Articles by Levick Experts
When It Comes to Preparedness, Crisis Plans Go Up In Flames
by Richard S. Levick
When “it” hits the fan and crisis grips a company, one can only hope for an ablebodied communications team to swoop in and pick up the pieces with as little damage to reputation as possible. But that hope isn't delivered on the wings on guardian angels; rather, it is a carefully constructed mix of making plans and then being willing to thrown them out the window.
A recent survey of nearly 700 communications professionals, conducted by PR News and Levick Strategic Communications, underscored this fact and highlighted some interesting discrepancies in practices of preparedness.
For example, 67 percent of respondents claim to have an internal crisis team in place, and a 73 percent majority does not enlist an outside communications agency in the event of a crisis. According to Richard Levick, president and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, this can be cause for concern, if not for additional crises.
“Litigation communications involves special risks and requires special skills,” he says. “Have an agency that specializes in it. Courts and marketplaces will tend to look upon it more favorably.”
Considering the unfortunate but often unavoidable link between corporate crises and litigious activity, communications executives would be ill-advised to ignore the legal implications of crisis plans gone wrong. Levick’s advice of having a specialized agency on hand, while costly, can be a strong defense against the delivery of bad news when the gavel hits the table.
Another point raised by the survey is the high number of respondents who have a crisis plan template in place: 73 percent. While this suggests that a good deal of attention has gone into their planning for a crisis− especially amid reports of an unstable business environment and widespread corporate scandals − the number doesn’t reflect communicators’ adaptability when their crisis plans turn out to be unusable.
“It’s not just a plan on a shelf,” Levick says. “That’s the first thing to be destroyed in a flood or fire.” Expecting the unexpected, then, isn’t enough − after all, the unexpected is called the unexpected for a reason. And while the survey revealed that many communications and PR professionals are making moves to anticipate trouble – from media-training top executives (74 percent) to identifying able spokespeople (43 percent of respondents chose the CEO) − it begs for a follow-up: When“it” hits the fan and crisis grips a company, are you willing to throw caution to the wind, burn that pre-made crisis plan (if it hasn’t already burned on its own accord) and adapt? If so, Darwin would be proud.
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Richard S. Levick, Esq., President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, protects brands and reputations during the highest-stakes global crises and litigation. Honored as Crisis Firm of the Year by the Holmes Report in 2005, the Firm wins the hearts and minds of key audiences with comprehensive campaigns on behalf of clients targeted by regulators, embroiled in litigation, or confronted by grassroots movements. Find a comprehensive arsenal of vital communications tools at www.levick.com, including books, newsletters, and helpful articles.