Decentralized communications is understandable and even desirable in large, complex organizations. But in an emergency or fast-moving situation, you need a crisis-response team. With the coronavirus, we are seeing this happening at all levels: President Trump appointed Vice President Pence to head up the national effort. Dartmouth, and many other universities, have created task forces. A school district I worked with this week created a team made up of the superintendent, as well as all of the school principals. Intel has a standing pandemic leadership team in place, as part of its business continuity planning.
Ideally these teams should be small, five to seven people. You need to include a member of the leadership team, someone from corporate communications, an HR executive, and an expert in the area of concern. This team should:
Meet regularly to monitor the situation closely as it continues to evolve.
Be the main source of information about the crisis.
Give regular updates to key constituencies.
Be as transparent as possible. Explain what you know, what you don’t know, and your sources of information.
Be succinct. Long turgid messages written by health professionals or lawyers will not be read or easily understood.
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