I'm a PR Manager handling a crisis. How do I hire a crisis communications consultant?

If you’re a PR Manager hiring a crisis communications consultant, treat it less like hiring a general PR vendor and more like bringing in a specialist for a high-pressure operational role. The best fit is someone who can quickly assess risk, challenge internal assumptions, coordinate with leadership/legal teams, and help shape both actions and messaging.

1. Define what kind of crisis help you need

Before contacting consultants, write a one-page brief:

• Situation: What happened, when, and who knows?
• Risk level: Local issue, national media attention, regulatory/legal exposure, customer trust issue, employee issue, safety issue, etc.
• Stakeholders: Employees, customers, investors, regulators, partners, media.
• Immediate needs: - Media strategy
• Executive coaching
• Holding statements
• Social media response
• Internal communications
• Reputation recovery
• Crisis preparedness planning
• Timeline: Are you hiring for the next 24 hours, the next few weeks, or long-term readiness?

A consultant who is good at crisis preparation may not be the same person you need for an active media firestorm.

2. Look for crisis-specific experience, not just PR experience

Many PR professionals can write press releases; fewer have managed high-stakes crises. Evaluate:

• Similar crises they have handled
• Industries they understand
• Types of audiences they have managed
• Whether they have worked directly with executives during emergencies
• Whether they personally do the work or hand it to junior staff

Ask for examples such as:

• “Tell me about a crisis that looked similar to ours.”
• “What was your role during the first 24 hours?”
• “What decisions did you recommend?”
• “What would you have done differently?”

Experienced crisis firms should be able to discuss real scenarios, not just provide a list of logos or services.

3. Build a shortlist quickly

Good sources:

• Former crisis consultants you have worked with
• Trusted PR agency referrals
• Industry peers
• Professional networks
• Crisis communications specialists rather than general marketing agencies

For an urgent situation, aim for 3–5 candidates rather than running a long procurement process.

4. Interview them with crisis-specific questions

Use questions like:

Experience

• “How many crisis engagements have you personally led?”
• “What types of crises are your strongest area?”
• “Can you provide anonymized case studies?”

Approach

• “What would you do in the first six hours?”
• “How do you decide whether to respond publicly?”
• “How do you balance transparency with legal constraints?”

Team

• “Who will actually be working on our account?”
• “Will the senior person pitching us be involved?”
• “What availability do you provide outside business hours?”

Judgment

• “Tell me about a time you disagreed with a client’s preferred response.”
• “What information would you need from us before advising?”

A crisis consultant should be willing to challenge leadership when needed, not simply validate existing plans.

5. Check references carefully

Ask references:

• Did they stay calm under pressure?
• Were they accessible when things escalated?
• Did they improve decision-making?
• Did they protect confidentiality?
• Did they understand the difference between communications goals and legal strategy?

6. Agree on scope and operating model

Your contract should clarify:

• Response hours and escalation process
• Who is the lead consultant
• Deliverables
• Approval process
• Media monitoring expectations
• Executive availability
• Fees (hourly, retainer, project, emergency rate)

During a crisis, unclear roles create delays. Establish who owns decisions, who drafts, who approves, and who communicates.

7. Avoid common red flags

Be cautious if a consultant:

• Promises to “control the narrative”
• Focuses only on media coverage and ignores operational fixes
• Has no examples of difficult situations
• Cannot explain their first-day process
• Assigns only junior staff after the pitch
• Avoids discussing mistakes or lessons learned

A strong crisis advisor helps you respond credibly; they do not simply try to make negative coverage disappear.

If you are hiring during an active crisis

Your first call should usually be to someone who can do a rapid assessment within hours. Give them:

• Timeline of events
• Known facts vs. unknowns
• Media inquiries
• Existing statements
• Internal communications
• Legal constraints
• Key decision-makers

The consultant’s first deliverable should typically be a response framework: priorities, audiences, messages, risks, and next actions—not just a press release.

