For those of you operating on a school schedule because of your children, summer break is finally here!  While companies deserve a break too, this may be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of slower times and develop or brush up on a crisis management plan.  It’s human nature to not think about a crisis plan until you have one.  But think of a crisis plan as an insurance plan—you plan ahead by getting car insurance before you have an accident (hopefully!).  For some larger companies, that may require a detailed document and plan with different steps for different scenarios.  For other smaller companies, that can be as simple as making sure everyone knows the point person to contact and understanding the basic steps to implement in case of a crisis.

But think of a crisis plan as an insurance plan—you plan ahead by getting car insurance before you have an accident (hopefully!).

Remarkably, according to a PR News Wire survey in October 2019,  62 percent of respondents stated that their company had a crisis management plan. Pretty good, right?  Well, of that group, about half said their company’s crisis management plan was up to date and the other half stated that their company had a plan, but it was not up to date.  Even more concerning, only 26 percent of participants said their organization’s crisis plan is “well known” to the crisis management team.

This summer, take some time to figure out where your company stands.  A little planning now will pay dividends in the future if and when you face a crisis in the future.

Here’s a little more about our crisis management practice and my background.

Photo By TWOE from Shutterstock