Hosted by Katherine Sykes Chart.PR, FCIPR, Co-Chair of the CIPR Crisis Communications Network – Crisis Communications for Boards – features Dr Jon White Chart.PR, Hon FCIPR, a researcher and consultant in public relations and corporate communication management, and Kerry Knight Chart.PR, a senior strategic communicator specialising in crisis preparedness, reputation management and AI governance.

The episode draws on the handbook of the same name, published by the CIPR Crisis Communication Network in partnership with the Institute of Directors.

The panel discuss how interconnected risks have turned crises from isolated events into fast-moving, highly visible shocks that can escalate within hours. They set out the handbook's five-stage crisis cycle of predict, protect, prepare, respond and recover, and make the case for investing in preparedness before a crisis hits through scenario planning and horizon scanning. The discussion also covers how public inquiries and the duty of candour can give a crisis a long tail after organisations believe it is over.

For PR professionals, the episode makes the case for framing advice in terms of consequences, business outcomes and organisational resilience, and for learning the language of the boardroom. It argues that crisis response cannot save bad decision-making, and that communicators add most value when boards bring them in to the spaces decisions are made.

• Listen to the episode on Apple and Spotify
• Download the handbook, ‘Crisis Communications for Boards’
• Learn more about the CIPR Crisis Communications Network 
   

Designed as a practical resource for board members across sectors, the guide - Crisis Communications for Boards: A Handbook for Good Governance - examines what constitutes a crisis, the potential impact on an organisation, and best practice in communications at each stage of the crisis lifecycle. It advises boards on how to predict, protect, prepare, respond, recover, and build enduring resilience.

The handbook is supported by a practical toolkit and in-depth recommendations for wider reading and practical resources. It also identifies case studies from leading academics and practitioners, examining recent and high-profile crises and the lessons they offer for boards looking to strengthen their preparedness, upskill their personnel, and scrutinise existing plans.

Emphasising how, in a crisis, ultimately the buck stops with the board, the handbook also examines how the modern reputation management landscape is evolving, and with it the crisis risks which boards face. These range from an increasingly turbulent geopolitical context to the growing challenges and opportunities presented by AI usage: a detailed section examines the emerging governance risks of AI and how, as its capabilities expand, so too do the associated ethical, legal, operational, and reputational risks.

The handbook also sets out to address a persistent gap: while reputation is increasingly becoming a standalone discussion point on board agendas, very few boards in fact include communications professionals or understand fully the role they can play.

• Download the best practice guide “Crisis Communications for Boards: A Handbook for Good Governance”
• Log 10 CPD points for reading the guide

Episode 19 – Joining the Board: the opportunity for communications professionals – examines the pathways to director and non-executive director roles for PR professionals, the distinctive perspective communications experts contribute to board-level decision making, and practical advice for practitioners considering this career progression.

Hosted by Ann-Marie Blake FCIPR, Co-Founder of True Comms, this episode investigates key aspects of board participation including the differences between trustee and non-executive director positions, how effective boards operate, managing time commitments, and overcoming imposter syndrome when transitioning to leadership roles.

Joining Ann-Marie for this discussion are:

• Noha Al Afifi MCIPR, CIPR Board Member, Deputy Chief Executive of Arthritis Action
• Stephen Waddington Found. Chart. PR, Hon FCIPR, Founder of Wadds Inc

• Listen to the Engage Podcast on Apple or Spotify
• Find out more about the CIPR's Engage Podcast
• CIPR members can log 5 CPD points for listening to this episode
• Find out more about the CIPR's Non-Executive Director training

The event entitled Public Relations: Women in the Boardroom, discussed and debated reasons as to why in an industry where two thirds of practitioners are female, men are still twice as likely as women to become MDs, partners or owners of a PR firm and still earn an average £15,000 + more than their female counterparts.

Representatives from the City of London Corporation were joined by an expert panel of senior public relations practitioners including CIPR Chief Executive Jane Wilson MCIPR; Gay Collins, Executive Chair of MHP Communications; Rachael Jackson, Chief Executive of An Inspirational Journey; and Mary Whenman MCIPR, Incoming MD of Weber Shandwick’s CFPA Practice, who shared their personal experiences of rising through the ranks as women in public relations.

The debate covered several important issues including the role of head-hunters and recruiters in improving diversity within public relations, the need for flexible working hours to suit working mothers and women with other responsibilities, and the possibility of quotas to increase the number of women in the boardroom. 

Guests enjoyed further discussion and drinks following the panel debate, which was sponsored by Hanson Search, hosted by the City of London Corporation and supported London Charity, Dress for Success London, with a total of £1000 being raised to support women on low incomes get back to work.