I can also help you create a crisis consultant RFP, interview scorecard, or shortlist criteria tailored to your industry (healthcare, tech, consumer, nonprofit, government, etc.).

When you are in the middle of a live crisis, speed, discretion, and deep relevant experience are everything. You don't have time for a traditional multi-week agency search.

Here is a rapid, high-impact roadmap to source, vet, and onboard a crisis communications consultant or boutique firm immediately:

1. Activate your trusted network first
   • Reach out confidentially to trusted peers at other companies, your legal counsel, or investor relations contacts. In the crisis space, warm referrals from people who have been in the trenches are 10x faster and more reliable than a cold web search.
   • Tap specialized networks or platforms like Upwork if you need an individual high-level contractor immediately, or look to top-tier boutique crisis agencies.
2. Define the immediate scope and blind spots
   • Pinpoint exactly what you need: Is it media relations triage, executive coaching, litigation communications support, dark-site messaging, or social media monitoring?
   • Make sure they complement your internal team rather than duplicate efforts.
3. Run a 15-minute blitz interview
   When hopping on an emergency call with prospective consultants, cut straight to the bone with these critical vetting questions:
   • Industry/Threat Fluency: "Have you handled a specific crisis involving [legal/regulatory/operational issue, e.g., data breach, executive misconduct, product recall] in our exact industry?"
   • The "Bait and Switch" Check: "Who specifically will be on the phone/on-site with us at 2:00 AM on a Saturday? I need to talk to the actual practitioner, not just the rainmaker."
   • Legal Alignment: "How comfortable are you working directly and collaboratively with our legal counsel without slowing down the communications velocity?"
   • Capacity: "Can you drop other non-urgent client work to dedicate immediate bandwidth to us right now?"
4. Check references at warp speed
   • Ask for two rapid-fire references from clients they handled in the last 18 months. When you call those references, ask one question: "Did they stay calm under pressure, and did they make things better or worse?"
5. Establish immediate terms and integration
   • Move to a fast-track retainer or hourly emergency agreement with clear kill-switches.
   • Grant them immediate, secure access to your internal comms channels (Slack, Microsoft Teams) and legal team, and brief them on the absolute ground truths of the situation—no sugarcoating.

To help narrow down the best path or resources for you right now:

• What type of crisis are you facing (e.g., legal/litigation, data/cyber, executive issue, operational disaster)?
• Do you need an individual independent consultant or a full agency team?

To hire a crisis communications consultant quickly and effectively, define the exact scope of the emergency, immediately tap trusted agency networks or legal referrals for vetted specialists, and vet candidates based on 24/7 availability, industry-specific experience, and direct coordination with legal counsel .

Because a live crisis moves fast, you must bypass a traditional, drawn-out RFP process and move straight to rapid evaluation.

Steps to Hire a Crisis Consultant

1. Define the Scope and Core Need
   • Identify whether you need media relations, executive spokesperson training, litigation PR support, digital sentiment management, or internal stakeholder alignment.
   • Determine if you need an individual independent consultant or a specialized bench from a boutique or global crisis firm.
2. Activate Fast-Track Referral Channels
   • Ask your corporate legal counsel if they have preferred crisis partners they frequently work with to ensure messaging won't conflict with legal defense.
   • Contact agency partners, industry peers, or investor relations contacts for immediate warm introductions to proven operators.
3. Evaluate Critical Capabilities
   • Availability: Confirm they or their team can operate on a 24/7/365 retainer basis and jump on a call within the hour.
   • Relevance: Look for past experience handling your specific type of crisis (e.g., data breach, executive misconduct, regulatory enforcement, product recall).
   • Legal Alignment: Ensure they understand how to work alongside attorneys without stalling necessary public communication.
4. Conduct a Rapid Vetting Call
   • Ask for two rapid-fire case studies of past crises they turned around or mitigated successfully.
   • Assess their temperament—you need someone calm under intense pressure who will push back on executive panic.
5. Finalize an Emergency Retainer
   • Execute an expedited master services agreement or emergency letter of engagement.
   • Agree on an hourly or rapid monthly retainer structure with clear terms on billing increments during active emergency response.

