Case Study

Association of Manitoba Municipalities

Preparing Municipalities to be Crisis Ready

In 2022 and beyond, every single municipality in Canada will face some type of emergency. To respond in an effective and coordinated manner to an emergency, communications teams will not only need to be prepared in advance, but they will also need to be empowered and trained as leaders so they can step into action without hesitation or fear.

Solv Communications is a longstanding training partner with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities and was engaged to host a series of strategic communications courses. One of these half-day virtual workshops was attended by over 200 Mayors, Reeves, Councillors, CAOs and City Managers from across Manitoba.

Execution and Impact

The interactive workshops dove deep into strategic communications and incorporated a specific focus on media relations, crisis communications and online reputation management.

Workshop participants contributed ideas and learned practical tips and techniques to activate effective leadership in a crisis or emergency.

Each workshop was highly customized and featured content like realistic video examples, case studies, course hand-outs, simulated media and crisis interviews, and collaborative coaching.

Highlights

Some of the highlights, vital tips, techniques, and lessons that our participants learned:

  • How to triage a crisis and how to respond appropriately
  • Techniques to establish a chain of command and chain of communication
  • Tips on taking timely action within the “golden hour”
  • The art of answering tough questions and handling difficult conversations
  • The one topic to never address during a crisis
  • Tips to prepare key messaging
  • Step-by-step tips for managing a social media crisis

Results

Nearly all the 200-plus people who participated said they learned relevant, practical skills to manage and mitigate a crisis safely and swiftly. The group felt that the simulated media and crisis interviews along with post-video coaching were one of the most useful elements of these workshops. Participants even expressed the desire to have Solv Communications build their internal communications and crisis planning.

Impact

Denys Volkov, Executive Director, Association of Manitoba Municipalities
Brent Olynyk, Chief Administration Officer, RM of St. Andrews Manitoba
Ron Bowles, City Manager, Brandon, Manitoba