Effective Employee Crisis Communication

Crises for a company can take many forms. But whether they are accidental, financial, legal, or otherwise, there is one thing that all affected companies have in common: a critical need for a successful managerial and operational response as well as effective communication with external and internal stakeholders.
Over the past two decades a growing number of companies have developed and improved their customized approaches to communicating with external stakeholders in the event of a crisis. However, far too many companies still either do not realize or fail to act upon the fact that effective employee communication is also crucial to managing business crises.
Regardless of a company's size, reputation or industry, preparing for effective employee communication in times of crisis inevitably calls for putting the proper organizational structure and processes in place before a crisis hits. This includes assigning responsibilities, training employees and establishing instruments which enable seamless vertical (top-down as well as bottom-up) and horizontal employee communication, even in the face of extreme stress. Read on.