Crisis Communications Training for a Regional Charity Ahead of a Sensitive Initiative Launch

Challenge

A regional charity was preparing to launch a new initiative that it believed in strongly, but which it recognised could attract significant media scrutiny and present serious communications challenges. While the SLT were confident in the initiative's alignment with their values, they wanted to build confidence across the team and ensure staff were equipped to communicate the new direction professionally and effectively before going public.

Solution

Alder designed and delivered an intensive one-day on-site training course built entirely around the initiative, its implications and the specific challenges it presented. Support included:

- Presentations on crisis communications principles and media-handling, tailored to the charity's context and the initiative at hand
- Bespoke tabletop exercises exploring likely scenarios and stakeholder reactions
- Roleplays and Q&A sessions focused on anticipated lines of enquiry
- Collaborative discussion throughout to surface unconsidered risks and pressure-test the charity's thinking

Outcome

- The training surfaced scenarios and questions the charity had not previously considered, prompting a reassessment of their proposed timelines and strategy
- The SLT gained a clearer picture of which areas needed further development before launch
- The charity left with a strong foundation from which to refine their communications strategy and greater confidence in their ability to handle scrutiny when the time came