Crisis communications: when better tools feel like progress

The problem is not a lack of tools

Most organisations do not struggle with crisis communications because they lack tools.

They struggle because, when pressure hits, people default to what feels quickest, safest and most familiar.

In practice, that often means informal channels. Side calls. Personal mobiles. Ad-hoc messaging groups. And very often, WhatsApp.

That is not a failure of policy. It is a human response to urgency.

Why platform improvements feel reassuring

So when platforms introduce tighter controls, stronger security settings or improved admin features, it feels like progress. Something tangible. Something that suggests risk is being reduced.

WhatsApp’s recent move towards stricter account settings is a good example. On the surface, it addresses genuine concerns around privacy and misuse. For everyday business communication, these changes are sensible and welcome.

But during a live incident, they do not change the fundamentals.

What actually happens under pressure

People will still:

• create parallel conversations

• make decisions in private threads

• escalate late, or not at all

• rely on individual judgement rather than shared structure

The tool becomes a container for behaviour, not a control over it.

Where organisations quietly get stuck

This is where many organisations quietly get stuck.

Time and effort are spent refining the platform, while harder questions remain unasked:

• Who is actually authorised to decide?
• Where is the single version of truth?
• How are decisions recorded, not just messages?
• What happens when senior voices dominate or challenge disappears?

Why post-incident reviews miss the point

After the incident, reviews tend to focus on outcomes. Systems were restored. Clients were informed. Regulators were notified. On paper, it worked.

What is rarely examined is how decisions were made, which assumptions went unchallenged, and what was never said because the structure did not allow for it..

The uncomfortable truth

That is why improving tools often feels reassuring, but delivers diminishing returns.

The real issue is not the channel.

It is how communication behaves under pressure.

And that is where the real work starts.