This page is part of the main guide to crisis communications consulting for corporations and nonprofits. Start there for the full picture of how Beltway Media approaches crisis work.
Last updated: November 2026Published by Beltway Media
Crisis preparedness planning
How to build a crisis communications plan
Build a crisis communications plan by naming a response team, setting a fast approval path, drafting holding statements and training spokespeople before anything goes wrong.
Beltway Media includes crisis preparedness planning in its fractional Chief Communications Officer service because the hardest part of a crisis is the first hour. A written plan, agreed roles and pre-approved language let corporations and nonprofits respond within minutes instead of days, without guessing who is allowed to say what.
What goes into a crisis communications plan?
A working plan has five parts: a response team with named roles, a stakeholder map, an approval process, draft holding statements for likely scenarios, and trained spokespeople. Everything else, from monitoring to post-crisis review, hangs off those five.
The pace published guidance expects is fast. According to Shadow's crisis communications plan guide, “A crisis holding statement is a pre-approved response deployed within 30 minutes of a crisis event.”
The seven steps, in order
This is the sequence Beltway Media follows when building a preparedness plan with a client.
Name the response team
Choose a crisis lead, an approver, a spokesperson and a backup for each. Write down how to reach them after hours.
Map your stakeholders
List employees, board, investors or donors, customers or members, partners, regulators and media, and decide the order you will reach them.
Set a fast approval path
Agree in advance who signs off on statements, so legal and leadership review takes minutes, not days.
List likely scenarios
Data breaches, leadership issues, product or service failures, legal actions and online criticism are common starting points.
Draft holding statements
Write short, pre-approved statements for each scenario that acknowledge the issue and say when more information will follow.
Train your spokespeople
Rehearse hard questions on camera and by phone, so the people who speak can stay calm, accurate and on message.
Test and update the plan
Walk through a scenario with the team, fix what breaks, and revisit the plan when people, products or risks change.
Published benchmarks for crisis response
Crisis plan benchmarks, with sources
Shadow's crisis communications plan guide sets out these benchmarks:
- Approvers “must be able to review and clear statements within 30 minutes, not 48 hours.”
- Monitoring “provides the team with a situational awareness feed every 30 to 60 minutes.”
- “A crisis holding statement is a pre-approved response deployed within 30 minutes of a crisis event.”
Source: How to Build a Crisis Communications Plan: Template, Framework, and ..., Shadow. These are published industry benchmarks, not Beltway Media figures.
Free checklists from Beltway Media
Beltway Media publishes free self-assessments that help organizations spot gaps before a crisis:
More guides are on the Beltway Media free tools page.
Step six deserves its own page: read about crisis media training and spokesperson development.
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask most. See all 47 answers on the crisis communications FAQ.
What goes into a crisis communications plan?
A crisis communications plan typically names a response team and spokespeople, maps stakeholders, sets an approval process and includes draft holding statements for likely scenarios. Shadow's guide also describes giving the team a situational awareness feed every 30 to 60 minutes during an event. Beltway Media builds preparedness plans as part of its fractional CCO work.
What is crisis preparedness planning?
Crisis preparedness planning is the work done before anything goes wrong: identifying likely scenarios, naming spokespeople, setting approval paths and drafting holding statements. Beltway Media lists crisis preparedness planning as part of its fractional Chief Communications Officer service, alongside media training and spokesperson development.
What is a crisis holding statement?
A holding statement is a short, pre-approved message an organization releases while facts are still being gathered. According to Shadow's crisis communications plan guide, "A crisis holding statement is a pre-approved response deployed within 30 minutes of a crisis event." Drafting these in advance is a core part of crisis preparedness planning.
How fast should an organization respond to a crisis?
Fast, with accuracy. Shadow's crisis plan guide says a team "must be able to review and clear statements within 30 minutes, not 48 hours," and describes holding statements deployed within 30 minutes of a crisis event. Meeting that pace depends on approval paths and draft statements prepared well in advance.
Should we prepare before a crisis happens?
Yes. Shadow's crisis plan guide describes holding statements deployed within 30 minutes and statement clearance within 30 minutes, not 48 hours. That speed is hard to reach without a plan, named spokespeople and pre-approved language. Beltway Media's crisis preparedness planning is designed to put those pieces in place ahead of time.
What if we are already in a crisis?
Reach out right away through beltway.media/free-consultation and say the matter is urgent. Beltway Media's process starts with a discovery call to understand the situation. Its published services center on preparedness, messaging, media relations and spokesperson support, so confirm the level of active response support you need on that first call.