Crisis Communication Plan Structure

Distribution List and Associated Documents

 Who is to receive:

•  A copy of the plan.
• Other associated plans.
• The Checklists.
• The Policy and Procedures.

Lists the personnel who are to

receive that plan and the documents you may need to refer to. e.g. Response Plan, Emergency evacuation procedures, Recovery Plan, etc.

Introduction / Executive Summary

Broad description of the

plan to be executed including:

•  Priorities.
• Opportunities.
• Assumptions.

Provides an overall picture of what is to occur in order to maintain Crisis Communication capability.

Glossary

• Lists terms used in the document.

Provides an explanation of terms, definitions and acronyms that are used throughout your Crisis Communication Plan.

Risk Assessment

• Identified risks (Crisis scenarios)
• Likelihood and impact of risk
• Consequences of risks.

May be a separate plan or part of your Crisis Communication Plan. Allows you to plan to minimise risks by putting mitigation CC strategies in place.

Business Impact Analysis

(Extracted from BCM Team)

• Comprehensive list of business activities.
• Their effect on operations.
• Resource requirements
• Critical activity priority list.

Identifies the effect of different external and internal impacts upon the various parts of your business in times of crisis. Identifies the time that your business can survive without critical activities.

Incident Response Plan

• Documents the tasks that will be required to manage the initial phase of an incident and the individual responsible for each task.

May be a separate plan or part of your BCP. Provides all the information the organisation needs to ensure that it can manage the immediate

Plan Activation

Clear statement of circumstances when the:

• Plan should be invoked.
• List of personnel authorised to invoke the plan.

Sets out the process for mobilising and standing down the

Crisis Communication Team

List and provide:

•  All personnel with a role.
• All explanation of roles.
• The backup personnel for each role.

Identifies and lists the members of your planning, Response and Recovery Teams and their roles as well as a suitable backup should the primary be unavailable.

Communication

List:

• key stakeholders, priorities, categories and communication modes
• reporting arrangements
•  control and coordination arrangements
• key timings.

Guides all internal and external communications in regards to the incident response to ensure that communications match incident needs.

Contact Lists Recovery

Detail:

• Internal contact lists.
•     Emergency services contact lists.
• External contact lists.

Provides easy access to all

contact numbers, including team members, emergency personnel, staff, suppliers and key customers that could be required in a crisis.

Recovery Plan

Detail:

• Recovery steps.
• RTO’s.
• Dependencies.
• Restoration steps.

Provides the overall strategy to maintain or recover critical business operations, recover property losses, and resume normal operations. Should include the time up to which serious business impact or loss will occur.

Testing and Maintenance

• Schedule of testing to be performed.
• Review/ update timetables and deadlines.
• Update plan revision history.

Outlines the specific training

requirements necessary for carrying out the response and recovery activities as well as a schedule defining the types and frequency of drills and exercises to be conducted. Also defines when and how the program will be reviewed and evaluated.