Communication
Decide what will be communicated, when, to whom, how and by whom, inside and outside the organization, and test the plan before a disruption tests it.
01What applies
Determine the internal and external communications the BCMS requires. Settle what will be communicated, when, with whom, how and by whom. All five determinations are required. The who is the one most often missing: a plan that says what will be said and when, but not who is authorised to say it, produces either silence or several conflicting voices in the first hour. The plan has to cover customers, suppliers, regulators, emergency services, staff and families where relevant. It also has to cover the channels that will still work when the usual ones do not.
02Why it matters
A disruption is a communication event before it is anything else. The clause gives the organization a way to decide in advance who speaks, on what channel, with what authority. It also connects the continuity work to the corporate affairs function that usually owns the media relationship, which is where continuity plans most often lose control of the message.
03What good looks like
Build a one-page matrix for the interested parties: audience, message, channel, timing, sender, backup channel. Name one authorised external voice and one deputy. Write the holding statement for the three most likely disruptions. Test one channel in the next exercise and record what failed. Keep a printed copy where the response team works.
04Evidence an auditor asks for
Ask who is allowed to speak to a regulator in the first hour and who is allowed to speak to the press. If the two answers conflict, the plan is not settled.
| Evidence | The record |
|---|---|
| Communication plan | A plan addressing each of the five determinations, internal and external |
| Authority | Named communicators with authority to speak externally, and deputies |
| Use | Evidence the plan has been used or tested, not merely written |
05Where it commonly fails
- Plan covers what and when but never says who is authorised
- External communication deferred to corporate affairs with no continuity input
- Plan untested, so the channel assumptions fail on first use
06What to do before the estimate
Write the one-page matrix and the three holding statements. Test one channel with the response team this quarter.