Monday, June 10, 2013

How A Crisis Communications Plan Helps Businesses Recover

By Liliana Mills


Almost every company in business wants to have a good reputation and a large customer base. The best thing that could happen in the day is nothing goes wrong and everything operates smoothly. This does not always happen and sometimes large things can go wrong that cause other people to notice. These events can destroy the reputation might have worked years to build and protect. Company executives should have some idea how they are going to respond to a situation without making the company look worse than it might already look. Having a crisis communications plan in a time like this could be helpful.

An example of an unexpected event that shook a company was when their oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico malfunctioned and caught fire. A number of employees were killed as oil began gushing up from sea floor of the Gulf and immediately threatened wildlife and people. The situation was bad enough that not many people thought it would end quickly.

The oil flowing from a ruptured line disrupted the tourism and fishing industries in many areas. The negative publicity hurt the reputation and standing of the oil company with their customers. Something had to be done to mitigate the constant barrage of negative news that was now associated with the oil company.

This is when a crisis communications plan is beneficial to have available. One of the things that would be covered in the documents is different case scenarios. How would the company react if a ship crashed into a dock or what would happen if a pipe broke and oil spewed out into the seas. Each scenario should have planning on what to do and what to say. The helps to keep to control the response of the company in any particular situation.

One aspect that the operator probably considers is the spillage of oil. This can range from small amounts to huge amounts gushing from pipes that have broken. There are certain measures that are expected to be taken like setting up booms to trap the oil so it can get picked up. Implementing strategies like these helps to mitigate the possible damage and show the media they are taken positive action to address the problem.

An immediate concern many people will have in the communities that line the shore where the spill has occurred is how much oil is out there. They will probably be wondering what will happen to the fishery and shore line as the oil moves towards the community. The media often covers these types of stories closely.

A corporation that has previously made plan could look better than one that has not. Making sure there is equipment and personnel nearby to respond to spills might be appreciated. This can help the corporation look better and lessen the anger some might have about the spill.

Almost every business is susceptible to something bad happening. The companies that have realistically assessed the possible problems that can happen and developed a crisis communications plan have a good chance of recovering. Other companies who do not prepare themselves may simply get forced out of business.




About the Author:



No comments: