In a world run by a non-stop news cycle and social media, transparency is key, according to Bri Kelly, a vice president at Thompson & Co. (T&C), a full-service Anchorage public relations (PR), digital, and advocacy agency. Maintaining clarity and consistency begins with pre-established crisis communications management protocols. During a crisis, it’s essential that everyone is aligned around a central messaging hub, ideally overseen by the core team leadership and supported by its PR advisors or communications team.

“People need actionable information—not speculation or jargon,” Kelly says. “Consistency doesn’t mean repeating the same message but ensuring that updates stay aligned with your core values and previously shared facts, even as new information emerges.”

The best way to maintain clear and consistent messaging is to start with a situation fact sheet and message box, according to Laurie Fagnani, founder and CEO of MSI Communications, a full-service advertising agency. The message box will evolve as new information comes to light. But putting messages down on paper allows management, including legal and operations, to vet comments for accuracy and risk.

Fagnani emphasizes that there are standard ways for organizations to communicate during a crisis. This includes Unified Command and the Incident Command System, which are often used by the government and other entities during emergencies. “The protocols and standardization of the response steps allow practitioners to step into their assigned role and immediately get to work,” she says.

Common tactics for conveying messages during a crisis include press releases, press conferences, incident tours, multimedia press kits, incident response websites, social media use, and town hall meetings.

“Not only do they owe it to them as members of the team but employees will serve as the company’s unofficial spokespeople,” says Embley, who’s seen both sides as a TV reporter and as a spokesperson for the Anchorage School District. “During a crisis, members of the public will seek out employees to try and find answers and gain insight.”

Every organization and business should have a crisis communications plan to guide actions in an emergency. When developing a plan, MSI Communications identifies the roles and responsibilities of each team member according to positions established in its Incident Command System Joint Information Center. It identifies audiences and then creates a customized stakeholder contact list. “The very first tactic is usually a holding statement, which may or may not be used by the media,” says Karen Miovas, the agency’s director of client services. “It is very helpful to get something in writing and formalize the established approval process in the middle of what can be a stressful situation.”

Companies dealing with an evolving situation or a one-time incident need alignment on their fact sheet and message box, which may be a pre-approved list of key messages that can be communicated. “Your dedicated crisis comms [communications] team needs to know what they can and cannot say to the media,” Miovas says. “The community liaison team and the phone bank also use this information in their direct communication with interested members of the public and VIP stakeholder groups.”

To Miovas, an effective crisis comms plan includes tactics such as “widening your bench.” Formal responses should identify other response participants, such as state troopers, wildlife officials, local police/fire department, and the US Coast Guard. “Oftentimes, the nature of the crisis event determines which state and federal entities must be involved,” she says. “Each team member brings a different perspective to the response and demonstrates to the public that you are working cooperatively to respond to the incident.”

According to Embley, organizations should begin their planning with a checklist of what needs to happen in a crisis. And they should have a checklist for each of the key positions on their leadership team. For communicators, for example, they should determine their key audience, how they want to communicate with them, and what they want to say. “A crisis comms plan should include draft questions, answers, and resolutions for potential scenarios,” she says. “It also should include considerations on what to say for those negatively impacted by the situation.”

Another challenge is ensuring message coordination across teams, platforms, and time zones. “Without a centralized crisis communications response protocol, inconsistent statements can confuse stakeholders or damage trust,” she says.

Transparency is not just ethical; it’s strategic, Kelly maintains. “Admitting what you don’t know or where you erred can build credibility and defuse speculation,” she says. “In Alaska, where communities are tight-knit and trust is paramount, engaging in authentic, culturally attuned communication goes a long way. Honesty, especially when paired with clear, actionable steps, is remembered and helps with an organization’s resiliency after a crisis.”

Richards adds, “Your dedicated crisis team will usually have a pre-existing relationship with the media. They should have some working knowledge of who to contact and what kind of coverage you can expect to receive. In Alaska, the list of media is not very long, so it’s important to protect your relationships by only delivering factual information during an incident.”

“Crisis communications management plans must go beyond the booklet sitting on your desk or saved to your desktop,” Kelly maintains. “Regular drills and tabletop exercises with leadership and staff help expose gaps and refine processes. Equally important is keeping your appendices updated, including your contact lists, holding statements, and communication tools. Newsletters, social media content, and internal messaging must be functional and accessible.”

To enhance its crisis preparedness, Alyeska conducts several large emergency response exercises annually, bringing together incident management teams, regulators, and industry partners. The drills simulate crises, such as oil spills from tankers or pipelines, and are frequently evaluated by third parties.

“Our public information team gets bombarded with simulated questions from the public and media,” Dugan explains. “We practice the process of answering questions, tracking down accurate and timely information, and putting it into a format that builds credibility and trust.”

Alyeska organizes smaller, focused training sessions on different aspects of crisis communication. Team members from various divisions work together regularly, fostering seamless collaboration during emergencies.

Businesses that have an in-house communications lead or team can invest in training through the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Embley says. “PRSA has excellent resources and a strong code of ethics to help guide and support communicators,” she emphasizes. “The PRSA Alaska Chapter has a reputation of being one of the best in the country, due largely to its members—practitioners statewide—who are the top of their field and regularly implement best practices.”

But if a company does not have an in-house communication function, it can build relationships with solo practitioners, a communications/PR agency, and other external experts who can help if needed. “Many practitioners can provide customized plans, checklists, media contact lists, and even conduct mock crisis trainings with your staff,” Embley says.

As a tactical improvement, Alaska Communications has reduced the number of people needed to approve crisis messages from five or six individuals down to two or three. “Reducing excess layers of approval has improved our response time and allowed other subject-matter experts to focus on their specific area of the crisis response,” Cavanaugh says.

Dugan stresses the importance of preparing for potential crises by drafting talking points and communication plans for issues—even if they never escalate. “I don’t regret the time I’ve taken because it builds capacity; it’s a library of information,” she says. “Sometimes issues can reemerge, or there might be a similar issue where we can use that groundwork, and it saves time.”

How can companies gauge the success of crisis communications? According to Fagnani, companies often rate success as “no news is good news” and applaud efforts to keep them out of the news. She clarifies, “As practitioners, we say, ‘accurate news is good news.’ The goal of the crisis comms team is to become a trusted source of factual information for all audiences. Achieving this requires good, factual communication as often as the situation requires. However, a lack of negative media coverage or social media discourse can be a measure of success.”

To Embley, one way to measure success is to evaluate the company’s reputation, whether that’s quantitatively, such as potential changes in sales, or qualitatively through anecdotal feedback. She says, “One of the truest measures of success is not by making everyone happy but by making sure your response was empathetic and your organization honestly and thoughtfully supported those impacted.”