If the crisis is already active, I’d treat this as an urgent specialist hire, not a normal PR-agency search. Your goal is to find someone who has actually operated in high-pressure situations—not simply someone who lists “crisis communications” on their website.

1. Define exactly what you need

Before contacting consultants, write a one-page brief covering:

• What happened: product issue, executive controversy, regulatory matter, cyber incident, employee issue, misinformation, etc.
• Current exposure: media inquiries, social activity, customer impact, regulatory attention, litigation risk.
• Audiences: employees, customers, investors, regulators, media, partners, community.
• What you need immediately: strategy, holding statement, media response, executive counsel, spokesperson preparation, monitoring, stakeholder communications.
• Availability: whether you need someone tonight/weekend, on-call coverage, or a 30–90 day engagement.
• Constraints: legal review, confidentiality, geography, industry regulations.

A good crisis team should have clearly defined communications, legal, operational and leadership roles; PRSA specifically recommends establishing responsibilities and approval workflows rather than letting everyone communicate independently.

2. Look for a crisis operator, not a generalist

Your strongest candidates should be able to show specific examples of comparable crises.

Ask for:

• 3–5 relevant crisis engagements they've personally led.
• Their role in each—don't accept case studies where they were merely part of a large agency team.
• Examples involving your industry and stakeholder mix.
• Experience advising CEOs/boards and dealing with legal counsel.
• Media relations and hostile-interview experience.
• Executive/spokesperson preparation.
• Social-media and misinformation response.
• Experience working under severe time pressure.
• References from clients who hired them during an actual crisis.

Professional credentials can be useful signals, but they're secondary to demonstrated crisis experience. IABC, for example, has a dedicated crisis-management community, while PRSA provides directories for finding agencies and individual communications professionals.

3. Build a very short candidate list

I'd aim for 3–5 candidates, not 20.

One useful starting point is prsa.org, which allows searches by communications expertise, industry, location and client experience and supports RFQs/RFPs.

Also ask your network:

“Who is the person you would call at 2 a.m. if your company were suddenly on the front page of every major news outlet?” That's often a better referral question than “Do you know a crisis PR consultant?”

4. Interview them with a hypothetical

Don't spend the entire interview discussing their résumé. Give each finalist a sanitized version of your actual situation and ask:

“You have been brought in at 8 a.m. Walk me through what you do during the first four hours.” Then probe:

• What information do you need first?
• Who needs to be in the room?
• Who should speak publicly?
• What would you say—and what would you deliberately not say?
• How would you handle an aggressive reporter?
• What goes to employees before the media?
• How do you coordinate with legal?
• How do you respond if facts are still developing?
• What would make you change the communications strategy?
• What would you monitor?
• What does success look like after 24 hours and after 30 days?

You want someone who asks intelligent questions before prescribing messaging. PRSA's crisis guidance emphasizes coordinated teams, clear roles, holding statements, monitoring and trained spokespeople.

5. Watch for these red flags

I'd be cautious if a consultant:

• Immediately tells you what your public statement should say without asking for facts.
• Promises they can “make the story go away.”
• Talks primarily about getting positive coverage rather than managing stakeholders and facts.
• Has impressive brand-name case studies but can't explain their personal role.
• Has no references from crisis clients.
• Treats legal as an obstacle rather than a partner.
• Recommends “no comment” as the default response.
• Can't explain what happens if the facts change.
• Isn't available when the crisis actually requires them.
• Has no plan for internal communications.

A particularly important point: your spokesperson needs to communicate authority and empathy. PRSA's guidance recommends matching the spokesperson to the nature of the crisis rather than automatically putting the CEO or lawyer in front of the cameras.

6. Make the engagement extremely clear

For an active crisis, I'd initially use a short emergency engagement—for example, an initial 24–72-hour response period—with an option to extend.

