The Birth of Crisis Communication

Following my own set standards, I must say that it has been ages since I last posted an entry on this site.  Nevertheless, I have been monitoring developments left and right.

My lack of entries shows that I have been busy these past few weeks, and that is because of a major project.  I am launching a new training program for our company, Guthrie-Jensen.  Announcing: the birth of our Crisis Communication.  I have been designing this program since last year, and it is finally seeing its debut on March 24 to 26, at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.

The program helps companies and their professionals prepare and respond to crises, specifically in terms of how any organization communicates with its stakeholders — its customers, the government, and yes, the media.

For starters, did you know that according to an international study, an estimated 83% companies are likely to experience an organizational crisis in the next five years?  And barely half of them have plans in place!

It has been a long wait, thanks to all the research, data gathering, and all the interviews we needed to make.  As I was designing the program, I was reminded of public relations courses I have taken in the past and how people usually view PR.  It’s quite unfortunate really that PR has wrongly gained notoriety for being a profession full of spinning.

I must say that in designing Crisis Communication, I feel proud about the opportunity to open the lines for clear communication between an organization and its stakeholders.  And because I HAD a hand — the lead — in designing the program, I am very excited about injecting the program with the right perspective of communicating within the context of corporate social responsibility.

It is very easy to teach communicating with stakeholders, even preparing for crises.  For many companies, this is already a given.  But I  really am pleased to advocate the need for CSR through this program.

I am also proud to say that this is the first time that actual crisis communication training is being conducted in the Philippines, and that such training is made very accessible to companies that wish to be prepared for any organizational crisis.

Seven days to go!

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