#crisiscommunications

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Shawna Bruce

Jul 1, 2022
3 min

The Puck Stops Here

It's no secret Canadians love their hockey. You could hear a collective gasp across the country last December when Hockey Canada cancelled the World Juniors mid-tournament due to the rising Covid cases. Now we're all wondering about the future of this tournament with the brand crisis facing Hockey Canada. Photo Credit: Unsplash - Markus Spiske Fans and sponsors were shocked to learn that a woman had filed a civil lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and

Shawna Bruce

May 16, 2022
2 min

Collaboration Creates Resilience

What does it mean to collaborate? We throw this word around often in the emergency management sector. In my world, I promote the need for us to work together in partnership, share resources, and maximize training opportunities – this all boils down to collaboration. I’ve recently had the opportunity to travel within Alberta, onto Ontario and last week to New Brunswick to deliver crisis communications and media training workshops. The clients were from different sectors (Regio

Shawna Bruce

May 16, 2022
1 min

Are you ready to PERFORM?

After you write your crisis communications plan, prepare your team, and practice together - what's next? I like to call this the "Perform" phase. Now is when you bring your plan, training, experience, and discussions together and respond to an emergency or crisis event. Your adrenaline is pumping, you start to sweat a little, and you need to start performing in your role. Lean in with confidence, ask questions, wear the "public" hat and consider how decisions will impact your

Shawna Bruce

May 16, 2022
2 min

Don't forget to PRACTICE

It's great you have that #crisiscommunications plan in a binder on your shelf and training for your role completed - but now what? The next step is to PRACTICE. And here's a reality check: practice may not always lead to perfect (especially in #emergencymanagement), but it does build your confidence to perform your role, take calculated risks, make decisions in a fast-paced environment and learn what others are expecting of you in that role. Practice also builds trust and tea

How PREPARED are your communicators to respond in a crisis?

Shawna Bruce

May 16, 2022
2 min

How PREPARED are your communicators to respond in a crisis?

Yesterday I got so caught up reading all of the great posts about events and activities surrounding #EPWeek2022 that I forgot to post my own in this space about "Having a Plan!" So today, I will launch into the second step - to #PREPARE your team. One observation I often take away when working with clients is the "assumption" that their corporate communications team is prepared to support them in a crisis. And well, we all know what happens when we "assume." So please set you

Clarity in Crisis: Lessons Learned from Dr. Mileti

Shawna Bruce

Feb 9, 2021
6 min

Clarity in Crisis: Lessons Learned from Dr. Mileti

The Disaster and Emergency Management world lost a tremendous academic last week with the passing of Dr. Dennis Mileti. Dr. Mileti was a well-known and beloved natural hazards researcher and a leading risk communicator who inspired generations with the practical application of his research. He made it easy for the rest of us to understand academia. My latest blog is dedicated to Dr. Mileti’s research and includes references to his work (and other tips) to support writing with

Shawna Bruce

Jan 18, 2021
2 min

Leading Your Crisis with Compassion

Last week I posted on LinkedIn about the 5 C's of Crisis Communication: Compassion, Clarity, Consistency, Commitment and Calm. In a series of blog posts, I am drilling down into the five components and how we can apply them to our crisis communications approaches, starting with compassion. For more than 30 years, Michael West's research has focused on organizational culture and effectiveness, particularly in health services. This article "How to lead with compassion in times

Integrity - Our Moral Compass in Leadership

Shawna Bruce

Jan 2, 2021
3 min

Integrity - Our Moral Compass in Leadership

One of the essential characteristics of leadership is integrity. This past week we have witnessed politicians publicly caught out and ...

The Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout - We have one shot at getting this right.

Shawna Bruce

Dec 4, 2020
3 min

The Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout - We have one shot at getting this right.

This week across Canada, we had announcements of the leaders behind the rollout of the Coronavirus vaccine. It was not a huge surprise to learn they come from a military background. Those announced to date (and I would bet there will be more) are respected and valued for the leadership, strategic planning, and abilities to manage a campaign of this scope, scale and importance. The country is in good hands for this next stage of the pandemic. I read with interest this article

How do we make Lessons Identified - Lessons Learned?

Shawna Bruce

Sep 28, 2020
2 min

How do we make Lessons Identified - Lessons Learned?

I just finished completing a Work Action Plan for the Emergency Communications team at a major post-secondary institution. They invited me into their EOC during the early days of COVID-19 to help them streamline their processes and review their Emergency Communications Plan. We held a debrief (see that blog here) soon afterward. Then, I compiled a plan for them that brought together all of their previous "lessons identified" into one actionable document. The key to any lesson

Who's on First? - Defining your Crisis Communications Team

Shawna Bruce

Jul 14, 2020
3 min

Who's on First? - Defining your Crisis Communications Team

Delegating staff to support your crisis communications response when you are in the thick of a crisis does not work well. It could compare with starting a baseball game without the players knowing what positions they are playing. To borrow a line from Abbott and Costello, "Who's on First?" Organizations need to build their teams to ensure they can respond as quickly as possible to an incident when it happens. They need a game plan. Roles and Responsibilities Consider the ro

Shawna Bruce

Jun 19, 2020
1 min

5 STEP COMMUNICATIONS DEBRIEF PROCESS

Debriefs are routine occurrences in the field of emergency management and military or paramilitary organizations. However, they may be a new concept to many communicators who supported their organizations' response to the COVID-19 health pandemic. Earlier this week, I posted a blog on the importance of deconstructing and reconstructing your communications approach to understand what worked well and where to fill in the gaps. (If you’re interested you can find it at https://ww

Debriefing your Crisis Communications Team

Shawna Bruce

Jun 12, 2020
3 min

Debriefing your Crisis Communications Team

From the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis, the role of communicators escalated to a whole new level of engagement.