Specific planning: It is not plans that manage crises, but people. However, people work better with a plan. In order for it to work in a crisis, the plan must be simple, well desigend and understood. After we have analysed the initial situation in your company, we derive the structures, processes and roles that are helpful in special situations.
Helpful instructions: In exceptional situations, the usual management processes often lose their effectiveness. We define special reporting channels, decision trees, crisis structures and strategic guard rails to reduce the error rate as best as possible. For this purpose, we evaluate existing crisis manuals or create new ones. Since crises are often phases of high psychological pressure, we conduct audits, simulations or workshops. This is how we ensure that the plans fit the people.
Resilient Task Force: Classical communication structures are subjected to an extreme stress test in the event of a crisis – even small mistakes can then cause great damage to the company. Together with those responsible, we develop a professional crisis team that allows the organisation to act quickly and efficiently even under high situational pressure. In doing so, we define staff units according to role, function and necessity.
Knowledge of stakeholders: Groups of people with the most diverse demands on the company organise themselves particularly quickly in crisis situations – then inaccurate communication can lead to uncontrollable reactions. We develop a detailed overview of relevant stakeholders and identify key players and interfaces. The stakeholder analysis enables precise communication that meets the information needs of the individual stakeholders.
Consistent communication: A well-founded “Questions & Answers” document efficiently meets the information needs of stakeholders and is thus a resilient instrument for internal and external communication. We analyse problematic issues and important stakeholders, evaluate the potential for conflict and write precise, standardised answers to critical questions. As a result, those responsible have an overview of all relevant issues and are ready to speak within a short time in the event of a crisis.
Recommendation of service providers: Systematic media monitoring is a highly effective means of crisis prevention: changes in public opinion are signalled at an early stage and can be influenced in a targeted manner through communicative measures. We work together with renowned service providers and recommend the most suitable provider in each case on the basis of special benchmark tests.
Fast provision of additional information: If a company does not inform quickly and comprehensively in the event of a crisis, this can provoke misunderstandings and misinformation. We design and maintain dark sites, which are activated for the public if required. This modified version of the company website can contain, among other things, text modules, graphics, key figures as well as Q&As that can be quickly adapted and inform the public transparently about all measures.
