The document discusses the role of communications managers during a crisis according to the British Standard BS11200. It outlines that a communications manager's regular duties are to communicate with internal and external stakeholders as the "golden source" of information. During a crisis, this role does not change fundamentally but the speed and frequency of communication needed increases greatly. Effective crisis communication requires preparation, defined roles, media monitoring, consistent messaging, and stakeholder management to minimize reputational damage. Technology can help support many aspects of crisis communication outlined in the standard.

1. BS11200: 2014 and the Communications Manager
The publication of BS11200 (the “Standard”) in April this year has crystallised what “good” practice
crisis management (CM) should look like in organisations. The standard rightly indicates that crises
are challenging, that they are dynamic and unpredictable, and that they are difficult to manage. The
Standard requires practitioners to develop an organisational capability to “prepare for, anticipate,
respond to and recover from crises”.
Definitions revisited…
Before we set the scene on how technology can help support the core concepts and principles
detailed within the Standard it’s worth looking at the definition of Crisis (“abnormal and unstable
situation that threatens the organisation’s strategic objectives, reputation or viability”). I often use
layman’s terms, for crisis ‘low frequency, high impact, adverse events which require the mobilisation
of a significant number of individuals to stop their ‘day job’ and to immerse themselves into the
event”.
So, after our little diversion into terminology, I’d like to examine the role of the communications
manager.
Communications managers’ role….
The Communications Managers “day job” is to communicate with stakeholders, internally and
externally. This is achieved by acting as the “golden source” of information and using this position to
develop and deliver consistent messages.
During a crisis this role doesn’t fundamentally change, however the information and time available
to develop messages, plus the speed in which they are required is very different. The aim is to
support the overall crisis management response, to convey the organisations initial and ongoing
reaction to the crisis, to outline what it is doing about the issues that have arisen and to reassure all
stakeholders that it is in control of the situation.
Given the need for consistency, the requirement for high speed delivery and the repeated frequency
for communication there is an even greater need for communications technology support in a crisis
then there is on a day to day basis.
Distinctions between Incidents & Crises, from a Media perspective….
The Standard differentiates, from a media scrutiny perspective, between a crisis and an incident (in
layman’s terms “higher frequency, lower impact, adverse events that are managed within normal or
day to day operational activities”.
In an incident is it likely that there will be little media attention however there is a risk that, if not
handled effectively, that the media attention itself may escalate the incident into a crisis. Crises, on
the other hand, are likely to lead to significant public and media interest with the ability to impact,
positively or negatively, organisational reputation. The inability to manage the media interest,
through traditional and social media networks, is likely to extend the length of the incident and to
make the longer term impacts significantly worse.

2. Core crisis management concepts…
Section 3.5 of the Standard lays out the principles for crisis management. The over-arching principle
requires organisations to regain control as quickly as possible. Traditionally the crisis management
focus has been operational however the emergence of reputation management and share price
protection now lead organisations to place at least equal focus upon the communications effort.
The principles require that internal and external communication is effective. Stakeholders could
receive initial notification via an emergency mass notification system, however there is a deeper and
longer, repeated, requirement to inform those stakeholders, and to understand what is being said
about your organisation in both the traditional and social media space. These interactions need to
be recorded, managed and should influence the crisis response strategy.
This leads onto the next principle which requires situational awareness through efficient and
effective information management and collective working. Crisis Communications personnel have a
significant role to play, both internally and externally, to ensure the agreed “line to take” is
incorporated and influenced by the current situational picture.
Clearly, technology can certainly assist with regaining control, supporting the delivery effective of
communications, facilitating the consistent delivery of communications and understanding
stakeholder, as well as public, sentiment towards the organisation.
Preparation is everything…
Crises can strike at any time, even the most inopportune, so the Communications Manager and their
team need to be able to drop their routine activities and seamlessly meet the crisis requirements
placed upon them. Detailed preparation will support this fundamental shift in priorities and
additionally, at time of incident, facilitate turning reactive responses into proactive communications.
This preparation should be laid out in a plan, either as part of the overall crisis management plan or
as a separate crisis communications plan. This structured plan should lay out roles, responsibilities
and actions to be taken by members of the communications team and those supporting them.
Key communications roles…
It is likely that key roles will include spokespersons, a team leader, press officer, media monitoring,
social media monitoring, call takers and internal communications.
The organisation should have available a number of crisis trained spokespeople, at varying levels
within the organisation including the CEO, who are comfortable talking, calmly, at the times of the
greatest organisational stress.
In addition, it is of paramount importance that effective media monitoring is in place. It has two
distinct roles to play, firstly as an early warning of already occurring events that have not been
previously reported. Its second role is to provide the organisation with an understanding of how the
crisis response is being reported, the sentiment that the response is evoking and as validation for
how effective the issues are being managed and resolved.

