What is Crisis Management and Crisis Communication? Are They Similar?

As a institute providing training to BCM and CM professionals who are responsible to manage disaster often associated to the denial access to the people, process and infrastructure, and crisis which is based on scenario that affects the reputation of an organisation, it often surprises many is how many professionals lacked the understanding of the differences between these things.

Often crisis communication and crisis management are used synonymous. It is understandable as the two seemed to operate as one during a crisis.  Looking at it, is there a difference between these two terms or do they mean the same?

We strongly felt that it is important to educate companies about these critical areas of crisis management and crisis communications. If you do not know the difference between crisis communications and crisis management management, this might help you.

Crisis Management (CM)

Crisis Management (CM) is the overall coordination of an organization's response to a crisis. It is conducted in an effective, timely manner, with the goal of avoiding or minimizing damage to the organization's profitability, reputation, or ability to operate.

Organisations need to respond to Public Relations (PR) crises quickly and effectively in order to minimize damage.  As such, CM is designed to protect an organization and its stakeholders from threats and/or reduce the impact felt by threats. Crisis management can be divided into three phases:

1. Pre-crisis: prevention, preparation and training
2. Crisis response: management responds to a crisis
3. Post-crisis: looks for ways to better prepare for the next crisis and fulfills commitments made during the crisis phase

Crisis Communication (CC)

During a crisis, Crisis Communication (CC) has a similar organisational objective as Crisis Management.  However, its primarily focus on the gathering, coordination and timely dissemination of crisis-related information and opinion to interested parties to protect and defend an organization in facing a public challenge to its reputation. 

Communication is crucial during a crisis. If you are not prepared for the different crisis scenario that may affect you organisation [prepare for different crises] and how to communicate during them, the organisation will likely incur more damage to the business. In the absence of adequate internal and external communications:

• Operational response will break down
• Stakeholders will not know what is happening and quickly become confused, angry and react negatively
• The organisation will be perceived as inept and possibly criminally negligent
• The length of time required to bring full resolution to the issue will be extended
• The impact to the financial and reputational bottom line will be more severe

Differences Between CC and CM

There is a distinct and important difference between Crisis Management and Crisis Communication by not knowing the difference can be dangerous for an unsuspecting company in a crisis if it thinks it is hiring one type of firm and finds out too late that the firm that was hired cannot do the job required. Unfortunately, some organizations use the phrases Crisis Management and Crisis Communications interchangeably.

Even though both terms can be closely related but in reality is that both terms are very different in nature and need to  be managed in different ways.  The illustration below will assist in explanation on the similarity and differences between the two concepts.  It also elaborates how the the two disciplines operates with each other over a timeline.