Proper Planning and Preparation

Posted by Kate Betts on 1st November 2023

I’m trying to work on planning some upcoming media training, but am finding myself dipping in and out of the drama that is the Covid inquiry.

Like many people I am sure, I am fascinated, appalled and not surprised at what is being said.

The lack of preparation, the poor communication and decision-making, the confusion over roles and responsibilities, the infighting;  it is the sort of muddle that really does not help in the middle of a crisis.

And now that the handling of that crisis is being reviewed in the inquiry, add to that muddle, the loss of important documents and evidence since, and apparent lack of logging of what was going on at the time, and it is turning out (unfortunately) to be a case study of how not to handle a crisis.

When we work with organisations to draw up and exercise their crisis communications plans, we cover so many of the issues that are coming out in the inquiry. We encourage horizon-scanning and consideration of ‘what-ifs’; we consider who does what; we discuss how people work together and communicate; who has authority to make decisions; how decisions should be logged, and how you take care of a team under tremendous pressure.

I am sure even with the best planning in the world, the pandemic would still have been a massive challenge. At the time we talked about it being unprecedented and it was.

But it does bring to mind the old saying: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Although I am sure that Dominic Cummings would add the other P to that which is often quoted, but I will leave out here as per the BBC’s caveat on the live coverage: ‘contains language which may offend’.