Communication is an essential operational tool during both the strategic response to any emergency, and the period of recovery which will follow.
It is often said that the response to an emergency is only successful if those affected by it see an effective response.
Crisis management communications provide essential tools for:
senior leaders setting the strategy for their organisation and for partners in an emergency;
staff with operational responsibility for emergency response or recovery; and
communications professionals – who need to understand how the approach to crisis communications draws on business-as-usual communications techniques but also what is unique to communicating in a crisis.
In an era where those affected by emergencies can draw on a range of sources for their information and at a time when responders might have to deal with misinformation as well as disinformation from malign actors, the ability to get clear, reliable and actionable information out to the public is an essential component of resilience.
Our crisis communications training prepares individuals and organisations to communicate to the public in an emergency. Our goal is to help organisations to use communications as a tool for protecting lives, livelihoods, infrastructure and the environment in an emergency.
Drawing on national crisis communications and also crisis management guidance such as British Standard 1200:2014 (Crisis Management) and EPC crisis communications training explains the principles for using public communications to improve resilience before, during and after emergency. We then provide training that brings these principles to life so that organisations are better able to communicate about risk and to use communications as an operational tool in an emergency.