Harvard | Crisis Communication

Written By Johnell Malone

Project

Harvard | Crisis Communication

Role

Communication Team Lead

Duration

9 Weeks

A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION

Crisis communication is often an overlooked aspect of an organization. The speed of communication and the tactical nature of that communication require a level of fairly in-depth preparation and planning to allow for a flawless as possible execution. In a 2023 report called “Capterra’s Crisis Communication Survey”, 243 executives were survey which revealed that only 49% had a formal crisis communication plan, 28% had an informal plan (undocumented) and 23% didn’t have one at all. I was tasked with leading a group project of communication professions to develop a suite of communication plans for Harvard University.


CHALLENGE

A crisis can arrive in a nearly unlimited amount of scenarios, but they can generally be grouped into categories like scandals, natural disasters, workplace violence and so forth. I directed our team to do independent research and arrive at five likely crisis scenarios that Harvard University might face. I used a series of polls to move the group to a satisfied team consensus on the top crisis the felt strongly were the impost important, which were:

  • Active Shooter

  • Cyberattacks and Data Breaches

  • Natural Disasters

  • Public Health Crisis

  • Plagiarism

  • Sexual Violence on Campus

SOLUTION

As team lead, I was monitored deadlines and critical milestones in the development of two products to address the crisis communication needs of Harvard. We developed a palette of plans for:

  • Cyberattacks and Data Breaches

  • Natural Disasters

  • Public Health Crisis

  • Plagiarism

  • Sexual Violence on Campus

The crisis of scenario of an active shooter received a more comprehensive treatment with the creation of 16 annexes that describe in detail what the crisis team would do, who they should consist of, order of operation in terms of handling the media, messaging templates, ethical and legal guidelines and evaluation tools.

TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT STEPS

Crisis communication requires maintenance and updating in addition to practice. It is critical that periodically each crisis scenario is reviewed by leadership and reevaluated. Many corporate executives can be lulled into a false sense of security when they go years without any major crisis scenario occurring. Having several crisis communication plans acts like health insurance, only its reputation insurance. It’s not needed until it’s needed. A well researched crisis communication plan can also act as early warning detection system, spotting the early signs of a crisis forming or other threat actors that may damage an organization’s reputation and bottom line.

Johnell Malone
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