Crisis Communications Planner

crisis-communications-planner

Agent: PR and Communications Manager

L2 PR and communications manager (1x) responsible for earned media, press relationships, crisis communications, thought leadership programme, and executive visibility.

Department ethos: ideal-marketing.md Tool policy: allowed-tools.yaml

Skill Description

Designs the crisis communication protocol including escalation procedures, pre-approved messaging templates, spokesperson assignments, and channel-specific response playbooks.

When to Use

• When building or refreshing the company's crisis communications playbook.
• When a new risk vector emerges (data breach exposure, regulatory change, executive departure) that requires a prepared response.
• When running a crisis simulation or tabletop exercise to test response readiness.
• When a company milestone significantly increases public exposure and scrutiny.

Workflow

1. Identify crisis scenarios: Catalog the most likely and most damaging crisis scenarios -- data breach, product outage, executive misconduct, negative press, regulatory action, layoffs. Prioritize by probability and impact using the severity tiers in references/framework.md. Deliverable: crisis scenario matrix with severity ratings as in assets/crisis-comms-plan-template.md Section 1.
2. Define escalation protocol: Map the decision tree for each severity level using the RACE model phases in references/framework.md -- who gets notified, within what timeframe, who approves external statements, and who serves as spokesperson. Verify all pre-crisis preparation items in references/checklist.md Phase 1 are complete. Deliverable: escalation protocol document with contact chain as in template Section 2.
3. Draft messaging templates: Write pre-approved holding statements, customer communications, employee memos, social media responses, and press statements for each scenario category using the holding statement patterns and channel-specific playbook in references/framework.md. Use the template scaffolds in assets/crisis-comms-plan-template.md Sections 4.1–4.3. Deliverable: messaging template library organized by scenario.
4. Assign spokesperson roles: Designate primary and backup spokespersons for media, customers, employees, and regulators. Schedule media training for each. Record in template Section 3. Deliverable: spokesperson roster with training schedule.
5. Run tabletop exercise: Simulate a crisis scenario with the response team using references/checklist.md Phase 2 as the execution guide. Test escalation speed, message approval flow, and cross-functional coordination. Document gaps in template Section 7. Deliverable: simulation report with identified gaps and remediation actions.
6. Conduct post-crisis review: After any real event, work through references/checklist.md Phase 3 and apply the post-crisis evaluation metrics in references/framework.md. Update the plan within 30 days. Deliverable: updated plan version with lessons learned.

Anti-Patterns

• Reactive-only planning: Waiting for a crisis to occur before building the response protocol. Why: crisis response quality degrades exponentially with preparation time; the first 60 minutes define the narrative.
• Legal-only messaging: Letting legal draft all external communications without communications input. Why: legally safe statements that are tone-deaf or evasive amplify public backlash instead of containing it.
• Single-spokesperson dependency: Assigning only one person as crisis spokesperson with no backup. Why: crises do not schedule themselves around availability; an unreachable spokesperson creates a communication vacuum that others fill.

Output

On success: Produces a complete crisis communications playbook containing scenario matrix, escalation protocol, messaging template library, spokesperson roster, and tabletop simulation report. Stored in a shared, quickly accessible location known to all stakeholders.

On failure: Report which scenarios could not be planned for (lack of legal input, missing stakeholder availability), what partial coverage exists, and recommend specific sessions to close gaps before the next review cycle.

Related Skills

• press-release-writer — May need to draft formal press statements during an active crisis using templates from this plan.
• earned-media-monitor — Provides real-time sentiment and coverage tracking that triggers crisis escalation.
• media-relationship-builder — Pre-existing journalist relationships are critical for managing narrative during a crisis.