Crisis management is an integral component of any business in today’s complicated and fast-paced world. If you are small outfit, a catastrophe may not be the end of your company, but it still pays to have a plan in place.
The larger and more well-known you are on the world stage; however, the more important crisis management becomes.
Crisis Management Media Training
Even more so in the age of social media, it can take little or no time for the damage to escalate. Ensuring that you have the right spokespeople ready and trained to go out and defend your business is critical. The truth is that a crisis can strike at any time and take many different forms, including:
Product or Service Problems
One of the most common causes of a crisis is a problem with a particular product or service. Any company can be at risk of this. When Samsung’s Note 7 tended to ‘explode’ in 2016, it caused major damage to their worldwide reputation and put them in the news for all the wrong reasons.
Personnel Issues
Problems with staff, including the potential for strike action, have dogged a lot of larger companies. Amazon was faced with criticism for its treatment of warehouse workers when an expose highlighted their practices.
These types of issues can also be strongly driven by social media, as the clothing line Ted Baker found out when its founder was accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Accidents
In places like factories and warehouses, you also have a significant potential for accidents to occur. This can quickly become mainstream news, especially when injuries or even fatalities are involved. Managing the crisis while being attuned to potential public outrage can be a difficult thing to handle without a coherent strategy in place.
Financial Issues
Companies that face financial issues can also find themselves plunged into a crisis with almost no warning. One recent example that combines financial with personnel issues was seen with P&O Ferries where almost overnight the company decided to lay off several hundred staff because of problems with the business.
Fraud, Corruption and Tax Affairs
There have been several businesses that have faced a crisis because of how they handled their tax affairs or because of fraud and corruption within the hierarchy. Large companies including Amazon and Google have certainly faced criticism for the small amount of tax they pay. In 2014, even supermarket Tesco was accused of fraudulently overstating its profits which led to the arrest of three executives of the company.
Supply Chain Issues
Brexit and the pandemic have caused supply chain issues for many different companies across the UK in recent years. When supplies can’t get from A to B and shelves are empty, it causes a major crisis that is difficult to control and explain to the public.
Data Breaches
Finally, one of the most common things that happen to businesses nowadays, often causing an immediate and long-lasting crisis, is a data breach. This has affected some big companies from British Airways and Capital One to Yahoo, undoubtedly the biggest breach in recent years that affected some 3 million accounts.
Preparing for a crisis is essential for any size business. You may not be able to completely plan for all catastrophes, but you can plan for how and when you will respond and have key players in place if the worst does happen. Expert media training that deals specifically with crisis management is an expert area for Hawkeye Media, book your training today to ensure you are ready for whatever comes your way.