Having a crisis communication plan for severe winter storms is a critical need for organizations…
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November 4, 2021 Posted by Pocketstop in Business Continuity, Crisis Communications, Mass Notification Social Share
After extreme drought and fires this summer, the freeze in Texas this past February from winter storm Uri seems like the distant past. However, there have already been some major storms on both coasts this fall and it’s likely we will see more. The weather pattern known as El Nina will continue for the second year in a row. While this could mean less snow for some regions, it can also mean more severe weather. As we have seen in recent months, it is critical to be prepared and have a crisis communication plan when these major events occur.
Another contributing factor that complicates emergency communication is the ongoing pandemic. It has changed the way we work and live, with many more employees and even students being remote. But it hasn’t been all bad – companies have taken the opportunity to foster a more supportive culture that includes physical and mental health, employee safety, and leveraging technology. Additionally, with a dispersed workforce often juggling multiple responsibilities, the expectation of clear and timely communication is at an all time high.
If a blizzard, extreme freeze, icy roads, or other weather event impacts your physical location, results in a power or other outage, or impacts travel for on site employees, how can you best communicate with your team?
One of the most challenging aspects of the February freezing temperatures was that most people were not prepared. Reacting in the moment limits reach, clarity, and safety. Early preparation is necessary and it never hurts to have a plan for the worst case scenario.
Review and update your crisis communication plan and relevant communication drafts yearly, while gathering updated recipient data for communication more often. Nicole Peterson of Hexion describes how the chemical company tackles preparation: “We include all functions (operations, maintenance, EHS, human resources, procurement, etc.), which in addition to management alignment is key.” They also hold a debriefing session after each storm event to learn ways to improve.
Here are some practical steps from the Standard Operating Procedure from Nieomi King, Regional Marketing and Communications Manager, Fort Hood Family Housing:
Having a plan is critical, and rehearsing it will make it even stronger. A couple of items to keep in mind while practicing:
Send constant, clear and honest communication to keep everyone up to speed as the situation develops. People are more forgiving when they have clear and regular communication, even if it is just an acknowledgement of the situation and as leaders, you are still assessing next steps. It also discourages any misinformation from circulating.
King explains how critical multi-channel functionality was for her team: “People need multiple channels of communication, especially when they don’t have access to their primary one. Using RedFlag helped us reach them in multiple locations as the primary and secondary contacts were utilized with both email and text. We sent out emails, text messages, made phone calls, and posted Facebook notifications. We found that texting both our residents and our employees was very effective and allowed us to provide specific instruction on responses. When we received responses from the text messages, we appreciated the ability to reach our residents and team members with a medium we didn’t have prior to RedFlag.”
Steve Young, Vice President of Technology & Innovation, VIA Metropolitan Transit, shares how his organization handled communications during the storm: “Conditions were changing rapidly and that meant that VIA needed a way to quickly get information out to our employees. RedFlag helped us communicate to all of our employees during the storm, even getting messages to the cell phones of our employees, when their homes were without power. It is important to keep communicating with customers and employees about the rapidly changing conditions and associated changes in transportation availability and service. Good advice is to make sure communications plans and tools to communicate are readily available during emergencies. In our case RedFlag was always available and could easily launch mass alerts, even from a cell phone.”
It is not enough to simply send messages; the next step is to observe employees’ reactions and responses. Often this step is neglected in a crisis communication plan. Dan Brahmy is CEO of Cyabra, which uses artificial intelligence to detect disinformation online, “When [a] crisis strikes, business leaders need to keep a pulse on how their audiences are reacting to the situation in order to properly acknowledge those viewpoints, and adapt their plans to accommodate those needs,” he observed.
Planning for a crisis like extreme winter weather is easy to postpone. However, now is the time to prepare. A thorough plan that includes practicing, drafting communications for multiple channels, and a method for monitoring and following up will ensure that your teams are safe and feel confident in leadership’s response.
Find out more about how RedFlag’s mass communication platform can greatly help you with your crisis communication plan.
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