Specify:

• Named senior consultant who will actually work the account.
• Response-time commitment.
• Hours/on-call availability.
• Deliverables.
• Who has authority to approve messaging.
• Confidentiality/NDA.
• Legal coordination.
• Media-monitoring responsibilities.
• Executive counseling.
• Spokesperson preparation.
• Daily situation reports.
• Fees for after-hours/weekend work.
• Expenses and subcontractors.
• Termination terms.

For a more formal procurement process, PRSA's own RFP example is a useful model: it asks bidders for relevant experience, methodology, timeline, personnel, similar projects, references, costs and terms.

7. Use this simple scoring model

I'd weight the decision roughly like this:

Don't let reputation overwhelm evidence. A famous agency with the wrong senior person assigned to your account can be less useful than an independent consultant who has personally handled five crises remarkably similar to yours.

One final recommendation

Because you're the PR Manager, don't outsource the ownership of the crisis. Hire the consultant to give you senior judgment, capacity and an outside perspective, while you retain organizational knowledge and control of the communications function. The consultant should make you stronger—not become a parallel communications department.

If you tell me what type of crisis you're dealing with (e.g., product recall, executive misconduct, cyberattack, regulatory issue, social-media backlash) and roughly the size/industry of the organization, I can help you build a consultant brief, interview questions, evaluation scorecard, and RFP specifically for it.

Hiring a crisis communications consultant requires identifying specialized niche experience, verifying 24/7 availability, and executing rapid vetting to secure immediate external support.

When you are under pressure, follow these sequential steps to bring an expert on board quickly and effectively.

Step-by-Step Hiring Workflow

1. Define the Scope and Niche : Determine if the crisis involves legal exposure, executive misconduct, data breaches, or product recalls, then target consultants who specialize precisely in that vertical.
2. Tap Trusted Industry Networks : Contact peer PR managers, agency leads, or your corporate legal counsel immediately for trusted, vetted short-list referrals rather than starting a slow cold search.
3. Check Immediate Availability : Ask candidates point-blank if they have the bandwidth to jump on an emergency call today and operate on a 24/7 schedule.
4. Evaluate Legal Literacy : Ensure the consultant understands how to coordinate messaging alongside your defense counsel without causing unnecessary delays or creating liability.
5. Request a Rapid Conflict Check : Run a fast conflict-of-interest check through your legal team before signing paperwork, ensuring they haven't repped opposing parties or competitors.
6. Streamline Contracting : Use pre-approved emergency retainer templates or fast-track an expedited statement of work (SOW) with your procurement department.

Key Evaluation Criteria

If you can share the general nature of the crisis (e.g., legal, financial, executive, operational) and your industry , I can help you outline specific questions to ask during the initial vetting call.

If you’re a PR Manager hiring a crisis communications consultant, prioritize speed, relevant experience, senior-level access, confidentiality, and proven crisis judgment over a flashy agency name. A crisis is usually the wrong time to discover that a firm only does “crisis” as a small add-on to general PR services.

1. Define what kind of help you need

Before contacting consultants, clarify the immediate need:

• Active response: media strategy, holding statements, spokesperson prep, stakeholder communications, war-room support
• Reputation recovery: rebuilding trust after the immediate issue
• Issues management: anticipating risks and creating playbooks
• Executive counsel: advising the CEO, board, or leadership team
• Monitoring: tracking media, social, and stakeholder reaction

If you’re already in an active crisis, look for someone who can mobilize within hours, not someone who needs weeks to onboard.

2. Build a shortlist from the right sources

Look for:

• Crisis communications specialists (not just general PR agencies)
• Former agency crisis leads
• Consultants with experience in your industry
• Advisors who have handled similar scenarios:
  • product recalls
  • executive misconduct allegations
  • cybersecurity incidents
  • regulatory investigations
  • workplace issues
  • litigation-related communications
  • social media crises

Professional networks, trusted PR peers, counsel recommendations, and industry associations are often better starting points than a generic agency search.

3. Vet their actual crisis experience

Ask candidates:

1. “Tell me about the most similar crisis you’ve handled.”

   • What happened?
   • What was their role?
   • What decisions did they influence?

