When was the last time something unexpected happened at your company that caused normal business operations to be altered? Was it a workplace accident? Did it involve an environmental or other regulatory action? How about a labor issue? Were you receiving customer complaints? How long was it before negative news coverage and social media chatter started to appear? Did you find yourself asking whether the situation was a true crisis?
Statistics show that companies have an 80% chance during any five-year period of facing at least one crisis that could impact their brand equity by up to 20%. Not being prepared is a recipe for disaster.
Planning for a potential crisis is important, but planning is only the first step in preparedness. Most of the damage from a crisis does not come from the initial event. Instead, it is the duration of the crisis and the mistakes made in responding during the initial minutes and hours of a crisis that exact the greatest toll. To overcome this reality, you must prepare your team for a crisis like successful sports teams prepare for success – with practice.
The key in any crisis is to squeeze valuable time out of your response through smooth teamwork, an understanding of responsibilities and protocols, and a commitment to speed, flexibility and thoroughness.
There are three primary reasons a business needs to run regular crisis simulation drills:
1. That dusty plan is worthless.
Around 60% of companies have gone through the effort to create a crisis management plan. Chances are, it is at least five years old, and many of the people who will be responsible for your crisis response effort have never read it. If they joined your company after it was published, they may not even have a copy. The nature of threats to your business and the speed at which rumors and news spread have changed significantly in recent years. A plan will not work unless you have tested it and the people who will run it know their responsibilities. While some highly regulated businesses are required to have detailed plans that run 50+ pages in a binder, today we recommend plans in the form of some basic checklists, with key contact information that is regularly updated and step-by-step instructions for frontline managers. This format shortens the time between when an issue is discovered, and when reporting begins to crisis managers who can triage the matter. Time compression in a crisis is relentless and no one has the time to start reading an extensive crisis management plan for the first time as an issue unfolds.
2. Key stakeholders expect answers. Now.
During a crisis, your company will be judged on whether it is the cause of a problem, or the problem-solver based on how quickly you respond and what you communicate during the early hours of an event. When something goes wrong, it is better for employees, customers, regulators, and other important audiences to hear about it from you rather than from the rumor mill or a news report that contains the words, “A spokesperson for the company did not respond to requests for comment.” Running a crisis simulation that is based on a believable scenario and has realistic twists will improve teamwork and response times. Involving all of the players is a must, including your C-Suite, key communication, legal, human resources, logistics and operations staff, and managers at remote locations where an evolving issue could develop. A great deal is riding on how effectively your CEO communicates six things during the early stages of a crisis:
- You’ve noticed the problem.
- You care.
- You’re in control.
- You’ve taken action.
- You’re working to minimize the damage.
- You’ll take steps to reduce the likelihood it will happen again.
3. Practice reduces costly mistakes. It might even identify and remedy a potential crisis before it happens.
As we prepare for crisis simulations, we survey the participants about what concerns they have and their goals for the session. Some worry about making wrong decisions or communicating the wrong thing during a stressful situation. Others acknowledge they don’t know the company’s crisis plan or what role they need to play. They distrust the media, regulators and other outsiders that will likely be important during a crisis. Some will confide they don’t feel like part of the team or are confident everyone will pull together when it matters most. A crisis simulation needs to bring key people together to build teamwork and create an environment where they feel safe in speaking up, offering suggestions, and contributing their expertise to solving an issue. Drills should help identify blind spots. In some cases, working across disciplines uncovers legal or regulatory requirements that create unanticipated but necessary steps. Often, we find useful ways to streamline existing processes that can be implemented during a crisis. In more than one circumstance during one of these drills someone will ask a question like, “Could this really happen to us?” or, “If that happened, what would result?” The answers from the experts in the room closest to the situation can surprise executive staff and prompt preemptive actions to reduce potential hidden exposures.
A well-constructed crisis simulation should feel realistic. Making the practice feel tougher than the actual game is what championship teams do to prepare.
The Mower PR & PA Group has provided successful media training for hundreds of clients during the last four decades. The program has helped Fortune 500 CEOs, Native American national leaders, professional athletes and front-line managers at major manufacturers, chain restaurants, financial institutions and universities prepare for media interviews. The program includes a mix of classroom instruction, review of video footage showing best-in-class technique use in media interviews and multiple rounds of on-camera sample interviews featuring a former journalist with coaching on effective message delivery. In addition to Mower Media Training, the agency offers a crisis simulation workshop and a mission, vision and values alignment program designed to prepare companies for today’s Culture Wars environment.