When a crisis breaks out, how well positioned are you to deal with it from a communication point of view? Do you have a strategy in place? Does your strategy include the latest social media tools, which employees may have come to rely on as a communication channel?

The more employees communicate publically using social media, the higher the chances of you needing to deal with a communication crisis that starts internally. On a positive note, however, these tools also allow for the quick and effective dissemination of information and can dispel harmful rumours if the organization comes under attack from external parties. Use these resources to help you plan further in the event of a crisis situation:

1. The impact of social media in a crisis

2. Top Tips: The 10-point guide to effective employee communication during a company crisis

3. Top Tips: Four key crisis communication questions

Find out more in this issue of the monthly round-up!

1. Training
   Forthcoming training courses including...
   Mastering Intranet Management


2. Events
   Must-attend conferences including...
   Building the business case for Social Media - Europe


3. Case Studies
   The latest case studies and features from Melcrum
   The impact of social media in a crisis


4. News & Blogs
   The latest industry news, views and opinion including...
   BA gets "Up To Speed" with a new employee magazine
   
   
5. Discussions
   The hottest debates from Melcrum's thriving discussion forums, including...
   Any thoughts on interesting or innovative ways to recognize employees?


6. Top Tips/Toolkits/Templates
   Quick resources to help you find solutions to your daily challenges, including....
   The 10-point guide to effective employee communication during a company crisis
   
   
7. Jobs
   The best internal and corporate communication jobs around including...
   Internal Communications Business Partner - Hudson

Strategic Communication Research Forum

Are you an internal communication executive faced with the challenges of communicating in a large complex organization? Melcrum's Forum provides members with senior-level networking, independent advice, detailed research and analysis of key trends, together with proven tools and strategies. We advise internal communication leaders at 69% of the Global Fortune 100 largest organizations. Shouldn't you join them? Contact Ray Edun for further details.

Mastering Intranet Management - 21st-22nd September 2010, University of Warwick
Melcrum's two-day intranets masterclass equips intranet managers with the skills and core competencies required to transform intranets into much more collaborative resources and become first class portals for business critical information.

The Internal Communication Black Belt Program
Black Belt Module 1 - 8th-9th September/30th September-1st October, 2010
Being an effective communicator: Black Belt 1 is the original Black Belt course, designed to equip you with the skills and core competencies needed to produce and deliver exceptional internal communications.

Black Belt Module 2 - 23rd-24th September/4th-5th November, 2010
Becoming a trusted advisor: Black Belt 2 looks at how you can add value by acting as a partner and advisor, equipping and enabling others to take on an enhanced role in the communication process.

Building the Business Case for Social Media in Internal Communication - 14th-15th September 2010
You'll leave armed with the confidence and ability to convince senior management not just of the value of social media in internal communications, but also its potential to encourage and stimulate employee ideas and promote collaboration that translates into real business results. Over the two days you'll cover:

• Getting a social media project off the ground
• Gaining budget approval
• Securing management and employee buy-in
• How to tailor social media tools to meet your company's specific requirements and restrictions
• And perhaps most importantly, how to calculate the ROI for those all-important budget holders

DON'T FORGET... Melcrum's 9th Annual Strategic Communication Management Summit

The impact of social media in a crisis
The expanded ability of employees to communicate publicly, thanks to social media, increases the number of potential communication crises we might face and also increases their potential impact. These 5 suggestions, including "listening in" to employee conversations, should help you reduce the harmful effects of social media.

Communicating through crisis at Lehman Brothers
Find out how Angela Mohtashemi, communication consultant at PwC, pulled together a team of communicators in less than 30 minutes to devise a strategy for tackling the most complex and high-profile administration in banking history.

BA gets "Up To Speed" with a new employee magazine

5 ways to spot a lousy leader

Quad aims for slice of collaboration software market

Sign in to Melcrum's Communicator's Network Group on Linked In to take part in these discussions:

What can we call a team brief that's less about cascade and more about dialogue?

Feedback on analytics software being used to measure intranet usage?

Any thoughts on interesting and innovative ways to recognize employees?

TOP TIPS: The 10-point guide to effective employee communication during a company crisis
Whether a business crisis is accidental, financial, legal or otherwise, here are 10 practical steps to help ensure effective employee communication.

TOOL: Preparation questions for handling a crisis
Janet Croissant, head of group internal communications at Transport for London, offers some questions to ask yourself to test your function's preparedness to handle a crisis.

Internal Communications Business Partner - Hudson - London, UK

Communications Manager - Badenoch & Clark - London, UK

Director Internal Communications - Impact Communications - Sydney, Australia

Internal Communications Manager - Darden - FL, USA