The risks and costs of having an out-of-date Crisis Plan

Looking at PortfolioWhen was the last time you updated your crisis plan?

Go and take a look at it right now.

If the last revisions were dated more than two years ago, you are in trouble.

There is a high probability that your plan will not serve you well should you face a real crisis, in a world where digital media drives threats at lightning speed – and in which online and social media is the source of so many reputation and business crises.

And where was the plan when you went looking for it?

Buried deep in the files on your computer? In a dusty 3-ring binder on a shelf? On a flash-drive in a forgotten pocket of your bag?

Or maybe you didn’t know whether you had the latest version.

You had to check with Corporate Communication to have them search for the right documents.

Now take a look at the content of the plan.

Do the procedures, processes and resources in the plan reflect the digital world?

Does the plan recognize old and new sources of risk, including online and social media?

Does it place digital tools and resources in the hands of your crisis team so it can respond with the effectiveness and speed at which the threat is moving?

And what about the specific crisis scenario’s covered by the plan – as well as traditional threats such as extreme weather, cyber security and product problems, does it identify and deal with newer sources of risk from cultural, social and political issues?

Learn More About Digital Crisis Management in Using Technology to Implement and  Activate Your Crisis Management Plan

There are huge costs and risks with an old, outdated crisis plan

As an excellent example of a ‘modern’ crisis and the subsequent costs let’s look at recent issues surrounding Starbucks.

It began in early April at a Starbucks in Philadelphia when, according to USA Today:

A store manager called the police because the two men were sitting in the store without placing an order. They were arrested for trespassing. The customers said they were waiting for another man to arrive. That person arrived at the store as they were being arrested.”

The two men are black and one of them was also allegedly denied use of the restroom.

Almost inevitably in the age of the smartphone, the whole interaction was recorded by other customers. 

The videos showed that there were white customers in the store not ordering anything who did not get handcuffed.

The cost to Starbucks has not just been the bad publicity, threats of boycott and loss of reputation.

Subsequently, CEO Kevin Johnson apologized and announced that the company is closing 8000 stores for the afternoon on May 29 so that all employees receive training in managing unconscious racial bias.

Think about your business and your crisis plan.

Would it have been useful to you and the crisis team if the poor behavior of your employees who strayed from the values of the organization had been captured on social media and viewed by millions?

 

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