Crisis communications session proposal
I’ve been considering proposing a presentation on the subject of crisis communications for a session at the 2011 CASE V annual conference here in Chicago this December. Here’s my current draft. What do you think? I’d love your reaction and suggestions for improvement.
Lessons Learned in the Groundhog Day Blizzard
Who’s got an awesome crisis-communications plan? One that you’ve prepared in advance, had approved by senior leaders at your institution, deployed in at least one real-life emergency, and tuned up through effective post-mortem discussions with both staff and constituents? Congratulations: this session is not for you.
But for the rest of us, this session provides an opportunity to think through the elements, procedures, and mindset for an effective and practical plan for communicating in a crisis. I’ll tell the story of how North Park University in Chicago handled communicating the university’s response to the historic Groundhog Day Blizzard in February 2011.
We’ll address such topics as:
- advance planning (and how to plan for when you CAN’T plan)
- communications-related decision making as a crisis unfolds
- some helpful tools (online and off-) that you’ll wish you had in your bag
- how to staff for crisis communications
- the value of after-the-fact analysis and evaluation
Part presentation, part discussion, this session will give us the chance to learn from our institutions’ experience (failures no less than successes). Bring your own fears and horror stories, and we’ll all try to help you not just feel better — but truly be more ready when the moment comes.
March 30th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
At Fresno State we had two days in the last year that our Facebook and Twitter efforts REALLY proved its worth.
It was fall 2010 when our student portal crashed on the night prior to and the first day of class. Because our digital natives don’t print or write things down, most had no idea where and when their classes were meeting. We used Facebook and Twitter to both directly assist students as well as direct them to places to view hard copies of the class schedule. We not only saved face by reaching out to students, we also gained lots of fans that day as students reposted and retweeted us. I saved all the screensots if you’re interested.
The second “crisis” took place in February 2011 when a major traffic jam during the school day caused the campus to shut down. To travel 1 mile and park, it took about 2 hours.
In both cases, when the crisis struck we already had over 15,000 fans between the ages of 18-24 (student demographic). Having a large community was essential to spread the word. http://www.facebook.com/FresnoState
Good luck!
March 30th, 2011 at 7:23 pm
One additional thought…
As the community manager I am essential when it comes to reporting the first instance of the crisis since our students turn first to Facebook and Twitter to report on Fresno State… and also to ask me (by name) what is going on.
March 30th, 2011 at 8:35 pm
Katie, these are great examples and really helpful observations. Thanks!