Crisis management.
We know how a crisis affects a business because we have been there. We work together skilling and preparing the team to gain the necessary confidence to take ownership and control of any challenging situation.
If you find yourself in a crisis it is difficult to prevent damage to your reputation but we can help minimise the impact and shorten the recovery phase. We can do this because we draw on our extensive experience to make an immediate and positive impact.
Maintaining control through ownership
We have the experience.
We have experienced serious incidents and crises that have included:
Cyber security risk
Organisational change & restructuring
Environmental events
Pandemic and communicable disease
Financial disruption
Product recalls
Geopolitical events
Serious injury and loss of life
Mergers and acquisitions
Significant operational disruption
Herdwick’s crisis management principles
At Herdwick, we believe there isn’t an incident or crisis that can’t be anticipated; therefore, we can be ready. This way, we can maintain control of the incident and prevent it from escalating and becoming a crisis. We do this by adopting these ten principles:
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Don’t hope it won’t happen. It will. Think ahead about the scenarios. Prioritise the most likely and impactful, then plan, test and make them part of your everyday business processes.
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The ‘golden hour’ no longer exists. You need to respond immediately. Where possible, drive your response through social media; it’s the most effective channel to help you communicate quickly. You are aiming for engagement, not a one-way dialogue.
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It’s your issue. It’s yours to own. If others step in, it is because you are not taking ownership. Seek senior external counsel to provide perspective.
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Be honest and cooperative. Don’t think you can hide anything. When it becomes public knowledge, and it will, it often becomes more significant than the original incident.
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Communicate your actions and action what you communicate.
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Resource the incident to allow the team to rest adequately. Remember, this isn’t for everyone. Recognise it early and allow those struggling to step down without any associated guilt.
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You may be unable to fix what’s gone wrong, but it is in your power not to make it worse.
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An incident can be a long-haul event. You may be managing it for months and years. It can often spark other incidents. Take time to review what these may be in the context of the issue you are managing. Be ready.
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There’s always something to say. Don’t shy away. Be part of the narrative and engage with journalists.
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See everything through the eyes of those affected. Their perspective is the only one that matters.
How we can help
If you are in the thick of a crisis or want to mitigate business risk and ensure business continuity,
we have the experience to help. We can support you with:
Team training
Stakeholder mapping & engagement
Scenario planning
Simulations
Corporate messaging
Incident management toolkits
Issues and crisis management