3. Media monitoring should also encompass internet news and social media as the emergence of
citizen journalists, equipped with picture taking smartphones, has wrested initial control over the
nature and material source away from the traditional news channels and has significantly reduced
the speed in which incidents are being reported, and commented upon. These new mediums
present significant risk if not managed effectively and as a result a number of organisations shy away
from using these channels. However, there are significant opportunities, especially at time of crisis,
to manage what is being said, to dispel rumours, right misinformation, calm fears and demonstrate
leadership.
Given the breadth and depth of interest that the incident may give rise to, the existing brand
reputation and the amount of available resources at time of crisis organisations may wish to
consider the use of technology to support media monitoring requirements both in a crisis and on a
day to day basis. Technology can assist with external “eyes and ears” awareness as well as
monitoring both traditional and internet/social media channels.
Crisis communications strategy…
Having defined the team structure, an organisational crisis communications strategy should be
developed, and agreed at the highest levels, to act as a framework for use when the crisis occurs. It
should layout the core message to be used across all mediums, key themes in the message and
should be supported with extra material. The strategy should layout which stakeholders are
important, what they will receive, when and how. Remember it takes seconds to endanger a good
reputation, the challenge is to ensure that is not destroyed, and to endeavour to rebuild it quickly.
Stakeholder management is critical to the reputational success of the crisis response and effective
communications define organisational perception. The ability of each stakeholder to affect
reputation should be assessed and prioritised, then, each need should be acknowledged, assessed,
understood and satisfied on that same basis.
Crisis communication principles …
At the core of these principles is the ability to prepare what is to be said, how it will be said, why it
will be said and by whom. What is to be said should encapsulate what happened, why did it happen
(and who is to blame), when did happen and what is being done about it.
In more detail, directly extracted from the Standard:
 Be prepared have a clear, straightforward communication process in place
 Move fast communicate quickly and appropriately, indicating that more information will be
given when possible
 Monitor continuously keeping track of what is happening everywhere is critical
 Maintain the flow release what is known; “little and often” is better than waiting to release
everything
 Speak with one voice but not necessarily a single spokesperson
 Be transparent it will all come out in the end
 Accuracy is key use hard facts and avoid rumour, conjecture and assumptions
 Apologize do not be afraid to apologize when appropriate and relevant
 Build a strategy develop core message(s) and the supporting themes, and keep building
them
 Manage the timing let those closest know first
 Be human be empathetic whenever appropriate

4.  Sign off know who has authority to sign off communications for issue
Underlying all this is the need to ensure that the “line to take”, rather than the specific wording, is
consistent across all mediums and all audiences.
Communication barriers…
The barriers to effective crisis communication are likely to be the same barriers that that exist on a
day to day basis but it is worth re-iterating them here as during a crisis the impacts will be far, far
worse.
Ensure your messages use relevant language for the audience; avoid complex or technical language
to reduce confusion and miss-interpretation; avoid messages that are unclear to the intended, and
unintended, audiences and utilise the correct channels to reach them.
Additionally, consider how you will understand what the wider world is saying about you in the
crisis, consider the breadth and repeated requirement to disseminate information – technology
might just help.
Final thoughts…
Rehearse, rehearse and rehearse. Not only process, people but technology to ensure that the
organisation is prepared. Good luck.
And no apologies…
Finally, throughout this white paper, which I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, where I have quoted
excerpts from BS11200:2014 I’ve changed words like “organization” to “organisation” – I make no
apology for this other than I’m English.
Ian Ross FBCI, CITP, MBCS, CISA
Strategic Account Manager
AIControlPoint