CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Be Proactive Rather Than Reactive To A Situation -
Noah built the ark before it started to rain. That is supposed to be the mantra of the first ever crisis management program. BSYA is considered one of the foremost crises managers—preparing companies and people on the finer points of managing anything that is considered a crisis—an oil spill, tainted pharmaceuticals, oily water spills, accidents at sea. We can prepare you and your team on how to handle the tough questions or we can handle them for you. It is one of our specialties—ready when you are.
The question is, “How much are you willing to risk?” Your entire organization – your assets and your reputation – is at stake if you are not prepared to respond to media scrutiny during an incident. A crisis is any situation that threatens the integrity or reputation of your company—a terrorist threat or activity, legal dispute, theft, labor practices, accident or fire— that could be attributed to or perceived to be the fault of your company or employees. At crisis time, your visibility is raised— the way in which you react to the crisis is played out in the media for everyone to see. Thus, your strategy needs appropriate messaging, appropriate timing and appropriate distribution channels to effectively communicate with the media, employees, core constituencies, customers, and stakeholders.
BSYA facilitates rapid de-escalation of a crisis through timely and effective communications methods— whether it’s informing public and key stakeholders, anticipating and meeting needs of journalists, or setting up and operating public input channels— proper and professional action must be taken. Your message must be managed clearly, honestly and consistently. We manage perception of competence, truth and openness to ensure inaccurate/misleading reporting is corrected immediately and that all news – good or bad – is communicated as soon as confirmed.
Preparation is key. How your company responds to the media during first 24 to 48 hours is critical. Whether dealing with a brief business interruption or a worst-case scenario, the extent of preparation could determine the future of your business, its assets and reputation. It’s wise to have a plan in advance because most crises have a consistent pattern. Having a system in place allows you to deal with the situation at hand, and not waste time trying to decide how to respond.
Our experience has been played out successfully from labor issues to oil spills, environmental challenges to natural disasters and our expertise guides you through the most troublesome issues threatening your reputation. Design allows a clear vision of how best to position your brand, proposition or service. Our award-winning vision comes to life depending on the relationship we have with our clients and, in particular, our ability to inspire our design partners.
Our communicators and designers find it easy to convey the needs and ideas on behalf of our clients to each other. We share the same mind-set, or, in global teams, the same language or culture, thereby avoiding miscommunication. At BSYA, we understand the value the designer brings from their different perspectives and capabilities while we collaborate and learn from the talent and enthusiasm that designers possess. Our graphics professionals notice things that other people don’t, which could lead to true inspiration. We always remember that our designers might view the world in terms of gradient, texture and emotional resonance, and see value in a perfectly beveled corner.