Crisis Management Planning

A crisis and a disaster are both bad news for your business, in isolation they are worrying enough but together it could mean the end of your company! The fact is they are very different concepts. A disaster is an event that results in great damage, difficulty, or death. A crisis is a situation that has reached an extremely difficult or dangerous point. A flood is a disaster. You should have recognized that possibility and prepared for that potential. Then it becomes second nature - you can deal with it according to your plan. Britannia Protective Services (BPS) have a team of experienced consultants who can review and audit your current plans or build a program from scratch. Major product recalls are a crisis, leading to loss of productivity, sales and 'face' in the market! Sometimes it is hard to know whether you are really in a crisis, but failure to handle a disaster properly can lead to a crisis.

Disaster Planning

In a disaster, you will probably will be on your own for a while. It is therefore critical that your operation has a workable, tried and tested plan. The widespread nature of a disaster means public services like fire fighters, police, and medical assistance will not be able to reach everyone right away. BPS keep in mind these four key facts in any disaster planning:

• Disasters will occur
• You have to have a plan before the disaster hits
• React with urgency, but don't panic
• Ride it out

There are many consultants available who will help you develop a crisis management plan. BPS will not just develop it but help you implement and exercise it. Furthermore when you implement it - we'll be there to assist. Crisis management means having a plan in place, having identified who will do what, and having practiced the plan for most conceivable events.

Many of us think that we are good enough managers that we can handle anything that comes up. We think on our feet all the time and are often called upon to make quick decisions on key issues. However, a crisis, by its very nature, can be overwhelming and personnel intensive. Companies and individuals who have never experienced a crisis often do not realize the pressure it creates.

No company ever expects to have to deal with a PR crisis, but most eventually do. It is critical that the company be prepared ahead of time if it is to survive. You need to develop a crisis management plan and media plan. You need to develop variations of the plan to cover any emergency your company might be expected to encounter. For most companies, these include natural or man made disasters, precipitous stock market drop, employee misconduct, workplace violence, product liability claims, manufacturing or design mistakes, accidents or industrial disputes.

The goal of developing your plan is to get your employees thinking and talking about what might happen and how that can be effectively managed. The goal of the plan itself is to ensure your people have the tools to get the crisis under control as quickly as possible to minimize the damage.

Crisis Communications Plan

One of the most important parts of your crisis management plan has to be your crisis communications plan. You hope that if a crisis occurs that it will raise little attention and you will be able to just deal with the issues and fix the problem. Sometimes that happens. More often, someone notices and tells a reporter or posts it to a forum on the Internet and suddenly it seems like the entire world is calling you or knocking on your door or sending you email. It is this later case you must be prepared to handle.

BPS consultants can advise on media forward planning to avert commercial disaster.