Crisis management can be defined as the planning, implementation, and monitoring of strategies put in place to help an organization deal with a significant negative event.

Crises can come from a multitude of sources and can strike at any time. Whether they are the result of a natural disaster, employee misconduct, or workplace violence, mishandling a crisis can have disastrous effects on your company.

Many organizations attempt to protect themselves from a crisis by undergoing a vulnerability audit. They hire an outside company, such as Tucker/Hall, to come in and assess the company’s ability to deal with the potential crises they could face.

At Tucker/Hall, our vulnerability audit process begins with one-on-one interviews with management and various key staff members. We typically will do a site inspection to look at critical operations in order to get a better understanding of any possible vulnerabilities.

Once the possible risks are analyzed, we then begin to create a plan and prepare your employees for the possibility of disaster. Key personnel will receive specialized training so they will be able to communicate with various stakeholder groups, including the media, should a crisis arise. We also work with senior management to establish and maintain reporting relationships that encourage flexible and up-to-date communication strategies.

We also conduct ‘stress-tests’ that simulate crisis-like environments in order to test your plan and your team and see how they would react in a stressful situation. Plans, roles, and team members can then be adjusted accordingly to make sure the company is as prepared as possible.

However, many businesses don’t take the time to prepare. While this makes managing a crisis more difficult, it is still possible to minimize damage to your company, reputation, employees, and customers.

If you must go to court, it is essential to have a crisis management team by your side. Even if you win the judge and jury’s favor, you could lose public opinion if communications about the litigation are not handled properly. Tucker/Hall has experience working with litigators and legal teams in order to create and apply effective communication strategies inside and outside of the courtroom.

Cybersecurity issues and hacking have been on the rise in recent years. Tucker/Hall is ready to help your team plan, prepare, respond, and recover from any sort of cyber exploitation, data theft, digital fraud, and other cybersecurity breaches. We work with your team, security consultants, law enforcement agencies, and the media, in order to mitigate damages and prevent or recover from a negative situation.

Because every organization and every situation is completely unique, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for managing a crisis. However, throughout the years our team at Tucker/Hall has helped hundreds of organizations manage their particular crises. This experience, coupled with our dedication to understanding and promoting your organization’s long-term reputation, is what sets Tucker/Hall apart from the competition.

If you have any questions about how we can help your organization, contact us here and ask for Darren Richards.