Crisis Communications

Posted by Colleen Kelleron February 5, 2010

ITCOMM Community Resources: Crisis Communications

Note: See recent resources in the November 20, 2015 Virtual Coffee Shop discussion on Emergency Communications.

IT Crisis Communications

See also Emergency Communications constituency group notes and sample university crisis message templates attached at the bottom of this page.

Several IT communicators were interested in a notebook I created at Rice for IT Crisis Communications. I am sharing the outline of the book, sample pages, and templates so you can create your own book. This book was created about one month after listening to a webcast of Gerard Braud's presentation on Crisis Communications Plans. http://www.braudcommunications.com/crisiscommunications.html

    • IT Crisis Communication Notebooks - who gets them?

    • What's in the Crisis Communication notebooks?

        • Overview of Crisis Communication Plan

        • Steps to Take (spelled out exactly, including names, URLs, mailing list addresses and instructions, and individual contact email addresses and phone numbers)

            • Notify IT first

        • What to Say (pre-written and approved by IT Administration prior to any portents of a crisis)

        • List of telephone numbers for ride-out team, relief team, and off-site support team members

        • Conference call quick start instructions

        • Disaster Recovery planning, General Crisis planning, and specific Hurricane Planning Guide (created by IT Security Officer)

            • List of phone numbers for all IT Staff members

            • List of services provided to employees by University after Hurricane Ike (September 2008). Remember for 95% of the city, there was no power, no traffic lights, no infrastructure for either the city or for families of workers for a minimum of one week after the storm. The campus never lost these amenities and it was like an oasis of power outlets, lights, flushing toilets, and air conditioning.

                • bags of ice were available through housing and dining

                • child care was set up in the rec center

                • showers were available in three primary general use facilities on campus

                • laundry facilities were available in the dorms