CHALLENGE

What if terrorists struck at a major U.S. transportation system? While individual companies, law enforcement and intelligence agencies work around the clock to ensure that never happens, one leading transportation provider wanted to augment its operational readiness by testing how well it would or would not be able to communicate should the unthinkable happen. This company understood that should such an event ever occur, the way it communicated – or failed to communicate – might make a bad situation much worse. And, they were determined to ensure they were ready. While this company was represented by Fleishman-Hillard (our parent company), Stratacomm was tapped to help due to our crisis experience and transportation expertise.

STRATEGIC APPROACH

Working with the client, we helped create and then run a day-long, table-top crisis communications drill. With incredible detail, the drill simulated the real thing and put company personnel through the paces of an unfolding terror attack to see how they reacted, responded and communicated with all of their internal and external audiences.

We created a highly-detailed, plausible and realistic scenario for the test group that involved an “attack” on the transportation system. Every few minutes, we added a new wrinkle in the unfolding set of events, just as would occur from the first phone call through the aftermath of the crisis. We sent in situational and operational updates and created inbound media reports. We placed phone calls into the room where drill leaders role-played security and operations personnel, reporters, relevant federal communicators, Hill staff and the public, among other stakeholders. As you might expect, we also tossed in a few unexpected curve balls, as would happen in an actual crisis.

Video cameras were installed so the drill leaders could view the war room and listen in on conversations in real-time without intruding on the drill. Videotapes also were used for a post-mortem deconstruction of performance upon the drill’s conclusion.

RESULTS

The transportation company’s most senior leadership proclaimed our drill to be a very important success for the company. It gave the company a very real sense of what it might be like to communicate in the chaos that would surround an attack on its system. Not only did the drill uncover many things that worked well, but also it uncovered areas where communications mistakes were made and where new tools and tactics would further improve their ability to rapidly gather, verify and disseminate critical information to a range of internal and external audiences. While this was a communications drill, the company updated some of its operational procedures based upon lessons learned. They still are working hard to ensure such an attack never happens, but they are much better prepared to respond should one occur.

IS A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS DRILL RIGHT FOR YOU?

A crisis communications drill can:

• Complement your existing operational readiness to integrate fully those programs with your communications capabilities should a crisis arise;
• Help you preselect your team and identify roles for your crisis response and communications team;
• Evaluate your current structure for information gathering, verifying, disseminating and related decision-making;
• Identify gaps in your existing communications readiness overall;
• Foster continued communications readiness and create an ongoing process for your communications/government relations team to evaluate their preparedness to deal with a significant crisis;
• Create or evolve materials, communications vehicles and messages today that could quickly be updated and deployed tomorrow should a crisis occur (dark website, secure intranet, fact sheets on publicly-appropriate facts about the issue, etc.);
• Ensure the fast-evolving digital communications are integrated (reactive monitoring and proactive communicating) into your organization’s communications readiness; and
• Ensure buy-in at the top and from all relevant personnel across your organization.

To learn more, contact John Fitzpatrick.