The crisis communications center (CCC) is the nexus for all communications among the teams involved in disaster recovery. It serves to eliminate confusion, establish confidence among working partners, and act as the single point of contact between the organization and all external bodies. Not all communications will be routed through the CCC, but it will set the rules by which all disaster recovery communications will be conducted.
Although the term "crisis communications center" evokes images of banks of phones and swarms of bustling clerks, its primary attribute is simplicity. The CCC is a single point of contact between the affected organization, its leadership, and the outside world. Most of the time this will be a single trusted individual connected to the organization by phone, Internet, or personal contact.
The CCC establishes the three most critical communications needs in the event of a disaster: control, veracity, and authority.
Prerequisites
Three things are needed for any crisis communications center: the equipment to operate it, the personnel to staff it, and the rules by which it will operate. Location is not a primary concern. If the disaster is limited to a portion of the site affected, the CCC will be on the premises. If the disaster prevents the whole site from being used, the CCC will be located at a preestablished backup site specified in the organization's disaster recovery plan.
Equipment
A CCC will need to include the following equipment:
Typically this equipment will be available at the affected location outside the disaster zone. If the disaster encompasses the entire site, it must be provided at the backup location, if present, or at a temporary crisis communications location determined by management. Note that all e-mail addresses, phone and fax numbers, and other contact information will be in the disaster recovery plan that each manager must have with them.
Personnel
The crisis communications center will be staffed by at least one senior administrative assistant who is knowledgeable in the disaster recovery plan. Above all, this person must know the command structure and be familiar to all the management teams involved in disaster recovery.
Depending on the size of the organization and its disaster communications needs, more personnel may be required, particularly for multiple shifts. Whenever possible, all personnel should be internal to the organization.
Rules
The most basic rule is this: The crisis communications center is responsible for establishing and maintaining control over communications, for the veracity of the information, and for speaking with the authority of leadership. The following documentation must be present:
Additionally, any requirements established for the particular situation by management and senior management, which must be documented when they are received and used, need to be at hand.
Setup: in-house
For most disasters, the crisis communications center will operate out of the senior manager's administrative assistant's office. When the contact numbers and addresses are known, the authority and veracity of the person do not need to be established, and control is not an issue. Equipment and information will be in place or provided as per the disaster recovery plan. The most critical part of the setup of any CCC is establishing its role in the handling of disaster recovery-related communications. It is far easier to do this from the original location, even if it must be done from a side office on borrowed equipment.
If several staffs occupy the same location, leadership may move to have a single common crisis communications center established to be manned in the event of disaster involving one or more staffs. The common CCC needs to be established under the leadership responsible for all the staffs sharing the facility, so that responsibility and costs are centralized. No one staff should be made to bear the full cost, even if the common CCC is located in its area. This location, once established, should not be changed, and it should not be used for any other purpose.
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