The all-too-familiar images of a college campus under siege by a gunman once again commanded the headlines last week. While the tragedy at Northern Illinois University was eerily reminiscent of last April's shootings at Virginia Tech, it is clear that NIU applied the lessons learned in Blacksburg.

Apparently, NIU's emergency notification system worked well during last week's crisis. Within minutes of the shooting, the university sent out e-mail and posted messages on its Web site alerting students and faculty about the incident and urging them to stay put until given the all-clear.

Unfortunately, it often takes a major crisis before improvements are made. Such is the case with Virginia Tech. There is no way the university could have anticipated the actions of a mentally unstable student, but once the incident occurred the school thoroughly reviewed its policies, plans and procedures and improved them where possible.

The same kind of response occurred after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Organizations across the country decided it was time to update their emergency response plans. I worked with a large organization here in Richmond to strengthen its crisis communication plan. Suddenly there was no scenario too outlandish, no crisis too unthinkable.

If your organization doesn't have a documented plan for responding to a crisis – including a strong emphasis on communication throughout – consider the NIU tragedy yet another wake-up call.

What happens to your business if a crisis occurs? A crisis might be anything from the loss of your major client to an incident involving a supplier to the accidental death of an employee. It might be as unexpected as a workplace tragedy or as anticipated as the CEO's retirement.

What should happen in the initial moments and hours after a crisis? Who makes the crucial decisions about how to resume operations? What will you communicate and to whom? Who's in charge when chaos ensues? How will you ensure the safety of employees? How will you safeguard the assets of your company? What if all the electrical power is lost in your facilities? What if e-mail and the Internet are unavailable? How will you notify employees, customers, suppliers, business partners, or the community in the event of a crisis?

There are hundreds of questions that require answers before a crisis occurs. Given the frequency of tragedies and crises in the news, the most unforgivable offense is leaving them unanswered.

Robert J. Holland owns Holland Communication Solutions LLC in Mechanicsville. He works with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses to help them develop communication programs that support business goals. He is also available to speak to business groups about workplace communication. You can reach him at robert@hollandcomm.com, at www.hollandcomm.com, or by calling 804-368-0312.