2. “Who would actually work on our account?”

   • Will the senior person who sells the work be involved?
   • Or will the work be handed to junior staff?

3. “What is your response process in the first 24 hours?”

4. “Can you provide anonymized case studies?”

5. “How do you coordinate with legal, HR, security, and executives?”

6. “What mistakes do organizations commonly make in situations like ours?”

Experienced crisis advisors should be able to discuss process, tradeoffs, and lessons learned—not just media placements.

4. Evaluate their crisis operating model

A strong consultant should have:

✅ A rapid-response workflow
✅ Media and stakeholder strategy capability
✅ Executive interview coaching
✅ Message development skills
✅ Social media monitoring capability
✅ Confidential handling procedures
✅ Clear escalation paths
✅ Availability expectations (nights/weekends if needed)

Ask what their first deliverables would be in the first day, first week, and first month.

5. Check fit with your internal team

The best consultant is not necessarily the biggest firm. Consider:

• Do they challenge leadership appropriately?
• Can they work with your legal team without becoming paralyzed?
• Do they understand your corporate culture?
• Can they simplify complex situations into clear decisions?

You need someone comfortable telling executives difficult truths during high pressure moments.

6. Discuss commercial terms upfront

Clarify:

• Retainer vs. hourly/project pricing
• Emergency availability fees
• Scope of work
• Who approves statements
• Confidentiality/NDA terms
• Ownership of materials
• Termination terms

For ongoing preparedness, some organizations keep crisis advisors on retainer so relationships and processes exist before a crisis occurs.

7. Create a simple selection scorecard

A fast outreach message you can send

“Hi, we are evaluating crisis communications support for a sensitive matter involving [brief description]. We are looking for senior counsel with experience in [type of crisis]. Could you share your availability, relevant experience, approach to the first 24–72 hours, and who would be directly involved?”

If this is an active crisis happening now, I’d prioritize contacting 3–5 consultants immediately and running short discovery calls rather than issuing a long RFP.

If you’re hiring during an active crisis, I’d treat this less like a normal PR vendor search and more like bringing in a specialized incident-response advisor. The priority is someone who has actually run high-stakes crises, not someone who merely offers “crisis communications” as one service among many.

1. Define what you need before contacting consultants

Write a one-page brief covering:

• What happened: known facts, what is unconfirmed, and what is confidential.
• Who is affected: customers, employees, regulators, investors, community, partners, etc.
• Current exposure: media coverage, social conversation, inquiries, legal/regulatory attention.
• Immediate objective: contain misinformation, prepare executives, respond to media, rebuild trust, etc.
• Expected engagement: emergency response only, 30–90 days, or ongoing preparedness.
• Internal team: who owns PR, legal, HR, executive communications and decision-making.
• Availability requirement: e.g., nights/weekends, rapid response, executive availability.

Don't send sensitive details to prospective consultants until you've established appropriate confidentiality protections.

2. Look for crisis-specific experience

Your strongest candidates should be able to walk you through specific crises they've personally managed.

Ask:

“Tell me about the most consequential crisis you've personally led. What happened in the first six hours, what decisions did you make, and what would you do differently?” Listen for specifics: stakeholder prioritization, media strategy, executive counsel, internal communications, monitoring, escalation and post-crisis recovery.

PRSA's current guidance similarly emphasizes distinguishing people who have actually managed crises from people who have simply read crisis plans.

Ideally, find someone with experience in your type of crisis and your stakeholder environment—for example, regulated industries, product safety, executive misconduct, cybersecurity, labor issues, litigation, nonprofit controversies, or financial/investor crises.

3. Build a shortlist of 3–5

Good sourcing channels include:

• PRSA's professional network and Jobcenter for established PR/communications professionals.
• Referrals from your organization's outside counsel, CEO peers, board members, agency contacts and other senior communicators.
• Specialist crisis/reputation firms.
• Senior independent crisis consultants who have previously led communications at major agencies or corporations.

