Reports suggest that nearly 70% of organisations have experienced at least one corporate crisis between 2015 to 2020, the average being three crises per organisation. Yet, the amount of apprehension given to crisis planning does no justice to the severity of the situation. It is unquestionably essential for business owners to have a positive mindset concerning their future goals, but a blind eye toward any possible threats does not suitable for the functioning of the business and its reputation.
A crisis need not be a large-scale event like bankruptcy or a dispute between partners that lead to a business collapse. It can be something that did not even originate in the organisation. For instance, a natural calamity that can jeopardise your operations, a biological calamity like an epidemic affecting your employees, a cyber-attack that leaks your confidential data, or merely a friend turned foe that intends to spill the beans and damage the company’s reputation.
Most organisations that have been through a crisis have learned from their mistakes and are implementing a crisis management plan as a backbone of their reputation management strategies. Let us understand how crisis preparedness can save an organisation from blunders:
- Employee well-being
Investing a substantial amount of revenue and the best brains of the organisation into crisis management strategies attracts new joiners and safeguards existing ones. It can be easier to gain the loyalty of a new employee whose previous organisation lacked crisis management practices, resulting in severe repercussions. The existing employee would not look towards any other organisation that does not pay attention to this concern.
- Maintaining business continuity
The ability of any crisis to shut down business operations is unquestionable. We have witnessed this on a global level during the pandemic. A pause in the business operations, be it only for a few days, can cause a hold on the revenue flow that adversely affects business continuity. Lack of adequate planning also results in lengthening this pause. Hence, crisis planning is required to minimise downtime and increase productivity and revenue.
It also helps businesses identify the weak links that should be highlighted in their management strategies.
- Managing reputation in the marketplace
A crisis management plan protects an organisation’s reputation. It is impossible not to experience a single crisis in the entire business lifetime. However, with an effective plan, a business is more likely to be empathised by the regulatory bodies and its customers and employees, even if it fails to implement the plan or come together after a crisis. Therefore, these strategies also act as a shield for the company’s reputation.
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