Effective Communication in Crisis
Holly L. Clerkin
HCS/320
Abstract
Today, you are the director of a regional Emergency Management Office. You begin receiving official reports that the public water supplies of several towns in the area have become contaminated with a life-threatening biological agent. Contingency plans must be addressed within the organization and with the public without creating a panic. The following paper is my plan of action.
Effective Communication in Crisis

It is absolutely essential, pre-crisis, to establish notification systems that will allow you to rapidly reach your intended audience using multiple modalities. The Virginia Tech campus shooting catastrophe, where email was the sole means of alerting students initially, proves that using any single modality can make a crisis worse. Some of us may be on email constantly, others not so. Some of us receive our cellphone calls or messages quickly, some not. If you use more than one modality to reach your stakeholders, the chances are much greater that the message will go through. (Bernstein, 2013)
To have effective communication in time of crisis, our organization has implemented plans that allow us to effectively deal with the situation, the media and those that are effected. With the use of all forms of media, as well as documented known conditions we hold a strong belief that we can correct this current situation.
It has come to the attention of the county and this office of the Emergency Management that an unidentified contaminate has leaked into the local water reserves. This contamination has been found in all city water tabs in the county. We are first reassuring the public that we are taking every precaution, starting at the lowest levels, to ensure our communities safety.
With safety in mind first, it is important that we identify the unidentified contaminate, and contain, if possible, any future damage. During this time of investigation it is crucial that no information is leaked to the media or outside sources until we have solid information and a proposed and excepted plan of action. Allowing information to prematurely be offered to the public may spread pandemonium. (Hicks, 2012)
For this purpose at this time the Emergency Management Department will only confer with the Water Department, the Center for Disease Control, and the County Counsel. Also the County and State legal representation will be a part of the process to protect all assets. This is done so that the involved parties are continually informed and up to date with all information. The public message that should be put out at this time is that we are on a county wide boil water advisory until further notice. All residence should boil any water for personal use for 5 minutes prior to use. Questions and concerns may be directed at this department, however no further information will be given at this time.
It is imperative for an organization to ensure the information they are offering to the public is the correct information, with the best intentions, so that the intended audience feels safe and comfortable with the information. (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 ) Intelligence gathering is an essential component of both crisis prevention and crisis response. (Bernstein, 2013)
The next step in our process is to enact a response team. A response team will consist of experts in water testing, scientist, and medical professionals so that the cause and outcome can be determined on every level. A chart showing the outline of planning and activity is seen in Images (image 1). (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 )
The next step in the process is to begin to involve the general public. As information that is pertinent to them becomes available, it should be released in a controlled way. To do this a trained spokesperson or a public affairs officer should always be the primary source of information. By offering one united source of information greatly reduces the amount of misinformation that can be circulating. Not only are spokespersons needed for media communications, but for all types and forms of communications, internal and external, including on-camera, at a public meeting, at employee meetings, etc. (Bernstein, 2013)
As the learned information is distributed the manner of media used must be all encompassing so that each residents is reached for maximum education and protection. For this crisis we will need to use television, newspaper, social media, emails, text messages, public postings, recorded hotline messages and printed mail. Utilizing all forms of communication is the best avenue to ensure each resident is educated. (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 )
Today, we have to have - immediately at hand - the means to reach our internal and external residents using multiple modalities. Many have several phone numbers, more than one email address, and can receive SMS (text) messages or faxes. Instant Messenger programs, either public or proprietary, are also very popular for business and personal use. We can even send audio and video messages via email. And then, of course, there is social media. This may be the best/fastest way to reach some of our residents, but setting up social media accounts for this purpose and developing a number of followers/friends/contacts on the various social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+) is not something you can do after a crisis breaks, because nowhere does news of a crisis spread faster and more out of your control than on social media. It is imperative that we utilize the process we placed in effect before the crisis to manage the flow of information. (Bernstein, 2013)
Knowing what's being said about this crisis on social media, in traditional media, by our employees, and residents will allow us to catch a negative "trend" that, if unchecked, could turn into a crisis in itself. Likewise, monitoring feedback from all parties during this crisis situation allows us to accurately adapt our strategy and tactics. (Bernstein, 2013) We have extensively covered the advantages that using the media will help in our cause, but we also need to be aware and prepared for the numerous disadvantages as well. The first disadvantage is time. Time to read all correspondence and reply is overwhelming when it comes to a crisis situation and the amount of time that will need to be consumed on this crisis can quickly become overwhelming. (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 ) The next disadvantage is negativity. People have a passion for information, and with that passion comes interpretation. People can interoperate information in a matter that best suit their needs and then can redistribute that information as quickly as the correct information can go out. This has a great potential to cause extensive harm that again will take manpower and time to resolve. (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 ) Incorrect information is another disadvantage. One misspelled or misused word and the intent of our communication with residents could be shattered. The spokespersons job depends on being able to avoid these situations, however at times, they can be unavoidable. So after all of this, how do we control these lingering problems, the answer is simpler then we would tend to believe. The first is in the pre-plan of crisis. Having adequate, screened volunteers to man the information distribution and responses can leave the needed time for us, the administration to deal with the direct problem. Next is the negativity; fear breeds panic, this is a fact, and needs to be an anticipated one. Blocking the use of residents to post their own information on our sites can greatly reduce the chances of misinformation from an uncreditable source leaking into our system. Also screening all readers’ comments before they can be posted to the page can eliminate widespread panic. (Canos, Borges, Penades, Gomes, & Llavador, 2013 ) The overall purpose is to maintain a credited, useful, and correct information source in which the residents can trust. Establishing communication is one of the easiest ways in which to avoid mass hysteria. (Hicks, 2012) In conclusion of this paper the important steps to follow for effective communication in a crisis situations starts with preplanning. A strong organization has a plan in place to deal with these types of situations. After the preplan in enacted it is important to not let information out until it is verified, as in this case not to alert the public before the source and treatments is known. Releasing any information prior is a path to disasters’. Once the information is confirmed it is then important to have a central point of contact, such as a spokesperson to be the sole source of information, using one source eliminates the possibility of misinformation getting out. The spokesperson should then utilize all forms of media possible to spread the word to all residents as quickly and simply as possible. Too much information can be confusing and too little can cause anger with the residents. Having preplanned crisis teams and plans can make all the difference in this situation.

Images

Image 1

References
Bernstein, J. (2013). The 10 Steps Of Crisis Communications. Retrieved from BERNSTEIN CRISIS MANAGEMENT, INC.: http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/articles/10-steps-of-crisis-communications.html
Canos, J., Borges, M., Penades, C., Gomes, A., & Llavador, M. (2013 ). Technological Forecasting and Social Change. Planning and Foresight Methodologies in Emergency Preparedness and Management, Volume 80, Issue 9, Pages 1868-1876.
Hicks, N. (2012). Health Industry Communication: New Media, New Methods, New Message, 1e. Jones and Bartlett Publishers.