Preparing for a crisis

Hello everyone J

This week was definitely a big one for the in-house marketing/PR team at the company* I am currently completing my internship with. The main goal for this week was to discuss and create a crisis communication plan for the organisation in case something were to ever happen. Whilst this was a tricky task, it has been my favourite to date and I was able to use a wide range of PR skills that I have learnt from completing my university degree.

Firstly to prepare I was instructed by my supervisor to read a case study from our organisation’s biggest competitor. This involved understanding how the competitor company successfully dealt with a major crisis with the assistance of a PR consultancy. I was then invited to attend and act as scribe for a three hour workshop/meeting for crisis communication planning. The main objectives for creating the crisis communications plan were to ensure that in the event of a major crisis within the organisation, customers would not be critically impacted and that the brand reputation remains intact with the key stakeholder groups. Attending the workshop was an amazing opportunity for me as I was able to learn a wealth of information.

During the crisis communication meeting, we went over a long list of potential crises that could seriously damage the reputation of our organisation if not dealt with properly. We then decided on a list of key messages which would need to be communicated to stakeholders during a crisis. It was interesting to discover just how much thought and debate goes into constructing the best possible key message for a selected target audience. I also learnt the importance of choosing the right words and sentence structure for a spokesperson representing a company during a crisis. In a crisis situation, an organisation is dependent on the PR team which is why a high-quality crisis communications plan is crucial to have.

This week I was also able to learn a range of different administration skills necessary for PR professionals. This included making spreadsheets with specific information related to customers/clients, creating labels for important mail outs and updating our organisation’s online survey and website. In addition to this, I was also asked to research and compare quotes which I found to be particularly useful. Although these tasks sound quite basic, I had never had an occasion where I needed to do them before and I am appreciative of the fact that I now know how to do them if I ever need to in the future.

Before wrapping up today’s blog post I would like to offer some advice to my fellow students. Firstly, never be afraid to contribute in a team meeting. If you are aware that what you have to say could be valuable to the company then don’t hesitate to raise your hand and say it. Secondly, I find it helps to do some additional research related to your company outside of internship hours. It never hurts to be over prepared and knowledgeable!

Thanks for reading.

- Sarah

* Please note due to a confidentiality agreement I am unable to publish the company’s name