Services & Seminars
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN REVIEW/DEVELOPMENT
We write or update your crisis plan to communicate with the news media, employees/families, government agencies, and community residents. You obtain a user-friendly plan with checklists, forms and "fill-in-the-blank" news release templates ready to hand out, e-mail or fax. Your plan will be compatible with your site’s Emergency Response Plan, LEPC or EPA/USCG Area Contingency Plan, and the federally-required National Incident Management System (NIMS).
NIMS ICS, PIO AND JIC TRAINING
NIMS requires your EOC and ERT members complete NIMS Incident Command System (ICS) training. Your Public Information Officer (PIO) must know how to set up and manage a Joint Information Center (JIC) with industry, local, state & federal agencies in a Unified Command structure. Classroom training is available for NIMS 100 through 800 courses. 2-day PIO/JIC training course can be followed by a NIMS ICS/EOC/JIC Tabletop, Functional, or Full-Scale Exercise.
ADVANCED CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
Your top managers learn how to become primary or backup spokespersons to key stakeholders, able to handle telephone and in-person media interviews as well as news conferences or media briefings. Develop “key messages” and practice "bridging" techniques when you face three veteran news reporters asking tough questions in realistic on-camera interviews. 8-hour seminar with a 50-page workbook on Day 1 plus up to 2 hours of on-camera interviews with each student on Day 2.
INTERMEDIATE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
Designed for first responders and supervisors on-site 24 hours a day. Learn how to respond to agencies, employees, community, and news reporters who call in or show up during the initial hours of an incident before senior management can arrive on-site. Learn who to notify, how to warn your neighbors, and how to respond to arriving reporters. 4-hour seminar with a 30-page workbook on Day 1 plus a 60-minute private on-camera interview with each student on Day 1 or 2.
BASIC CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS
The "basics" for receptionists, security staff, and other employees who answer phone calls from the media and public. Discover what to say and NOT say to reporters, and how to “defer and refer” media inquiries to authorized spokespersons. Learn how to log and handle employee family concerns, citizen complaints and pushy reporters without losing your cool. 4-hour seminar with a 20-page workbook includes 60-minutes of group role-play scenarios with the entire class.
DRILLS AND EXERCISES
Our facilitators join your Exercise Design Team to help develop specific objectives, design the scenario and event cards, and keep your Tabletop, Functional or Full-Scale Exercise on time and under budget. We can furnish experienced exercise controllers, evaluators, and simulators to role-play as news reporters, elected officials, concerned citizens, and worried employee spouses. Our debriefing/evaluation process provides quantifiable results and a detailed After Action Report and a Corrective Action Improvement Plan meeting state and federal HSEEP or PREP Exercise standards.