How to Create a Startup Crisis Communication Plan: Seven Steps to a Solid Plan

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By JoshWilson

No one wants to think that they will ever face a crisis in their business when making the plan for their startup. However, statistics show that between 2014 and 2019, 69% of business leaders experienced at least one business crisis, with many experiencing more than one during that time. With the heightened scrutiny and tense situations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent mandates and shutdown orders, this number is sure to increase. For the past two years, it seems like we’ve been reading about a business experience in one kind of crisis or another.

A crisis communication plan is an essential part of any overall business strategy, and creating one takes teamwork to be successful. Here are seven ways to create a successful crisis communication plan:

1. Identify potential crises and outline goals

Startup leaders may be wondering, “What exactly is considered a crisis?” Answers may include:

– product recalls;
– an allegation of misconduct by an employee; and
– Environmental issues (think oil spills or pollution).

A crisis is usually unexpected and occurs suddenly.

Any solid crisis communication plan must begin with a written outline of the plan’s objectives. Goals can be:

– Providing accurate and time-sensitive answers and information;
– Securing of assets or business structure; and
– Maintaining a positive image or reputation.

2. Build a strong crisis communications team and consider stakeholders

Considering your own team should be one of the first steps in creating a crisis communication plan. Managers should consider which employees would best contribute to a crisis team. When a startup is really in its infancy, building a full-fledged crisis management team can be difficult. Everything is new and it may not be clear at first who would be best placed to deal effectively with a crisis. Good leaders know how to bring out the best in people. Leaders should dig deep to find people on their team who are well-equipped to lead the organization through a crisis.

Team members should fully understand the goals of the crisis communication plan. The team should include people with expertise in public relations, social media, administration, and operations. It is also very important to consult legal counsel with a crisis management team. For early startups, daily access to an attorney may not be an option, but having one in the wings is important. Lawyers are expensive but worth every penny to prevent a crisis from turning into a costly lawsuit.

There should be a clear team leader and the chain of command should be obvious to everyone involved in the strategy. Stakeholders must be clearly identified. Stakeholders can be internal and external and include but are not limited to employees, board members, customers, vendors, and vendors. In principle, everyone who could be affected by a crisis is a stakeholder.

3. Identify potential crisis situations

It’s a well-known platitude that if you “don’t plan, you plan to fail”. Once a crisis communications team is formed and established, they should model potential crisis situations and outline the organization’s response. Each step in the strategy should be outlined and everyone associated with the company should know the plan, even if he/she is not on the crisis communications team.

Examples of potential crisis situations are:

– natural disasters;
– industrial accidents or violence;
– allegations of harassment; and
– Problems with products.

Proactive behavior can only help a startup when a crisis hits. A company cannot possibly plan for every possible crisis that might arise, but it can start by brainstorming well-established crisis communication team and be as prepared as possible. Many leaders find that these planning sessions are fantastic for team building as well.

4. Create lists and fact sheets

A good contingency plan should contain lists and leaflets. Factsheets should contain all the facts related to a specific crisis. It sets out everything that is known and evidenced about the current crisis, making it easily accessible and referenceable for the team and selected stakeholders, if any. Fact lists can also include easily referenced information about the company, company mission statement, employee information, and product/service information. When a crisis hits, stress can create confusion. Having set lists and factsheets to hand will help organize the crisis communication approach.

5. Establish clear policies and hierarchy

Clear guidelines should outline the who, what, when, where, and why of a crisis communication plan. Policies may include:

– Who is allowed to speak to the press;
– What may be said; and
– Which publications your company will speak to.

A fixed written hierarchy must be established. The hierarchy must include executives at the top, followed by team managers, often followed by a base of laterally positioned HR professionals, media specialists, IT specialists and the legal team. The lower end of the hierarchy, especially in large organizations, may be managers in other locations or offices. Each site can have its own hierarchy.

Embassy control is crucial in a crisis. Company communications should include identification of the crisis, a timeline for future plans or changes, and should not ignore anyone who has been hurt by the crisis situation, whether internal or within the customer base. show empathy during a crisis is key. Everyone in an organization needs to understand what the message is, who is delivering that message, and what method of communication is being used.

6. Risk Management

Sometimes a crisis cannot be avoided. A solid crisis communication plan should also identify potential risks associated with executing the plan. Yes, no game is preferred, but probably not realistic. It’s better to prepare for a crisis-related backlash, bad press, or social media impact than to be caught off-guard and vulnerable. The crisis management team should discuss possible outcomes of different strategies and analyze the risk of each strategy. A risk management expert should be part of any crisis communications team.

In every crisis, a company’s customer base is inevitably affected. Risk management must include the risks associated with customers or clients. Similar to starting a business, creating a crisis management plan requires you to analyze your target market and who your message is going to. Who is affected by the crisis? What do they need to hear from you and where are they getting this message from?

7. Commit to regular updates and revisions

As a startup scales, they should regularly review their crisis communication plan. Any plan should be up to date and ready for any new crises that may arise. For example, many startups launched in 2018 or 2019 are unlikely to have “pandemic” on their potential crisis list. When it became clear that COVID-19 was a real problem with global implications, many crisis communication plans should have been updated to include pandemic response plans.

Startups have a lot to consider when expanding their business. A crisis can strike at any time, so creating a comprehensive crisis communication plan should begin early in a startup’s founding phase. When a startup focuses on building a solid crisis communications team and prepares proactively, they can feel confident they are prepared for whatever may come.

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