In 2018, a failed transition to a new delivery partner caused KFC UK to literally run out of chicken, forcing over 700 restaurants to close. Using a general crisis plan that emphasized rapid response and an authentic brand voice, they avoided corporate excuses and released their brilliantly transparent “FCK” apology ad, turning crisis into opportunity.

A crisis communications plan is an essential investment in your brand. When a crisis occurs, a clearly defined plan ensures that your response is efficient and consistent, helping to maintain stakeholder relationships and making it easier to rebuild trust later.

When business is going well, it’s easy to think that a crisis is unlikely. Trust us: it’s inevitable. A crisis, of one size or another, will happen. Developing a comprehensive plan, agreeing on each team’s roles and responsibilities and conducting crisis media training are critical actions for every organization.

The 5 Stages of Crisis Management

Crisis communication involves preparing processes and materials for each stage of crisis management. During an incident, teams should understand where each task fits into the overall plan. This awareness helps each team make decisions on communication priorities, when to escalate efforts, who should be notified and how to move forward.

1. Prevention & Preparation

Prevention is the most important part of a crisis communications plan. Proactive PR and strong community relations work together to build a positive perception before something goes wrong.

Organizations should develop crisis response teams aligned to different levels of risk. Incidents with the highest risk to the brand will involve senior leadership and an all-hands-on-deck approach. Lower risk incidents can be managed at the local level. In every case, leaders must understand their responsibilities.

2. Detection

Early identification of a building crisis can significantly reduce its impact. Monitoring systems should be in place to track media coverage and brand sentiment across channels. A crisis isn’t always a stand-alone event. It can also be a small issue that gains momentum over time.

Once a crisis is detected, there should be a structured decision process to evaluate the nature and severity of a situation and activate the appropriate response team.

3. Containment

The containment plan should be extensive and comprehensive, with scenario planning, ready-to-use templates, prepared interview tips for spokespeople and a database of contact information for key team members and partners. This plan should always be kept up to date.

The first action involves gathering information to assess the crisis and who is affected and a reactive holding statement should be developed immediately. The communications team will determine a meeting cadence to review coverage and feedback. All materials need an efficient approval pathway to ensure that communications get out the door quickly on the appropriate channels.

4. Recovery

After the situation has stabilized, it is important not to stop communicating. Now is the time to restore confidence by stating what happened and what has changed. Engagement opportunities such as webinars and employee townhalls help disseminate accurate information to the audiences that matter most. Then earned media strategies can restart to connect with the broader industry.

5. Measurement & Continuous Improvement

Managing a crisis provides valuable lessons for future incidents. A formal debrief should evaluate the response and its results, including analysis of media coverage, social engagement and brand perception, as well as internal perspectives from employees. Finally, the crisis communications plan should be updated to reflect any learnings.

What a Crisis Communications Plan is Not:

While communications are one component of crisis management, they do not lead the crisis response efforts. A crisis communications plan is not the same as a business continuity plan (BCP), which is the operational decision-making plan that enables an organization to maintain business functions during the crisis. Each functional area needs its own plan. HR’s crisis plan manages employee impact, the finance plan manages financial matters, and so on.

Without preparation, a crisis can derail your organization’s reputation fast. Investing the time and effort into creating a crisis communications plan ensures your team won’t be left scrambling when the stakes are high.