No one ever entered their office and declared, “Let’s start today with a crisis!” However, problems arise every day, and chaos can ensue. A business crisis is an emergency, catastrophe, or disaster that can send a business and its leadership and workers into a panic, praying that the problem is not as bad as they think or that it will simply go away.
Does your office or place of employment have a crisis communication plan?
If not, this inaction can result in casualties and information mismanagement if a crisis occurs.
In this post, the crisis communication plan experts at YGL Enterprises will explain what you need to know about developing a plan to effectively handle an emergency and how to protect your business from becoming a victim of the unexpected.
What is a Crisis Communication Plan?
A crisis communication plan provides the company with a blueprint for responding to a business-related threat. A well-written plan includes a response team, stakeholders, action steps, detailed policies, and strategies for preventing potential catastrophes. This plan helps businesses prepare, respond, and navigate unexpected and potentially costly outcomes.
Common examples of business-related crises include:
- Personnel: This type of problem happens when an employee or affiliate is involved in unethical or illegal conduct or engages in behavior that negatively impacts the company’s reputation. It can include professional and personal situations in the employee’s life, which reflect poorly on the company’s reputation. Furthermore, this problem can extend well into the digital world, and an individual’s behavior on social media platforms can place a company in a negative light.
- Financial: A financial crisis happens when a business experiences a loss in asset value, can’t afford to pay employees or debt, or files for bankruptcy. Often, financial problems occur when there is a drop in demand for a company’s products or services.
- Technological: Most technology crises occur when cybercriminals breach a company’s IT security infrastructure or software platforms, resulting in data loss or personal or confidential information exposure to a third-party hacker. A customer’s trust in how you collect and use personal and business data can be a competitive advantage. Breaching that trust can spell financial ruin. A company’s reputation can take a serious hit if consumers experience a drop in trust and take their business elsewhere. Furthermore, technology crises can occur when a company’s IT operations suddenly fail, and consumers experience a breakdown or delay in service.
- Organizational: This is where the company has done something damaging to its workers, investors, consumers, or other key stakeholders. Corporate crises fall into three categories: deception, management misconduct, and skewed management values. Usually, this situation is borne in the C-suite or at the senior level and usually involves withholding information, exploiting customers or employees, or misusing executive powers.
- Act of God or Natural Disasters: A great example of this type of crisis? The COVID-19 pandemic. There are numerous examples of companies that epically failed in their response. Tyson Chicken is one example. (See below.) While no one envisioned the lasting impact, companies that discussed potential “worst-case scenarios” and established protocols fared better. It’s about thinking creatively and proactively and imagining the worst-case scenario.
- Workplace Violence: This occurs when a current or former employee commits an act or acts of violence against other employees or customers. These tragic situations come on quickly, and it could be challenging to prevent escalation. However, having a crisis communication plan that outlines how the company will respond will ensure a timely response to an unfortunate situation.
Past Business Scandals
Of course, there are plenty of business crises to mention and lessons to learn. Here are a few recent examples of how companies failed the crisis communications test:
- Boeing: In 2024, Boeing dealt with numerous PR disasters, starting with an Alaska Airlines flight, where the door of a 737 MAX blew off one of its planes just after takeoff, resulting in multiple injuries. One month later, United Airlines 737 Max pilots reported that flight controls jammed as they landed. The company’s failure to respond decisively and appropriately caused significant reputational harm.
- Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster made headlines with a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 560 million customers. The company’s response: silence.
- Tyson Foods: As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and workers succumbed to this deadly disease, the food supply chain was put under considerable strain. Workers were forced to work long, grueling hours at a Tyson Foods plant in Iowa to keep up with demand, in close quarters. In turn, COVID spread, and many workers died, all in the name of profits. To add insult to injury, a former employee leaked that upper management had started a betting pool, wagering on how many employees would get sick. Cruel for sure, and completely lacking empathy and humanity, the company is still embroiled in wrongful death suits from families of the deceased workers.
It is easy to point out that these crises happened to large companies. However, every business can be a victim of a corporate crisis. Gone are the days when a business could ride out the storm by staying quiet. Social media is at everyone’s fingertips, and one slip-up can go viral in a matter of minutes. Therefore, every organization must be proactive and have a crisis communication plan in place.
Elements of a Crisis Communication Plan
As you formulate and establish your crisis communication plan, consider these key components:
- Core Team: Identify key crisis response team members and establish a response protocol. Team member roles include Team Leader, Spokesperson, IT Lead, Website Lead, Social Media Lead, and Legal.
- Designated Staff Responsibilities: Once the core team is identified, assign specific duties to each member. Ensure their job duties are in writing and each member knows who is responsible for collecting information, creating and disseminating key messages, and monitoring the responses.
- Train Your Spokespeople: Many organizations believe a spokesperson knows how to interact with the media. Don’t make this mistake! Instead, engage a communication professional to train your team. Remember that the media will be in an adversarial position during a crisis, and it’s their job to get the story.
- Internal Communication Policy: Determine how employees will receive key messages when a crisis occurs, such as via voicemail, company Intranet, text messages, email, or in-person meetings (or all the above). Consider who will relay information internally and by what medium. Additionally, remind employees of the company’s social media policy about what is inappropriate.
- Stakeholder List: When a crisis occurs, you will not have time to search for phone numbers, email addresses, and other contact information. Identify all key stakeholders who should receive regular updates about the situation, including vendors, suppliers, employees, local government, emergency resources, public health officials, the Board of Directors, etc.
- Media List: Compile contact information for local, national, and trade press and influential industry bloggers, online reporters, and others.
- Information Release and Verification Procedures: This outlines processes and procedures for what must happen before any internal information is released. There should be a process for ensuring that information is complete, reviewed by all necessary team members, and verified before releasing it to the public or media.
- Emergency Response: Create an after-hours contact list with phone numbers and emails to ensure timely dissemination of information
- Monitoring Tools: You can’t predict the future, but you can be vigilant about the present. Knowing what is being said about your brand in real-time can help you and your team respond quickly to an evolving situation. Google Alerts, Social Mention, and Brandwatch are just a few tools that provide companies with an easy way to monitor their brand.
- Communication: Above all, communicate. Share updates internally and externally. Begin the narrative by introducing the problem, the current status, and the proposed solution.
This blog was updated in May 2025.
YGL Enterprises Assists with Crisis Communication Plans
Part of an effective marketing strategy, a well-thought-out crisis communication plan can protect the integrity and longevity of a small business or professional services firm. A crisis communication plan ensures that information is conveyed to stakeholders and media quickly, consistently, and professionally, allowing you and your team to feel confident knowing there is a strategy.
And there is no time like the present to prepare for whatever the future may hold. Reach out to YGL Enterprises today to strategize about a crisis communication plan for your business and how it can be part of a comprehensive marketing strategy. Contact us today.
Yvonne Levine, president of YGL Enterprises, Inc., is a strategic marketing consultant who collaborates with professional services and small and mid-sized businesses to develop and execute successful marketing strategies, branding initiatives, content creation, and digital marketing plans. Helping businesses devise a targeted strategy first creates a strong foundation for tactical decisions, which drives brand awareness and positive results. Follow Yvonne on LinkedIn and Facebook.