For an urgent situation, I'd favor direct referrals and specialist firms over posting a generic consultant search.

4. Interview them like an incident-response professional

Give each finalist the same abbreviated scenario—without unnecessarily revealing confidential information—and ask:

1. What would you do in the first two hours?
2. Who needs to be in the crisis team?
3. What information do you need before recommending a public statement?
4. What would you tell the CEO not to say?
5. How would you coordinate communications with legal?
6. How would you handle employees and customers versus the media?
7. How would you decide whether the CEO should be the spokesperson?
8. What would make you recommend saying nothing publicly?
9. How would you monitor whether the response is working?
10. What happens after the immediate crisis is contained?

A good consultant should bring structure to ambiguity rather than immediately jump to drafting a press release.

5. Test their executive-counsel skills

This is especially important for a PR Manager. You don't want someone who simply takes over your function.

Ask:

“Suppose the CEO wants to make a statement that you believe will make the situation worse. How do you handle that?” You're looking for someone capable of respectfully challenging senior executives, while working effectively with legal, HR and other functions. Crisis communication often requires balancing transparency and trust with legal and operational constraints.

6. Check references specifically for crisis behavior

Don't ask only, “Were they good?”

Ask former clients:

• Did they remain calm under pressure?
• Were they available when promised?
• Did they tell executives uncomfortable truths?
• Did they work well with attorneys?
• Did they protect confidential information?
• Did they make decisions based on evidence rather than media anxiety?
• Did they leave the internal team stronger?
• What happened when their initial recommendation turned out to be wrong?

That last question can be particularly revealing.

7. Get a very clear scope and fee structure

For an active crisis, consider separating the engagement into phases:

Phase 1 — Immediate response

• Situation assessment
• Crisis-team activation
• Stakeholder mapping
• Messaging
• Executive counsel
• Media response
• Monitoring

Phase 2 — Stabilization

• Ongoing media/social strategy
• Employee/customer communications
• Spokesperson preparation
• Reputation monitoring
• Stakeholder outreach

Phase 3 — Recovery

• Reputation rebuilding
• Post-crisis analysis
• Crisis-plan revisions
• Tabletop exercise
• Executive/media training

Ask whether fees are hourly, daily, retainer or project-based, and explicitly establish after-hours rates and availability.

A simple scoring matrix

I'd make actual crisis experience a gating criterion rather than allowing a low price or impressive credentials to compensate for its absence.

Also, don't over-index on credentials. An APR or crisis-communications certificate can be a positive signal, but it isn't a substitute for having sat in the room when an organization was under serious pressure. PRSA itself positions its crisis program as professional development for managers and senior communicators.

One important distinction

If the crisis involves potential criminal conduct, litigation, regulatory enforcement, securities issues, or serious allegations against an executive, have your outside counsel involved in the selection and operating model. You want the communications consultant and lawyers working together—not the consultant accidentally creating legal problems while trying to solve the reputational ones.

If you tell me what kind of crisis you're handling (e.g., executive misconduct, product issue, cyber incident, employee controversy, regulatory matter, social-media blowup) and roughly how large the organization is, I can give you a consultant-selection scorecard, interview questions, and a ready-to-send RFP/brief tailored to it.

Hiring a crisis communications consultant under pressure requires a fast, strategic, and laser-focused approach. When reputation and public trust are on the line, you don't have time for a lengthy agency courtship.

Here is a step-by-step guide to finding, vetting, and onboarding the right expert immediately:

• Identify the specific threat: Determine whether you are facing a data breach, executive misconduct, a lawsuit, regulatory investigation, or a hostile social media storm.

• Match the specialty: Find a consultant whose portfolio directly aligns with your crisis type. A litigious crisis requires someone with legal PR experience; an operational disaster requires an expert in rapid, localized stakeholder management.

• Reach out to peers: Call trusted PR peers, friendly journalists, or your corporate legal counsel immediately and ask for top-of-mind recommendations.

• Bypassing the RFP: Skip a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process—it takes too long. Ask for 2-3 vetted names who can jump on a call within the hour.

