Aside from established corporations in today’s business world, a startling amount of small businesses have not given the proper amount of attention to a vital component of their communications strategy—a crisis management plan. Why is this? Because it is sometimes a factor left properly unconsidered until the moment it’s really needed.
A crisis management plan can be thought of as a type of insurance policy established to guard against the negative perception of a product or service. Consequently, this usually occurs at the moment when time is short and the demand for answers approaches an overwhelming crescendo. While many home health care agencies understand the necessity of spelling out their own crisis management plan, a closer look at the vital components of this undertaking may find more than a few details lacking.
A sound crisis management plan should follow an established order for dealing with an unexpected problem—and keep that problem from becoming a situation. All employees of the company should be familiar with the plan, its use and be able to follow a set of established procedures that will chart a path for the benefit of everyone involved.
Necessary components for a home health care agency crisis management plan should, at a minimum, include explicit instructions at each specific stage of a situation. There is the information-gathering stage, the potential “hold statement” and requisite call-notification list. This notification list ensures that the chain of command within the agency is aware of all pertinent facts. If the media is also aware of the situation, it may necessitate the use of the “hold statement”—usually a generic press statement indicating that a situation is present, facts are being gathered and further information will be disseminated at the proper time. Lastly, it should be common knowledge among all employees that only authorized personnel should speak publicly about the matter at hand.
As previously noted, a crisis management plan isn’t something usually considered until the point it is desperately needed. If you home health care agency doesn’t have a specific policy in place, the time to draft a plan is yesterday. If your agency does have a plan in place, make certain that every single employee is not only familiar with its contents, but can put the plan into action at a moment’s notice. Does your home health care agency have a plan? And if so, how familiar is the plan to all of your employees?
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