Investigating the Methods and Effectiveness of Crisis Communication

Crises are major challenges all organizations must prepare for. Managers must have a sound knowledge of how to deal with these situations if and when they arise. Crisis communication should be a key element in these preparations. While it is important for an organization to have a crisis communication plan, this does not guarantee success. Organizations must be dynamic and tailor their message specifically for the target audience and crisis situation. This research takes a case study approach to investigate how one public sector organization, a University, communicated with a key stakeholder group, their students, following a series of earthquakes. We find that the organization had an updated crisis management plan, practiced implementation procedures, and a well-trained experienced communication team. The organization used a range of communication tools to reach their key target audience. In addition, it was able to improvise and adjust its communication strategy. In order to meet the information needs of their target audience, new media were used, two way communication was implemented, messages were more precisely targeted, and press communications were altered. However, survey results showed the organization struggled to manage communications across multiple events.