Readying organizations and leaders to navigate emerging issues in 2025

Each year offers communications leaders another opportunity to evolve their approach to crisis management before an issue inevitably hits. Having a plan doesn’t mean that you won’t customize and adapt your approach. But it can make you, and more importantly, your organization’s leadership, feel prepared to move quickly and develop a more coordinated response.

As we’re thinking about how to best support our clients and partners in the year ahead, here are a few recommendations to refresh your approach to crisis comms planning.  

Does your crisis plan consider new and emerging issues you are likely to face?

The fundamentals of a crisis response are often true regardless of the issue, but we are facing a rise in new threats like ransomware and AI-driven misinformation. Cybersecurity incidents may lead to extended periods of downtime for crucial technologies and sometimes have specific legal notification requirements. Further, the threat of extreme weather and climate events is reaching areas of the country that may not historically have been impacted. If you haven’t often experienced the threat of severe weather, you may not have community management guidelines in place to communicate with your audiences during an emergency. Take stock of new and emerging risks so you can gather the right response team and action plan.

Are you prepared for a post-election environment?

New political administrations taking shape at both the state and national levels mean more opportunities where brands may be called upon to comment. Are your public-facing spokespeople appropriately prepared if they receive a question about policy developments? Deciding how you address these important and sometimes difficult questions is specific to your brand and organizational values. Axios and Speechwriters of Color have a great decision tree (page 8) as a starting point for these conversations.

Are you setting the stage with strategic reporter engagement and proactive communications?

Working with a reporter for the first time during a crisis can be a challenge. Reporters are doing their job when they follow up on tips or ask the tough questions. But it makes it much easier for us to do ours on the PR side when they already have an understanding of your organization, key initiatives and values. Who are the reporters who cover your beat? Who would be the right fit for an exclusive interview on a difficult topic if needed? If you don’t have these relationships in place already, a key part of your planning is to identify proactive touchpoints in the months ahead to build a stronger communications foundation.

Is your employee communications component equally strong?

One of the biggest challenges I see is viewing employee communications as an afterthought in crisis management. Taken to an extreme, this can actually perpetuate an issue further – fueling speculation and sometimes public frustration. If there are any trust or reputation impacts, employees are where you need to start. In healthcare, nurses are the way the majority of patients interact with a health system. This is similar to the case with frontline workers in retail, transportation, and across the public sector. Strong employee communications can power your public response, and it’s important to make sure it’s well accounted for in your crisis processes.

Over 80% of leaders who have been through a crisis say they strongly recommend preparing ahead of time, which is our sign to get ahead where we can. This is even more important as we address new and expanding risks. You may need to establish or expand lines of communication with legal, safety, IT and others who can inform your understanding of potential crises and fuel collaboration.

When every minute counts in a crisis response, gathering the right team ahead of time allows you to test and address gaps before a worst-case scenario occurs.

Are there other steps you’re taking to update your issues management approach? Reach out over email or on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.