15 Timeless Principles of Crisis Management
May 19, 2021
In my 35 years as a communications professional, I have learned many lessons. Among the most important are those I have learned in the past
No Organization is Immune
from issues, problems and disruptions
that can harm brand, reputation, revenue, and financial performance. According to one study, the number of headline-making crises has increased by 80% since 2007. When a business crisis erupts, executives can no longer “wait and see” before they respond. In today’s atmosphere of rabid social media attacks and 24-hour global news cycles, leaders must plan ahead to be ready to respond in minutes.
What Defines a Crisis?
Any issue, problem or disruption which triggers negative stakeholder reactions that can impact the organization’s reputation, business and financial strength. Crises can be situations threatening or doing harm to people and property, serious disruptions to operations, product recalls, labor issues, social media attacks, lawsuits, highly negative media coverage or allegations of wrongdoing against employees or leaders.
Mismanagement of a crisis can further drive up costs and compound the problems facing the organization. When it comes to a crisis, it is much easier to prepare and prevent, than to repair and repent.
That’s where we come in.
Effective crisis management minimizes damage and may even improve a company’s reputation if leaders communicate with speed, honesty and transparency.
Our crisis work spans three areas:
planning & prevention, training, and response & consulting
We’ve worked with leaders across virtually every industry and type of organization, including public and private companies, nonprofits, government agencies and religious and educational institutions. Our senior consultants have deep, direct experience with crisis planning and preparedness, coaching executives and helping organizations to effectively manage both sudden disasters and the smoldering issues that erupt from mismanagement and other serious problems.
CRISIS PLANNING & PREVENTION
We’ll work with you to identify the kinds of crises for which your organization is most at risk. Then, we will develop a crisis communication plan that is comprehensive yet easy to use. We’ll write a plan that includes quick response guides to help you move quickly to address a variety of specific scenarios. We will help you implement the plan and train the crisis management team to use it effectively.
If you have a crisis communication plan but have not updated or exercised it recently, we can do that, too.
CRISIS TRAINING
We’ve been a leader in crisis communication training for nearly three decades. Our flagship course, the ICM Crisis Communication Management Certification Course, delivers comprehensive training for leaders and those responsible for communicating with media, employees and other stakeholders. Our Crisis Media Training workshop prepares spokespersons to respond clearly and confidently to difficult interviews. We can customize these and other training programs for your business and deliver them on-site.
CRISIS RESPONSE & CONSULTING
Even with good crisis management planning, some crises cannot be prevented, but they can be mitigated. When a crisis strikes and you need all-hands-on-deck, count on ICM experts to provide immediate, 24/7 strategic and tactical communication support.
We develop strategy and messaging for all stakeholders and coach executives to deliver difficult news with empathy and transparency. We monitor and analyze media stories and social conversations, making recommendations to address trends and minimize negative fallout.
When the worst of the crisis has passed, we’ll help you review your overall response to determine what worked well and what needs to be done differently next time.
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Join Deb Hileman, SCMP at Upcoming Crisis Event!
March 11, 2021
We are proud to be a sponsor of the first Crisis Comms Mastery virtual summit from @AgilityPRS and @BulldogReporter. Happening online March 25 & 26.
