Jan 2002

FIVE LIFESAVING TIPS WHEN UNDER FIRE

Something dramatic has happened to your organisation or your organisation's services and products. A product recall with customer injury perhaps. A scandal involving a company director has been revealed. In such cases, the media usually have a field day. How would you respond? In November's issue of LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS , I promised some tips on coping under fire. Here are a few:

Practical Crisis Action Tips:

1) Have a built-in reserve fund to draw on for additional costs - a whole group of hotline/ call centre staff to handle public inquiries, lawyers, possible defamation damages ( esp. in the publishing industry ) is often needed.
Document everything.

2) Keep track of everything piece of correspondence , including email. These may prove to be critical later when seeking to make claims or defending yourself against claims

3) have a pre-approved list of critical contact numbers to form your team and in-house and external 'experts' to form a crisis committee. Individual numbers for lawyers, the CEO etc are also critical; including contacts who would know the whereabouts of key staff if they on vacation

4) Anticipate and prepare for knock-on effects. Major bad news travels lightning fast and can have a negative effect on other parts of your business.

5) make sure the manual for handling a crisis is easy available and that all key personnel now where to find it or their own copies. Some folks have messy desks. Make sure the manual has bright cover or binding!