Wouldn’t it be great if the company we work for, manage, or own could just stroll along, problem-free every day of the year? Sure, it could happen, but chances are something will go wrong along the way. Just like in life, we can’t predict what might go wrong or when it will happen, but there are steps we can take to minimize the impact on the business. Look at it this way: there’s a reason why we try to put a portion of our paycheques into a savings account. If we suddenly lose our job or have some sort of medical emergency, we have a bit of a financial cushion. Now, of course, it doesn’t always work out that way and not everyone is blessed enough to build up a savings account, but you catch our drift.
Just like a savings account can provide a cushion in case of emergency, there are ways in which companies can prepare for possible crises without knowing exactly when they may come.
Don’t Ignore It
It may sound redundant, but the first step is acknowledging that you have to be prepared. What may start out as a
small crisis can quickly spiral out of control when the powers-that-be in a company choose the “bury our heads in the sand” method regarding potential problems. Furthermore, once a crisis – whether big or small – occurs, it is a terrible idea to just hope it will go away. Remember what we just said about spiralling out of control? Well, it spirals a lot quicker when no action is taken at all. This isn’t like breaking your grandmother’s vase, hiding the evidence and hoping she won’t notice. People notice. Especially in today’s world of social media, people notice. Once it’s out there—it’s out there.
Realize Your Vulnerability
Depending on your industry, your company will be susceptible to certain types of crises. If you’re a tech company you may suffer from outages, if you’re a food company there could be a potential recall, and so-on and so-forth. We know, we know—your company takes every precaution to ensure that everything runs smoothly but, guess what? Stuff happens. It could be a human mistake; it could be a technical mistake. Sometimes these problems are out-of-the-blue, however, there have been instances we’ve seen in the past where the c
ompany knew that a problem could likely arise, and they did nothing to fix the issue to ensure it didn’t occur again. (These people fall in the “bury our heads in the sand” category.)
Whether it be cost-saving measures, lack of urgency, or simply poor organizational decision-making, you’re only hurting yourself in the end if you don’t proactively solve the issue. It will be a lot worse from a Brand Reputation Management perspective if people find out you knew about the problem and did nothing to fix it. Just ask Volkswagen how that turned out for them. Spoiler alert: not great.
Remember—proactive is always better than reactive.
Put Together a Crisis Communications Team
Whether the company is big or small, putting together a Crisis Communications Team is always ideal. This way, no one will be scrambling around on the day of, wondering who should be doing what. Not only that but, often times, no-one wants to be the one to make any type of decision during an emergency; if you have a set team in place, there is much less pressure on one person to shoulder the pressure of how to handle the situation.
Remember, different people bring in different levels of expertise and experience – utilize this. Ultimately, there will be a hierarchy of decision-makers, but there’s nothing wrong with a group discussion to determine the best course of action. Once your team is in place and roles are discussed, everyone will be ready to hop into a meeting room or onto a conference-call as soon as the crisis occurs.
Develop Key Messages
This is a recurring theme in our blog but key messages are essential to good communications! After you’ve established a) the areas in which your company might be vulnerable and b) who is on your Crisis Communications Team, you can then start developing your key messages. Think about the following:
- What you have already identified as potential crisis areas
- Keep it simple – do not over explain
- Stick to a few main messages you would like to convey
- Know your audience
Although these messages will have to be adapted during the actual crisis to include specifics of the situation, having a template on-hand saves more time than you could imagine.
Take Roots offers a customized workshop ‘Crisis Response Manuals 101: Are You Ready For a Crisis?’—we would love to help to ensure that your company is ready for whatever comes your way! Contact Us now for more information.