This is the second part in the series of how to handle important stakeholders during a company crisis. In the first part we talked about handling the government and investors. In today’s part we shall take the discussion further by including the board and NGOs as well.
Board
• A crisis demands prompt executive-level actions within the company. But crisis response is also about being externally focused: government and regulators, investors, media, customers and consumers. The company will be scrutinised by them, and with the organization’s license to operate on the line, the board cannot afford to be a mere bystander.
• Today’s crisis response needs to practised in advance to win in this environment. The board should be made aware of its role in advance, not briefed about hastily after the crisis has already hit
• We will give them reassurance that the plan is simple but robust and that executive leadership is ready for anything that might happen
• We will undergo practise responses like scenario walk-throughs (for the less experienced among the crisis management team) and table-tops (for the more experienced crisis handlers) and make board members participate as well
NGOs
• Strategic partnerships with NGOs should be a regular practice in the organisation to bolster its sense of purpose
• Relationships with NGOs should be a mutually respectable one so that they seek to hear our side of the story when a crisis hits and so that we also may seek their help to mitigate suspicion
• Trusted NGOs must be invited to our factories to give their word on our safety practices.
This two-part blog post is a succinct guide on how to deal with a crisis – with special focus on handling stakeholders. Hope it gives you an idea about what a crisis entails and how, as a PR professional, you must -first – prepare for it, and second – deal with it.
Rummaging Ruminations 