Crisis Communications Playbook template for Google Docs

The first pages of the Crisis Communications Playbook template

Every page (7)

Overview

In a crisis the first hour decides how the story is told. This playbook prepares for it in advance: four scenarios with a lead and a response clock, a RACI chart, a 60-minute approval path, a glossary of pre-drafted messages and a half-day drill with scoring and follow-up.

The sample belongs to a fictional media company with 240 staff, and it covers outages, data leaks, legal claims and staff conduct. Replace the scenarios, names, phone numbers, deadlines and message list with your own, and rehearse the approval path before you need it.

Useful for

A communications director writing a first crisis plan before a regulator or client asks for one
A small media or agency team agreeing who approves a public statement and how fast
A leadership team preparing a half-day crisis drill with timed messages and scoring

What's included

A scenarios page with a comparison table, a risk map and lessons from the last year
A RACI chart for seven tasks, with the deciding roles defined
An approvals page that sets the 60-minute clock, the stand-ins and the after-action review
A glossary of 13 pre-drafted messages with when to use each
A training day agenda, preparation checklist and drill process, plus a guide to making it yours

How to use it

1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
2
Replace the scenarios, severity levels and leads with the events your organisation is most likely to face.
3
Update the RACI chart and approval path with real names, and check that exactly one person is accountable for each task.
4
Edit the pre-drafted messages for your tone, and schedule the training day with a named owner for each preparation task.
5
Delete the guide page, then share the playbook with the crisis team and print the approvals page for each of them.

What you need

Requirements

A Google account with access to Google Drive

Works with

Google Docs
Microsoft Word (download the .docx)

Questions

Are the company, people and numbers real?

No. Sandpiper Media, the people, phone numbers and every figure in the playbook are fictional sample data. Replace them with your own before you share it.

How long should approvals take?

The sample allows 60 minutes from first alert to the first public statement: 20 to draft, 15 for legal, 15 for the chief executive and 10 to publish.

How often should we run a drill?

Run one every quarter with a new scenario and a stopwatch. Score speed, accuracy and tone, and update the playbook within five days of every drill.

#crisis-communications
#crisis-communications-playbook
#pr-plan
#raci-chart
#media-response
#crisis-drill
#google-docs-template

More Google Docs templates More marketing templates

PR Strategy
Docs + Word8 pages
Free
Media Pitch Document
Docs + Word7 pages
Free
Market Research Report
Docs + Word6 pages
Free

Also in Marketing

All marketing templates

Get this template