Communication Risk Assessment - TCW Academy Course
Approximate time to complete course: 30 minutes
This course is ideal for:
- Professionals in all fields
- Communication professionals
- CEOs
Any time you are preparing a communications plan – from a comprehensive plan launching a new product or service, or something as simple as a staff newsletter – it’s critically important to consider all potential challenges and potholes that may impact your communication’s effectiveness.
Failure to assess and plan for risks in communications is a surefire way to ensure that your communications plan is less than completely successful. Risk assessment must be baked into every communications effort that you develop and implement. Not only will the strategies discussed in this course identify and account for the potential landmines along the way, it will greatly enhance the effectiveness of your entire communications plan because you will be viewing it through various new lenses and strengthening areas that you didn’t even realize needed strengthening. Ultimately, communications risk assessment could be the difference between the ultimate success or failure of a communications strategy.
In this course we will explore how to embed comprehensive risk assessment into your communication planning so you are able to predict, and plan for, every possible challenge, and launch a successful communication strategy.
Types of Risk
In the first section of the course, you will become familiar with the communications cycle and begin to understand the types of risk that you may encounter in your communication strategies.
Risk Assessment Process
Here, you will leverage a Risk Assessment Matrix to measure the various risks in your communication planning.
Mistakes in Communication Risk Assessment
In this final section, you will identify common mistakes in communications risk assessment so they may be avoided.
In this course, you will:
- Understand the types of risk that you may encounter in your communication strategies,
- Explore the risk assessment process and leverage a matrix to guide communication planning, and
- Identify common mistakes in communications risk assessment so they may be avoided
Additional Resources
Who Is On My Organization’s Crisis Communications Team?
Your organization’s crisis communications team is possibly the most important collection of people who will navigate every emergency and crisis your organization experiences. These folks are not only the conduit to your critical stakeholders, often they are the gatekeepers and evaluators of risk and decisions. They serve as the organization’s central core and coordinate the decisions and actions of other staff.
A very large organization likely has a sizable communications team to fulfill the responsibilities of a crisis communications team. However, your organization may have a communications team of one or just a handful of employees.
The question you must consider is how do you create an effective crisis communications team with people who are not professional communicators?
Don’t do THIS with Reporters – 4 Don’ts for Media Relations
Some days, media relations is exhilarating, and some days it is quite a chore. Any seasoned media relations professional or senior management staff in an organization dreads the phone call or email from a reporter asking for comment on a story you would prefer they not do.
But the fact of the matter is they are likely not going away. You’re going to have to talk to them.
Here, we will share the four don’ts.
A Complaint Management System to Turn a Critic Into an Advocate
Every organization has their critics and must have a complaint management plan to prevent a critic from becoming a crisis.
Sometimes, criticism is warranted. But if we’re being honest, organizations don’t always receive complaints that are warranted, or even sane.
But whether or not we believe a complaint (or the complainer) to be reasonable and rational, we must come to an internal agreement in our organization on a complaint management system. Use these 10 keys to develop and implement an effective complaint management system to turn a critic into an advocate.
Communication is NOT My Job
Many professionals believe that communication should be left to the communicators – those hired for that role or who naturally excel in communication. You may be reading this because you have come to a similar conclusion and the headline caught your attention.
Communication is most definitely your job. It does not matter if you are a CEO, customer service representative, bus driver, budget analyst, or public relations manager – you are a communicator.
Reporters are Looking for a Sensational Story – Are You Providing One?
As outrage continues to accelerate in today’s society, media are constantly seeking the next sensational story to attract viewers and sell ads.
Though positive media stories serve to benefit your organization, sensational stories are about them – not you. They are about stirring controversy; latching on to social media trends; selling ads.
The best way to avoid being the centerpiece of a sensational story by the news media is to evaluate your organization and the ways your leadership and employees are engaging publicly.
10 Ways to Influence People
Dale Carnegie literally wrote the book on influence with, How to Win Friends and Influence People, originally published in 1936.
Rather than summarize the contents of his book, we will provide insights from lessons learned by decades of our own experiences. Of course, a quick cross-reference with Carnegie’s book finds several overlaps because much of his book aligns to our experiences.
Take the tips detailed here and find ways to integrate them into your work. Whether you are the CEO or an entry-level employee, the ability to influence people will serve you very well.
