Crisis communications plans untested for more than twelve months are not plans, they are documents. This checklist guides a quarterly drill that produces real readiness data.
Drill scenario design
Each drill uses one of three scenario archetypes: a product safety event, a leadership reputational event, or an operational disruption affecting customers. The specific scenario rotates each quarter. Scenarios are realistic but fictionalised to remove confounding emotional load.
Twelve-step drill protocol
Trigger notification; stand-up of the response team; situation assessment; legal consultation; first holding statement drafted and approved; internal employee notification; key customer notification; press statement issued; social channels coordinated; spokesperson briefed; media interview simulated; post-drill retrospective. Each step is timed, owners recorded, and bottlenecks documented.
Drill outcomes
A drill produces three outputs: a timing report against the response targets in the crisis plan, an updated owner list reflecting role changes since the last drill, and three recommended improvements with named owners and deadlines. Drills without owned follow-through are theatre.
Last updated May 2026 · Filed under Checklists