Build a ready-to-deploy crisis communication plan with stakeholder-specific messaging, timeline protocols, and escalation procedures for any organizational crisis.
## ROLE You are a crisis communications strategist who has guided organizations through data breaches, product recalls, executive scandals, layoffs, regulatory investigations, and PR disasters. You know that the first 24 hours define the narrative, and preparation is the difference between a crisis that builds trust and one that destroys it. ## OBJECTIVE Develop a comprehensive crisis management communication plan for [COMPANY NAME] that can be activated immediately when a crisis occurs, with pre-drafted messaging templates, clear escalation paths, and stakeholder-specific communication strategies. ## TASK **STEP 1: CRISIS CLASSIFICATION FRAMEWORK** Define crisis tiers for your organization: *Tier 1 — Critical (Existential Threat):* - Examples: Major data breach, executive criminal investigation, product causing harm, regulatory shutdown - Response time: Within 1 hour - Decision authority: CEO + Board Chair - External communication: Required within 4 hours *Tier 2 — Serious (Significant Impact):* - Examples: Major service outage, employee misconduct, lawsuit filing, negative viral media coverage - Response time: Within 4 hours - Decision authority: CEO + General Counsel - External communication: Required within 24 hours *Tier 3 — Moderate (Contained Impact):* - Examples: Minor data incident, customer complaint escalation, competitive threat, employee relations issue - Response time: Within 24 hours - Decision authority: VP-level + Communications - External communication: As needed, monitored **STEP 2: CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM** Define the team and roles: | Role | Primary | Backup | Responsibilities | |------|---------|--------|-----------------| | Crisis Lead | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Overall decision authority, final message approval | | Spokesperson | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | All external media communication | | Legal Counsel | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Legal review of all communications, liability assessment | | Communications Lead | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Message drafting, channel coordination, monitoring | | Operations Lead | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Incident remediation, technical response | | HR Lead | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Internal employee communication, support | | Customer Success Lead | [NAME/TITLE] | [NAME/TITLE] | Direct customer communication, account management | **STEP 3: FIRST 24-HOUR PROTOCOL** *Hour 0-1: Detection and Assembly* - Crisis detected by: [MONITORING SYSTEM / EMPLOYEE / MEDIA / CUSTOMER] - Activate crisis communication channel: [SLACK CHANNEL / WAR ROOM / BRIDGE LINE] - Assemble core crisis team - Gather confirmed facts — separate known from speculated - Assess crisis tier classification *Hour 1-4: Assessment and Initial Response* - Draft holding statement (acknowledges situation, promises updates) - Legal review of all proposed communications - Identify all affected stakeholder groups - Prepare internal communication for employees - Establish monitoring of social media, news, and customer channels - Set regular briefing cadence: [EVERY 1/2/4 HOURS] *Hour 4-12: Active Management* - Issue first substantive external communication - Direct outreach to top [NUMBER] customers/partners - Media inquiry response protocol activated - Begin documenting timeline and decisions for post-crisis review - Update board of directors *Hour 12-24: Stabilization* - Follow-up communication with additional details and remediation steps - Employee town hall or all-hands briefing - Social media monitoring and response - Prepare Day 2 communication plan - Assess need for ongoing daily updates **STEP 4: STAKEHOLDER-SPECIFIC MESSAGING** *Employees:* - Channel: [ALL-HANDS EMAIL / SLACK / TOWN HALL] - Tone: Transparent, empathetic, action-oriented - Template: "Team — I want to share what we know about [SITUATION]. Here are the facts: [FACTS]. Here is what we are doing: [ACTIONS]. Here is what I need from you: [ASK]. I will update you again at [TIME]." - Key principle: Employees hear it from leadership before they hear it from the media *Customers:* - Channel: [EMAIL / IN-APP / ACCOUNT MANAGER OUTREACH] - Tone: Accountable, solution-focused, specific - Template: "We want to inform you about [SITUATION]. What happened: [BRIEF FACTS]. How this affects you: [IMPACT]. What we are doing: [REMEDIATION]. What you should do: [CUSTOMER ACTIONS]. Next update: [TIMELINE]." - Key principle: Specificity about impact and remediation builds trust *Media:* - Channel: [PRESS RELEASE / SPOKESPERSON STATEMENT / PRESS CONFERENCE] - Tone: Professional, factual, measured - Template: "[COMPANY NAME] is aware of [SITUATION]. We are actively [RESPONSE ACTIONS]. The safety/security/satisfaction of our [CUSTOMERS/USERS/EMPLOYEES] is our top priority. We will provide updates as our investigation progresses." - Key principle: Never speculate, never minimize, never blame *Investors/Board:* - Channel: [DIRECT CALL / CONFIDENTIAL MEMO] - Tone: Candid, strategic, forward-looking - Template: "[SITUATION OVERVIEW]. Financial exposure estimate: [RANGE]. Legal assessment: [SUMMARY]. Remediation plan: [ACTIONS AND TIMELINE]. Board action required: [SPECIFIC ASKS]." - Key principle: Full transparency on exposure and risk *Regulators:* - Channel: [FORMAL NOTIFICATION / REGULATORY FILING] - Tone: Cooperative, precise, documented - Template: Per legal counsel guidance and regulatory requirements - Key principle: Proactive notification is always better than reactive **STEP 5: DO AND DO NOT LIST** *Always Do:* - Lead with empathy and accountability - Communicate early and often, even when you lack full information - Stick to confirmed facts - Provide specific next steps and timelines - Preserve all records and communications - Have legal review every external statement *Never Do:* - Speculate about causes before investigation is complete - Minimize the impact on affected parties - Blame employees, partners, or customers publicly - Go silent hoping the story will die - Delete or alter any records related to the incident - Communicate inconsistently across stakeholder groups **STEP 6: POST-CRISIS RECOVERY** After the immediate crisis is resolved: - Conduct blameless post-mortem within 2 weeks - Publish transparency report if customer-facing - Implement systemic fixes with public timeline - Follow up with all directly affected stakeholders - Update crisis plan based on lessons learned - Media rehabilitation strategy for reputation recovery - Employee morale and trust rebuilding actions ## INPUT **Company name**: [COMPANY NAME] **Industry**: [INDUSTRY] **Company size**: [EMPLOYEE COUNT] **Key stakeholder groups**: [CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, INVESTORS, REGULATORS, PARTNERS] **Most likely crisis scenarios**: [TOP 3-5 SCENARIOS YOU WANT TO PREPARE FOR] **Current crisis preparedness**: [NONE / BASIC / MATURE] **Spokesperson**: [WHO SPEAKS FOR THE COMPANY]
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Replace these placeholders with your own content before using the prompt.
[COMPANY NAME][NUMBER][SITUATION][FACTS][ACTIONS][ASK][TIME][BRIEF FACTS][IMPACT][REMEDIATION][CUSTOMER ACTIONS][TIMELINE][RESPONSE ACTIONS][SITUATION OVERVIEW][RANGE][SUMMARY][ACTIONS AND TIMELINE][SPECIFIC ASKS][INDUSTRY][EMPLOYEE COUNT][WHO SPEAKS FOR THE COMPANY]