b'PLAN TO STAY AHEAD OF A CRISISWhen it comes to crisis communication, the most important piece is to have a strategy in place before disaster hits.Alex MartinIT DOESNT MATTERwhat areapart of your business planning strategy of the agriculture sector youre in 3 CATEGORIES OF from day one.whether youre in an office or on the farm,CRISIS-TYPE SITUATIONS At Gro Alliance, Schweigert says what disaster could strike at some point. TheseTHAT COULD APPEARhelps prepare for crises in the future is an disasters could look differently based onexercise called scenario planning. This is where you are. For some, it might lookconducted during the annual manage-like a pandemic such as COVID-19. Others1. ment team meeting. He and his team might experience natural disasters thatdiscuss what would happen if the indus-wipe out a crop. Incapacitationtry went in a certain directionthat way, Unfortunately, crises are part of theof one orthey can map out responses to each sce-more of the business game, and you never knowprincipalnario, including the task leader in charge when theyre going to hit. So, how are youoperators 2. of employees, clients and suppliers. supposed to plan your communication,Youre not going to exactly plan when you dont know what youre goingNaturalthe crisis or situation that comes up, to be up against or when? disasters Schweigert says, noting this planning You need to show your customers or3. generally means employees know where your employees that youre organized andinformation needs to go, where informa-confidentthat you can handle what- The three Pstion may come from and how to com- poisons, ever crisis youre dealing with, says Chrispests ormunicate to stakeholders in a more Cornelius, executive assistant of Corneliuspathogens organized fashion. Seed and president of the IndependentIn addition, ensuring your team and Professional Seed Association. Theresemployees are educated on the process is nothing quite so unsettling as having animperative to distribute the correct infor-issue and having nobody know whatsmation to stakeholders.going on. Want to watch the full conversation between The buck stops at the desk of the There are three categories of crisis- our panelists? Watch the episode at: leadership team. Its important these type situations that could appear in mostwww.youtube.com/watch?v=5zS6ooOMlCopeople are on the same page, Cornelius operations, says Julie Smith, researchsays. Youve got to all be on board in associate professor in the Department ofdelivering the message.Animal and Veterinary Sciences with thefire danger risk gauge.One way to guarantee a consistent University of Vermont.If its green, everythings normal andmessage, she says, is to choose a spokes-1.Incapacitation of one or more of thegood, but if you go to the other end ofmansomeone who thinks quickly on principal operators the scale, youre in that red danger zone.their feet and can handle tough ques-2. Natural disasters Then, were in a really severe crisis, shetions, while being sympathetic. 3. The three Pspoisons, pests orsays, adding that severe crises will haveIts important to deliver a clear mes-pathogens both short-term and long-term impacts.sage, she says. If a customer asks, What Preparedness broadly is important,To prevent that unsettling feelingare you guys doing about this? Theres a and then from there, building the crisisduring a crisis, its important to create ablack and white answer with no room for communication plan thats appropri- strategy before disaster strikes to kick offinterpretation.ate for the different types of events youa communication plan.With a plan in place and an idea of might experience, Smith says.You dont start crisis communica- the communication chain, all three agree: When determining the severity of ation when you have a crisis, says Jimyoull be able to get through a crisis.situation, Smith likes to keep in mind aSchweigert, president of Gro Alliance andYou dont have a crisis in front of you scalewhile it can look like many things,upcoming chair of the American Seedright now, says Schweigert. But you will. typically, she imagines something like aTrade Association. It really should beSo, start getting ready today.SW66/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2022'