Developing a Crisis Communications Plan

Course Description:

What if one of your employees sends an inappropriate message to a customer? What if one of your products is defective? Are you prepared to respond effectively? Are you prepared to weather a crisis that might happen tomorrow?

Many types of crises can affect a business. In a crisis, your reputation and your company’s continued success depend on your timely response. Encountering a situation that could negatively affect your business is practically unavoidable, but by having a crisis communications plan, your business will be ready to respond effectively and weather the storm.

Business continuity is critical to you and your customers. Do you have a written plan to protect your business? This course shows you how to create an effective written plan using a simple, step-by-step framework and easy-to-use templates. You can implement your new crisis communications plan in your business right away, or if you already have a plan in place, you will learn how to identify opportunities for improvement.

Having a well-developed crisis communications plan will give your business a competitive edge and protect your reputation. This course walks you through questions and issues to consider before, during, and after a crisis. It also explores how to evaluate your crisis communications plan and make it part of your business continuity plan.

PG&E understands the importance of crisis communications planning and how it could be critical for diverse suppliers. PG&E is passionate about supplier diversity and is even more committed to ensuring diverse businesses are ready to compete in today’s marketplace.

Our expert-led courses build confidence and bring valuable expertise and practical tools that you can apply to your business today. This course explains how to develop your crisis communications plan with easy-to-follow steps, best practices, and templates to guide you, whether you are a large corporation or a small family-owned business. Your course instructor, an industry expert from ARTÉMIA, Barbara Wichmann, shares her pro tips and offers her guidance on this critical task of preparing your crisis communication response.

Course Goals:

Describe a crisis communications plan and why it is essential to have one for your company.
Learn an easy-to-follow framework to develop a crisis communications plan and prepared statements.
Gain expert guidance on implementing your plan before, during, and after a crisis, including a basic understanding of media relations.

Downloadable Takeaway:

Developing a Crisis Communications Plan Course Workbook

Course Instructor: Barbara Wichmann, Founder and CEO ARTÉMIA Communications

Barbara Wichmann is the founder and CEO of ARTÉMIA Communications, a full-service strategic communications and digital marketing agency. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in the Netherlands, Barbara earned a master’s degree in the US and worked internationally as a consultant before founding ARTÉMIA as a women’s business enterprise (WBE) in 1995. As both consultant and entrepreneur, Barbara developed and executed strategic communications, marketing, and VIP partnership development campaigns for clients on multiple continents. In all her work, Barbara takes a decidedly international approach, something she credits to living in the Netherlands during her formative years. Like its founder, ARTÉMIA stays true to its global focus by incorporating localization services in its offerings, ensuring that all content is culturally relevant in the US and abroad. Barbara has won a wide variety of coverage for her clients in many media outlets; completed prestigious corporate, government, and academic executive training programs; and received significant WBE awards. She serves on the board of WBEC-Pacific and is the Chair of the WBENC Forum Government Committee and the Business Advisory Board of Toolworks, a San Francisco–based social enterprise.