"Crises happen - Why aren't companies prepared?"

by Terry Hemeyer on Mar. 5, 2007

In my 35 years of communications and management experience, I’ve seen the gamut of actual crisis situations, communication planning, or lack thereof.  Working with companies from start-ups to the Fortune 100, I find that, if there is a plan, it rarely reflects realistic preparation for a crisis.  In fact, I find only one in five companies is truly prepared for a crisis — an emergency situation that could cost millions of dollars.

For unprepared companies, there are two scenarios: 1) no crisis plan or 2) it exists, but sits on a shelf out-of-date and unavailable to those that need it.  Further, when a crisis does occur, unprepared companies rarely understand the potential it holds for long-term damage to the company.  Overall, most companies are simply unaware of their vulnerabilities.

That’s the bad news.  The good news is you can do it the right way.  To start, develop a definitive list of vulnerabilities.  This should include commonly feared crises, such as fires and explosions, but should also dig deeper to include lesser known, but equally common scenarios such as false rumors by competitors, revealing personal lives of executives or employees feeding the competition valued information. This only skims the surface of the many vulnerabilities facing today’s organizations, so start making your list today.

Once you’ve identified your vulnerabilities, the most important step is to take action to prevent these issues from arising in the first place.  So many crises I encounter could have easily been prevented with minimal forethought and preparation.  Don’t allow your company to fall into that category.

Finally, of course, create a plan.  And don’t just create it — train employees on how to activate it, practice implementing it, update it regularly and include it in orientation materials for new employees.  Sound like one of those projects you’ll get to “one day?”  Make it part of the annual review process for key personnel or consider hiring a third party to ensure accountability in keeping it up-to-date.  A good crisis plan can save companies millions of dollars and serve as good corporate governance, but one that goes unused might as well stay on the shelf collecting dust.