Many companies are inadequately prepared for a crisis and also have not given enough thought to the associated communications. That is playing with fire, because when your company is facing a crisis, it is crucial to act and communicate quickly and thoughtfully. Especially when the spotlight and a magnifying glass are focused on you, of course as little can go wrong as possible. Therefore, make good preparation for (potential) crises an important resolution for 2024!
What do you mean when you are talking about crises?
A crisis is an unexpected or expected event with a potentially major impact on your business or organization, for which it is different from a normal situation and anyway it is important that you handle it well. There are different types of crises and it also varies by company or organization which crises may occur. COVID-19 is an example of a crisis situation that impacted really everyone in society. For example, the likelihood of major problems with the supervisory board or works council is not present in all organizations. If it does happen, it is definitely a crisis. An awkward tweet from an employee has more impact at one organization than another. Whether it leads to a crisis also depends on the context:who said what and when?
Survey: a quarter of companies are not prepared at all
Recent U.S. research shows that only half (49%) of the companies have a "formal" crisis communications plan. 28 percent of companies do not have a plan written down, but have considered potential crises, and as many as 23 percent of companies are not prepared at all for a crisis. 84 percent of U.S. CEOs in this survey think it is important to be better prepared for a crisis and actually practice it. By that, they mean mimicking a scenario and training the steps in the crisis plan.
We see the same thing happening in the Netherlands. At Castro, we often hear from (potential) clients that they would or should have been better prepared for a crisis. This is true for both smaller companies as well as to large organizations. In the former group, it is more often the case that there has been no preparation for crises. The latter group of companies has been working on it, but also feels that much more is needed. Working out various scenarios and keep practicing. For example, with crisis communication training.
Want to know more about crisis communications? Then contact Stefan (stefan@castrocommunicatie.nl or 06 - 104 66 828) or keep an eye on this blog. Part 2 on crisis communication will come soon.