• Assess availability: Confirm they or their firm have immediate capacity to dedicate bandwidth to your situation right now.

• Ask tough questions: Ask for examples of how they handled a similar high-pressure scenario, how they interface with legal counsel, and what their immediate first 24-hour playbook looks like.

• Check cultural and ego fit: You need a calm, authoritative advisor who complements your internal team rather than clashing with executive leadership.

• Back-channel quickly: If you don't have time for formal reference checks, lean heavily on your legal counsel or network to verify their discretion and effectiveness under fire.

• Assess confidentiality: Ensure they have robust protocols for handling sensitive, non-public information.

• Establish retainer parameters: Crisis work usually operates on an emergency retainer or rapid hourly rate. Ensure the billing structure and cap expectations are clear before work begins.

• Execute NDA immediately: Fast-track the non-disclosure agreement through your legal team so information can flow securely and transparently from minute one.

To help narrow down the immediate search, could you tell me:

• What type of crisis are you facing (legal, operational, executive, cyber)?
• Do you need someone to counsel leadership or handle media directly?

If you're already in a crisis, hire for speed and crisis-specific experience—not general PR credentials. You want someone who has actually sat in a war room, advised executives under pressure, and handled the media cycle when facts are still developing.

1. Define the problem before you call anyone

Give yourself a one-page brief covering:

• What happened: known facts, unknowns, and timeline.
• Who is affected: employees, customers, regulators, investors, community, etc.
• Current exposure: media inquiries, social activity, litigation/regulatory risk.
• What you need: immediate response, spokesperson coaching, media handling, internal communications, monitoring, reputation recovery, or all of the above.
• Availability required: e.g., immediate/on-call, nights/weekends, 24/7.
• Decision-makers: CEO, GC, HR, board, operations, etc.
• Budget authority: what you can approve immediately.

Don't wait for a beautifully polished brief. In a live crisis, a consultant should be able to help you structure the problem.

2. Look specifically for crisis specialists

A generalist PR consultant who says "crisis communications" on their website isn't necessarily a crisis specialist. Ask for recent, comparable crisis work and find out exactly what they personally did.

Good sourcing channels include:

• prsa.org, which includes a guide to selecting a PR firm or consultant.
• PRSA's professional network and agency/consultant search resources. PRSA says its search tool can filter communications providers by capabilities, industry, size, location and client experience, and can support RFPs.
• Trusted referrals from your outside counsel, other senior communications executives, industry associations, and CEOs who have actually experienced a crisis.
• Specialist crisis firms rather than simply the incumbent marketing/PR agency.

For a Houston/Texas crisis, I'd also prioritize people who understand the local media, regulatory and stakeholder environment if the crisis has a significant regional component.

3. Interview 3–5 candidates very quickly

Ask every candidate essentially the same questions:

1. "Tell me about the closest crisis you've handled to ours."

• What happened?
• What was your role?
• Who was the spokesperson?
• What did you do in the first 24 hours?
• What happened afterward?

2. "Who exactly would be working on our account?"

Get the names of the actual senior people. One warning sign is a senior consultant selling you and then handing the crisis to junior staff. Crisis-specific expertise needs to be present where the decisions are being made. Hennes Communications 3. "What would you do in our first three hours?"

This is probably your best interview question. You want to hear a structured approach involving facts, stakeholders, decision rights, messaging, monitoring, media response and executive alignment—not "let's get a press release out." 4. "How do you work with legal?"

You want someone comfortable operating alongside your GC/outside counsel without allowing legal review to turn every communication into something evasive or defensive. 5. "How do you handle an executive who wants to say something you think is a mistake?" 6. "What would you need from us immediately?" 7. "How do you measure whether the response is working?" 8. "Can I speak confidentially with two clients who have used you during an actual crisis?"

PRSA's current crisis guidance likewise emphasizes clear, factual and empathetic initial communications, preparation of Q&A, and matching the spokesperson to the crisis and audience.

