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Crisis Playbook for Leaders "Coronavirus - 5 Step Plan" & Communication Templates

Planning for a crisis is an unusual event. Research shows most organizations don’t have a crisis plan in place. Restore or preserve your organization's reputation with our 5 step plan.

Crisis Playbook for Leaders "Coronavirus - 5 Step Plan" & Communication Templates

  • Be prepared now and in the future.
  • Strategically preserve and restore an organization’s reputation.
  • Provide support for clients, internal and extenal teams.

Crisis Playbook for Leaders "Coronavirus - 5 Step Plan"

Step #1: Be visible and transparent

  • Step out in front of the issue. Don't hide.
  • Be transparent.
  • Don’t be afraid to say what you know and what you don’t know.

Step #2: Create a plan. Separate the Coronavirus impact vs. internal issues

  • What are you going to do?
  • Determine how much of this is internally inflicted.
  • Determine how much of this is externally inflicted.
  • Develop an action plan. What are your 6 month, 1, 3 & 5 year action plan items to turn your company around?

Step #3: Reach out to stakeholders

  • Once a plan is in place, paint the picture for what you are going to look like according to your short and long term action plan.
  • If done well you are going to enter this with good momentum and you will exit this with good momentum.
  • You will probably gain market share in the process.
  • Be open with your constituencies. Be transparent with them. Customers, employees, partners. Provide them with regular quarterly updates.

Step #4: Make one change at a time

  • Move aggressively. This includes head count realignments, key programs, etc.

Step #5: Reach out to others. Provide solutions to your team and clients

  • Reach out to third parties for their input. Explore options. Insurance and liability protection for example.

 

Communication Templates

Sample #1

During this time of uncertainty, we are committed to keeping our clients & staff informed and up-to-date.
We want to let you know the procedures we’ve implemented to keep you and our staff healthy and the policy changes to accommodate our clients during this difficult time.

Clean equipment:
We’re focused on keeping our work areas safe. We take extra precautions to regularly sanitize all the areas/surfaces that clients come in contact with, including _______, _________ and _______ after each client visit. 

Cancellation policy:
If you’re ill or you are feeling like you may be coming down with something please contact us. Our cancellation policy has been revised during the cornovirus situation. You have X days prior to your scheduled trip to receive a full refund and up to X days for a 50% refund. If you're not feeling well enough to participate, we encourage you to let us know. Please stay home and take care of yourself. Your health and the health of our staff is our priority.

If you have any concerns please let us know.  

Sample #2

Our thoughts go out to the individuals, businesses and communities that have been affected by COVID-19. 

I want to make you aware of the precautions we have taken to protect the health and safety of our employees, their families, our clients and our communities while maintaining a constant level of client service. We are using the latest software technology that enables our employees to efficiently and effectively provide client service remotely if they are unable to report to our offices. We have also established remote working guidelines in each of our lines of business to help ensure we meet deadlines to deliver our work to you.

We continue to monitor this quickly evolving situation and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

Sample #3

As the the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to have an increased impact on our communities, we believe it’s important to take a moment to evaluate the situation and better understand appropriate levels of concern and response. As such, we want you to know we have taken precautions to maintain a healthy and safe environment.

Our thoughts go out to all those who have been affected. The health and safety of our clients, employees, and communities is our highest priority. Our actions are informed by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (the World Health Organization), along with guidance from local and U.S. government and public health agencies. 

This situation is very much in flux, and conditions may change and change quite quickly. We feel staying informed is very important, especially should new protocols be issued. For your convenience, we offer several ways for you to stay in contact with us. Phone us at _____________. Email us at _______________.

We appreciate your understanding and efforts as we help to keep everyone in our communities happy, safe, and healthy. 

 

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