Creating Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Communication Plans

Annette Gonzales TaylorDirector of Communications

Cynthia Gill BatesNew Media Specialist

Who is your audience during a crisis?

Your Diocese/ Parish/

Organization

Parishioners

Survivors impacted by the

incident and their families

Government elected officials, regulators and

other authorities

Greater Community

served by local and national

media

Employees and their families

Source: http://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/crisis

Types of Crises

• Natural Disasters (Tornado, Fires, Floods, etc.)

• Negative news events involving thediocese or organization (Lawsuits, Incidents, etc.)

• Helping families who have suffered loss (High profile funerals, victims of crime, etc.)

First Things First:You NEED a Point Person!

In this day and age of the 24-hour news cycle and instant sharing of

information through social media,

IT HAS BECOME CRUCIAL

to have an experienced Communications professional.

Role of the Communications Director

• Responsible for all internal and external communications

• Serves as the official spokesperson• Handles all public relations matters• Communicates with local and national media

regarding stories or issues involving organization and its entities

• Oversees online presence (website, social media)• Available during off-hours for emergency response

and Communications coordination

Why have a Director of Communications?

• To direct the message• To serve as the spokesperson and primary contact

for your organization • To determine the most appropriate member of

the team to deliver the message• To prepare those who will share the message with

the media or public• To build relationships with local media• To assist all entities of the organization to get out

the most appropriate and positive message

Crisis Management Team

• Create a small group of key decision makers who meet immediately when a crisis is reported to share facts, etc.

• Discuss options on releasing information• Make recommendation to Bishop/ Pastor/ CEO/GM• Assign internal and external Communications tasks

with deadlines

Diocese of Dallas has 3-person team consisting of Senior staff who regularly advise the Bishop

When to call your Communications Director

Call the Communications Director as soon as possible

• When crisis situations have occurred• When media has called or is on church/school

property• Call BEFORE the funerals of law enforcement,

firefighters and service men and women who have died in the line of duty

How to reach your audiences

Your Diocese/ Parish/

Organization

Parishioners

Survivors impacted by the

incident and their families

Government elected officials, regulators and

other authorities

Greater Community

served by local and national

media

Employees and their families

PARISHIONERS & COMMUNITY

How to reach your audiences

Parishioners and Community

Communications channels that will help get the word out in an emergency situation

• Email lists• Mass texts (Flocknote, etc.)• Online (website, social media)• Local media

Who Uses Social Media?

•65% of adult Internet users use social networking sites

•63% of people with disabilities use social media

Source: http://www.flghc.org/docs/2013TS/TS-11-2.pdf

Challenges in Using Social Media During a Crisis

• Set expectations if communications will not be interactivePeople expect 2-way

Conversations

• Connect with organizations that communicate directly with vulnerable populations

Considerations must be made to reach vulnerable

populations

• Link back to official sources of informationInaccurate information can spread quickly on social media

• Social media is used as an additional tool to supplement traditional channels of communicationDifficult to reach population

not connected to social media

Source: http://www.flghc.org/docs/2013TS/TS-11-2.pdf

EMPLOYEESHow to reach your audiences

Employees

• Include emergency response plan in employee handbook

• Conduct emergency response training on-site• When weather might occur (ice, tornadoes, etc),

remind employees of the safety procedures and communications channels before the weather hits

• Instruct employees that all media requests must be referred to the Director of Communications

MEDIA RELATIONSHow to reach your audiences

The Media-How We Are Alike

1. We are all professionals and have a job to do.

2. We all are working for the good of our client or organization.

3. Most of us have a boss to whom we answer.

4. We all think we are right

The Media –How we are different

1. Reporters are working on immediate and urgent deadlines and need information now. Attorneys like a little more time to prepare and research. Communications/PR Specialists are usually somewhere in the middle.

2. Attorneys don’t wait to divulge information, don’t like the people you represent to sit before camera and microphone to do interviews, reporters are all about providing as much information as possible to their viewers. And, again PR people are somewhere in the middle.

Media Relations during a Crisis

• Remember that there is right way and a wrong way to decline an interview

• In a cordial manner, advise the media representative that diocesan policy requires that all media requests be referred to the Director of Communications

• Do not hide your face, push or shove the camera or media personnel, or get involved in any type of heated exchange. Simply continue to request that diocesan policy be followed

• Do not allow children to be interviewed or be photographed without prior consent from their parent or guardian

Never say “No Comment”

Throw the dog a bone!

Why is good Communications important in Stewardship?

Donors are greatly impacted by what they see in the media (TV,

radio, social media)

This information can create a negative or a positive response

Get Positive Coverage in the MediaMake sure to develop a relationship of trust and reliability with the media before a crisis happens

• Notify your Director of Communications about notable events or people in your church or school so that he or she can pitch them as “feel good” stories to local media

• When planning events, think about including some "action" aspect

• Not every event will be deemed "newsworthy" by the media - you will probably not get coverage of every story idea you have

But you might get lucky and call on a slow news day …

SURVIVORS AFFECTED BY THE INCIDENT & THEIR FAMILIES

How to reach your audiences

Communicating in response to Major Humanitarian Crises

Broadcast information to survivors and those impacted by regional/ national/ international crises:

• Where people can go for help• Where people can donate goods and funds to help victims

• Special collections in the parish• Catholic Charities• Catholic Relief Services• Charitable organizations such as St. Vincent de Paul• Sharing special prayers for those affected by the specific

event (website, social media)

Crisis Communications StrategyInformation Technology and Web Presence

Crisis Communications: IT

Major items to put in place right now

• Back up your data• Share your passwords and accounts• Build your online Communications channels

now, so that they are well-formed when you need them

Back up your data

Questions to ask your IT Director

• What is your backup schedule for your computers/laptops?

• Where is your network server?• Where are your databases located (parish

memberships, payroll, etc.)?

• Share master list of accounts and passwords with at least 2 people

• Keep this list in the cloud (Google Docs, Dropbox, etc.)

• Train people to use these accounts• Add multiple administrators to Facebook, etc.

Share your website and social media passwords & accounts

Build your Communications channels

• Create a blog with an RSS feed• Maintain an email list of parishioners or diocesan

employees• Start a Fan Page on Facebook• Have your Bishop or Priest join Twitter• Use Hootsuite to manage social media content

Your #1 To Do if you use Hootsuite for Social Media

• TURN OFF all scheduled tweets when a crisis hits

Social Media during a crisis• Monitor what is being said about the crisis on Twitter• Learn how to use hashtags and social media search to monitor

online chatter• Be authentic and respond as much as possible• Don’t ignore negative comments and hope they go away –

because they won’t• After the crisis, debrief and evaluate how things were handled

and how things can be done better the next time around

For more information and a copy of this presentation

www.cathdal.org/emergency

Thank you, and God Bless!

Annette Gonzales TaylorDirector of Communications

agtaylor@cathdal.org

Cynthia Gill BatesNew Media Specialistcbates@cathdal.org