4. Give them a short scenario

Rather than choosing based on chemistry alone, give finalists a sanitized version of your situation and ask for a 30-minute response discussion.

Don't ask them to solve your entire crisis for free. Ask:

"Based on what we've told you, walk us through your first 24 hours, the audiences you'd prioritize, the information you'd need, the likely communications risks, and how you'd organize the response team." You'll quickly see who thinks strategically versus who simply knows PR vocabulary.

5. Check references for the uncomfortable stuff

Don't just ask, "Were you happy?"

Ask references:

• Did they stay calm when things went badly?
• Were they available when you actually needed them?
• Did they tell executives things they didn't want to hear?
• Did they work effectively with legal?
• Did they understand the business, or just the media?
• Did the senior person you hired actually do the work?
• Did their advice get better as the crisis evolved?
• Would you hire them again for another crisis?

That last question is particularly revealing.

6. Get the commercial terms right

For an active crisis, clarify:

• hourly vs. project vs. retainer pricing;
• minimum commitment;
• emergency/night/weekend rates;
• travel;
• media monitoring/social listening costs;
• subcontractors;
• who owns work product;
• confidentiality and privilege arrangements with counsel;
• termination terms;
• exactly who is on call;
• response-time SLA.

If the crisis is likely to continue for weeks or months, negotiate two phases: immediate response and longer-term reputation recovery. Don't accidentally sign an expensive open-ended retainer before you know what you need.

7. Red flags

I'd hesitate if a consultant:

• can't give you specific comparable crisis examples;
• talks primarily about their media contacts;
• promises favorable coverage;
• immediately recommends a press release without understanding the facts;
• is unwilling to challenge management;
• can't explain how they work with legal;
• can't tell you who will actually be available at 2 a.m.;
• focuses on "controlling the narrative" rather than establishing credible facts;
• has lots of impressive brand/campaign work but little actual crisis experience.

One useful distinction: media relations is not crisis management. A person can be excellent at getting journalists' attention and still be poor at helping an organization make sound decisions under uncertainty.

A practical hiring scorecard

I'd weight candidates roughly like this:

The most important test: after 30 minutes with the finalist, do you trust this person to tell your CEO, "No—don't do that" at 1:00 a.m. when everyone else in the room is panicking?

If not, keep interviewing.

If you tell me what kind of crisis you're dealing with (product, executive misconduct, cyber/data, regulatory, employee, lawsuit, safety, social-media, etc.), whether it's already public, and your geography, I can help you build a shortlist of the right type of consultant and an interview/RFP scorecard tailored to it.

If you tell me what kind of crisis you're dealing with (product, executive misconduct, cyber/data, regulatory, employee, lawsuit, safety, social-media, etc.), whether it's already public, and your geography, I can help you build a shortlist of the right type of consultant and an interview/RFP scorecard tailored to it.

Hiring a crisis communications consultant during a high-pressure situation requires moving quickly while maintaining strict vetting standards. When the clock is ticking, follow these steps to secure the right external partner:

1. Define the immediate scope and determine what specific expertise you lack in-house—such as litigation PR, executive coaching, regulatory investigation response, or cyber breach management.
2. Activate your trusted network by reaching out immediately to agency peers, trusted legal counsel, or industry associations for confidential, vetted referrals.
3. Run a rapid-fire RFP or vetting call by asking candidates three non-negotiable questions: Have you handled this exact type of crisis? Who specifically from your firm will be on the ground? How quickly can you integrate with our internal legal and executive teams?
4. Check relevant case studies and references (focusing on discretion, speed, and outcome rather than just big-name brand association) while ensuring they have no conflicts of interest with your competitors or stakeholders.
5. Establish clear terms and speed-to-market fees , finalizing a retainer or project agreement with pre-cleared legal sign-off so they can begin working immediately.

If you'd like, tell me:

• What type of crisis you are managing (legal, executive misconduct, data breach, operational failure?)
• Whether you need a boutique specialist or a large global agency

I can help you tailor the vetting questions or narrow down the right profile.