Communication planning provides clear guidelines in the event of a disaster.
A disaster recovery communication plan is an integral element in a disaster recovery or business continuity plan. The aim of the communication plan is to ensure that the team responsible for disaster recovery has a strategy for communicating with employees, suppliers, customers, the media and other interested parties. The plan should also identify the communication tools that the organization will use during disaster recovery.
Responsibilities
Establish responsibilities for managing communications and carrying out specific communication tasks during disaster recovery. Appoint an employee with public relations experience to handle external communication with the media, suppliers, customers and shareholders. Select a member of the human resources team to handle employee communications.
Awareness
Develop a proactive communication program to raise employees' awareness of disaster recovery, the procedures and the implications. According to Continuity Central, a proactive awareness program creates greater employee involvement and gives them a sense of personal responsibility for business continuity and company assets.
Tools
Arrange provision of an emergency operations centre equipped with telecommunications and email facilities. Consider using a commercial messaging solution that automatically sends standard or ad-hoc messages to a pre-defined list and monitors who has received and responded to a message. This can speed up communications during disaster recovery and free resources for other essential tasks.
Contacts
Prepare a list of all internal and external contacts with telephone numbers and email addresses. Provide copies to members of the disaster recovery team and store a copy offsite in a secure place. Update the contact list at regular intervals.
Employees
Identify the essential employees who must keep working in the event of a disaster. Prioritize communications for essential employees. Include guidelines on emergency working infrastructure, including location of offsite or mobile facilities and emergency communication tools. Prepare procedures for non-essential employees during disaster recovery.
External Stakeholders
Communication with external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, the media and investors is essential to maintain confidence in the business. According to the Institute for Crisis Management, any crisis or problem that disrupts a business can trigger negative stakeholder reactions and impact an organization's financial strength. Make provisional plans for a crisis press conference and prepare templates for crisis announcements to stakeholders.
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