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

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

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

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

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

Watching Hurricane Laura's impacts along the Gulf Coast was a frightening reminder of the critical role public information plays during a disaster. Officials recommended that evacuees move to hotels to enable them to self-isolate, leaving those without the financial means to do so, heading to evacuation centres. It was another poignant reminder of how disasters always amplify the vulnerability of our most vulnerable. Amanda Coleman wrote a blog about the need to address vulne

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

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

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