencies in the organization. It will guide the employee the right course of action to take amidst the accident at the gymnastics and specifically the Crisis Management team. All the members in the association are expected to familiarize themselves with the cause of the crisis being faced presently and use the plan as a guide on how best to undertake their assigned role in addressing the negative perception that the public may have due to the media reporting.
The document containing this plan should be made into copies and distributed to every employee in the organization so that they can have an understanding of the measures being undertaken. Also, the document will be placed in many areas that can easily be accessed by the members of the organization including their offices and cars. Bookmarking of the association's safety website is also highly advised, while the team members should be persuaded to have a digital copy on their smartphones and personal computers. The safety of the attendants at the gymnastics is greatly highlighted, and enhancing the ability to respond to such crisis will be achieved at the end of implementing this plan. All members are required to familiarize themselves with the various aspects addressed in this plan regardless of the role of the association.
Purpose
The aim of this plan is to initiate communication with the relevant publics and stakeholders of the organization to provide information that is timely, accurate and complete. The communication is focused on the public and the media amidst the accident at the fitness center. The response is intended to restore and even maintain the positive image the organization has enjoyed over the years among the public. Communicating with all the parties including the media and or other publics will be open and honest. With the information out that paints the managers of the organization as negligent and ignorant of their roles in ensuring the safety of the center, the response will seek to acknowledge the mistake and then show the appropriate actions being taken to prevent the recurrence of the crisis. The plan also aims at assembling the Crisis Communication team who will be tasked with assessing, implementing and supporting the chosen emergency response due to the accident. It also defines the immediate actions that will be taken to inform the publics about the situation and then monitor the news in the media and especially those that cover the accident.
Objective
The objective of this communication plan is to have a positive perception of the gymnastic association in the news media. The perception should involve an organization that is committed to the safety and well being of customers through a genuine and caring attitude to those undertaking training especially the young children. The organization values its clients and will go to great length to adopt measures that will uphold and guarantee their wellbeing.
Crisis communication details
The gymnastic crisis threatens to tear apart the integrity and reputation of the gymnastic association as the best place for providing current teaching, training, and practices for early childhood development. The media attention focusing on the accident of the eight-year-old boy has displayed a negative image to the public and the users of the facility. The situation threatens to worsen the case and fuel a bad legal dispute with the boy's family, instill doubts to the individuals who have consistently been undertaking their training and practices in this association. The crisis can become uncontrollable and reach a point where it can cause extreme damage to the association and significantly affect its operations. Due to the nature of the issue, where its impact is imminent, there is a need to have an immediate response and a framework for monitoring the progress. There is a need to have effective communication with the public so that to guard the reputation of the organization and to ensure the media negativity does not affect the operations of the organization. The plans consider the role of key publics and stakeholders in managing the conflict and hence, the need to bring them onboard in finding and communication the various solutions that arrest the situation. The role of a media spokesperson in addressing the issues cannot be understated in this plan where the use of digital communication to reach out to as many publics as possible is addressed. An organization in which public relations is strategically practiced establishes a program for communicating with the internal and external publics and which highlights the greatest threats to its reputation and opportunities for improving its standing.
- The team
The Crisis Communication Team will consist of various persons selected to spearhead the communication plan including a new manager, program leaders and a communication manager. While handling the crisis, the overall association manager and the communication manager will activate the plan and lead the other in responding to the issue at hand. The team will involve all the members who play a major role in training and teaching the attendants on the various activities undertaken at this place. The team will come up with a list of issues that need to be addressed while including the cause of the problem, the measures taken to cater for the damage and to ensure that such an incident does not arise again in the future. The team will also determine how the intended message will be relayed to public using the mainstream media, the social media platform and even through the word of mouth.
- Implementation of the plan
The plan will be implemented by the members of the Crisis communication team by following the steps highlighted after carrying out the research on the accident. Through coordination with the program leaders, the team will assess how best to communicate the message on safety measures for preventing the recurrence of the crisis, review any facts that need to be changed to suit the targeted audience and determine whether the adopted strategies will yield the desired results. Based on the gathered information, an immediate response can develop in the form of a public message.
