LEADING FROM THE FRONT – STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
While some companies may not consider crisis management to be a pressing matter (especially when the sun is shining), if they are unprepared when a disaster strikes, uncurbed harm may result. The fallout from a crisis can quickly mount to cause serious long-term problems for a business. This is exacerbated in the social media age, where reputational and financial damage can spread like wildfire.
A crisis can strike at any time. It could be a financial shock, a natural disaster, a product recall, widespread business disruption or political upheaval. As such, it is imperative that companies position themselves to respond to a variety of potential crises. Having just one plan in place is often insufficient; it will not be a good fit for every crisis a company could face. An organisation’s response to a cyber attack, for instance, will be very different to how it reacts to litigation or the death of a high-ranking executive.
To that end, companies should pursue a range of crisis plans that cover a multitude of potential incidents, covering different challenges, including communications issues, geographical nuances and so on. This level of preparation requires strong, strategic leadership from the C-suite and input from crisis management professionals.
Despite the potential risks, an alarming number of organisations are underprepared for a crisis. According to a 2022 Experian survey, around half of UK business leaders surveyed said their organisations did not have crisis response plans in place.
This is perhaps even more concerning given that 78 percent of respondents said their organisations had faced a crisis in the prior 18 months that had impacted customers. The most frequent crises experienced included data breach of consumer information (78 percent), product recall (76 percent), cyber attack (74 percent) and ransomware attack (73 percent).
Oct-Dec 2024 Issue
Richard Summerfield