Crisis Communication
RGM° · Training
Crisis Playbook Design
Pre-built playbook saves critical hours. Scenarios, decision frameworks, templates, escalation, stakeholders, testing.
Why playbook matters
In crisis, time matters. Pre-built playbook saves critical hours. Tested playbook prevents amateur mistakes. Documented playbook ensures consistency under stress.
Scenarios
- Product recall.
- Data breach (multi-tier severity).
- Executive misconduct.
- Workplace incident.
- Customer service viral incident.
- Misinformation campaign.
- Geopolitical / political events.
- Environmental incident.
- Cybersecurity attack.
- Supplier / partner crisis affecting you.
Decision frameworks
- Severity assessment criteria.
- Escalation triggers per severity.
- Decision authority per severity.
- External advisor activation thresholds.
- Customer notification thresholds.
- Public statement triggers.
- CEO involvement criteria.
Templates
- Holding statement per scenario.
- Customer notification per scenario.
- Employee communication.
- Investor communication.
- Press release templates.
- Social post templates.
- Press Q&A draft.
- Internal FAQ.
Escalation
- Level 1: Operational, contained.
- Level 2: Customer-affecting, expanding.
- Level 3: Brand-affecting, viral risk.
- Level 4: Existential, public.
- Each level triggers different response.
- De-escalation criteria too.
Stakeholder maps
- Internal: employees, board, investors.
- External: customers, media, regulators, partners.
- Communication priority per stakeholder.
- Channel per stakeholder.
- Frequency per stakeholder.
- Owner per stakeholder.
Testing
- Tabletop exercises quarterly.
- Tested scenarios refined.
- Cross-functional team participation.
- External facilitator helpful.
- Post-exercise debrief.
- Playbook updated based on learnings.
Advanced playbook
- Living playbook updated quarterly.
- Scenario library expanded as risks emerge.
- Tabletop exercises with rotating scenarios.
- External crisis advisor on retainer.
- Annual mock crisis with full team.
- Stakeholder maps refreshed annually.
- Template library audited.
- Cross-functional ownership.
- Documentation in accessible location.
- Post-crisis playbook updates.
Common mistakes
- Playbook static for years.
- Templates outdated.
- Decision authority unclear.
- Stakeholder maps incomplete.
- Tabletop exercises skipped.
- Single-person knowledge holders.
- Cross-functional teams not involved in design.
- External advisor not pre-arranged.
- Post-crisis updates skipped.
- Playbook locked away when crisis hits.
Operating checklist
- Scenario library current
- Decision frameworks documented
- Templates pre-drafted
- Escalation paths clear
- Stakeholder maps current
- Tabletop exercises quarterly
- External advisor pre-arranged
- Cross-functional ownership
- Accessible documentation
- Post-crisis update process
Sources and further reading
- Institute for Crisis Management
- PRSA crisis management resources
- Edelman Trust Barometer
- Steven Fink crisis management research
- James Lukaszewski crisis frameworks
- RGM Brand Marketing series
- Industry crisis case studies (Tylenol, J&J, Boeing)
- Crisis Resource Center
- PR Week crisis coverage
- Forbes Crisis Management
- Reputation Institute
- Harvard Business Review crisis articles
Part of the Crisis Communication series.