Article by: Sara Pantaleo
When an unforeseen negative event occurs, crisis management is the application of specific strategies by an organisation to prevent further damage.
Every organisation will inevitably face a significant crisis at some point, and plenty of minor obstacles often occur. This means having an effective response strategy for when things go wrong is crucial to ensuring your company remains calm during difficult times or when faced with adversity from outside sources such as natural disasters. Preparing for a crisis is the key to getting through a significant crisis to the other side.
Maintaining stability on both sides: internally between employees while externally towards clients/customers, helps avoid potentially more significant problems than the ones faced during a crisis or even lawsuits down the line.
The company’s CEO is getting hired away by a competitor. The floods shut down your factory for a month. Getting orders from suppliers that are far away during COVID and sometimes impossible to fill. A social media post has been made in poor taste. Any of these things and more can put your company strategy at risk.
A plan before these things arise will help you navigate uncharted waters. Here are our top crisis management tips:
Have a crisis communication plan
In an emergency, the need for communication is urgent and essential. The best way to handle a crisis is with a practical and well-thought-out communication plan ready to roll out at a moment’s notice when an emergency strikes. When a business is faced with an emergency, it needs to be able not only to respond promptly but also accurately and confidently. The information must be shared in a way that is tailored to each specific audience.
How a business handles an incident can have lasting effects on its public perception. A crisis communication plan will help you navigate communications effectively.
Anticipate the worst
When planning your crisis management strategy, anticipate the worst; this will have you extra prepared. Outline all the scenarios your company could face. You need to foresee and plan for these potential occurrences because they may happen. Having a more specific sense of them will guide your planning. Make sure to cover a broad range of risks in your planning, such as natural disasters and cyberattacks.
Have a management plan
Having your team part of developing the crisis plan will help them identify potential threats and know what steps they need to take in response and when these responses are triggered. Developing crisis plans is a great way to help your team feel more confident and in control during difficult times. Being prepared will also give you peace of mind, knowing that if something happens, there’s an action plan ready for use.