The organization's manager will determine the severity of this crisis depending on the information from the implementing team and the extent to which the communication process should take place. Working together with the communication manager at the team level, the overall manager of the association will determine the point at which the message is ready to be released to the publics and stakeholders. A crisis of this nature will require a media notification and hence the team should standby to do the same. The crisis will require both internal communication with the program leaders and external communication with mainstream media which has the potential to shape the perception of the public on the practices of the organization. Some of the information will need to be handled internally especially regarding the punishment for the individuals whose negligence led to the present crisis. Dealing internally with such information is necessary since the employees of the association will become aware of their roles in ensuring the safety of clients and preserving the public's image of the organization. They will also understand the need to take personal precautionary measures failure to which will attract punishment on their part.
The implementation of the plan will also require the manager assign the various roles to be undertaken by the team members during collection of information, analyzing the cause of the problem, developing the message to be sent to the public on actions being taken to handle the situation and prevent its recurrence. In addition, the facts sheets and news release to the media will be written and the delivered within two hours to the manager and program leaders who are not part of the Crisis Communication team. An update the organization's website with the same message will be done so that visitors will be provided with basic information regarding the crisis and thus, send the desired message to them. Addressing the visitors to the website should be considered because these are potential clients of the programs offered at the gymnasium and their perception of the organization is very important to the continued operations and success. The team will need a coordinator of the needed video, who will shoot such videos and then upload them to website, social media and other news media. Moreover, a live streaming in media such as YouTube will ensure that the publics can see the improvements done in the fitness center and progress made in adopting safety measures.
- Alerting and monitoring the media
The communication manager in the Crisis Communication team will decide on the how the news media will be contacted. In case this crisis prolongs and becomes complex due to the negative by the media, the manager will open an information center where media briefing will be done. The center will also be necessary for coordinating the flow of information over the long-run and ensure that right persons are involved in the collection of information and disseminating the required response. The information in the media will be carried out frequently whenever new information about improved operations and safety of the gymnasium is needed. At this point, the team will be required to anticipate any issues that may be arising along the way as information flows especially in social media. Monitoring of the media and reporting on the progress being made in restoring the reputation of the organization will form an important part of the roles undertaken by the communication team. More resources may be required to attend to the request made through the responses from the public which will play a key role in rectifying the damaged image. The notification to the publics is a major consideration in this plan. Reaching out to the various publics will take different methods depending on the parties and the member of communication team who will contact them. The social media platform can reach a large number of individuals at once; hence it is an important tool.
Key publics and stakeholders
The publics to be considered in this plan include the local authorities, the customers, the community in which the gymnasium is located, the area schools and school boards, the local and state news media, Parents of the Children visiting the fitness center and founding owners. To communicate to the clients and the community, the plan is to use the various media including state and local media, social media and even pamphlets for those who are physically visiting the organization after it re-opens. The employees will be communicated by emails, and even notifications regarding the measures each should adopt to salvage the image of the organization. Communication to the parents and teachers of school children undertaking fitness training and practices in the gymnasium will be done through the text messages and even email addresses. The communication to the owners of the organization will be done through meetings with the communication manager of the team. The message to the stakeholders and the publics will be deliberately tailored to each group of persons so that it resonates with their understanding of the information.
Media spokesperson
Due to the nature of the crisis, the media spokesperson will be the managers of the association because he is familiar with the management decisions made across the board. Unless the other Crisis Communication team considers that a particular message is best spoken by one of their own for better understanding, the responsibilities of a spokesperson will be bestowed on the manager. He will act as the face of the organization to the public. The manager may assign the program leaders the role of addressing various issues that may be raised by the publics and stakeholders regarding the safety measures taken by the organization. Otherwise, the manager should be ready to seek audience and even attend interviews with various media houses.
Two tweets
The gymnasium organization takes full responsibility for the negligence displayed by one of its employees and which led to the injury of the eight year-old-boy. The organization gives great consideration to the safety and well-being of the customers and has therefore dismissed with cost all its members who did not perform their roles according to the policy. The damages and cost of the injured boy have been catered, and various measures are taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
News release template
The organization upholds the safety and well-being of the clients undertaking training and fitness activities. The safety of the clients is our priority, and we welcome all members of the public to witness the improved facilities and services offered by our experienced and professional program leaders.
List of prodromes
Faulty equipment
Lack of repairs in the gymnasium
Lack of program leaders' attention
Lack of communication on problems arising
