The Essentials of Crisis Management
In times of crisis, control is a major determinant of a good outcome. Examples of critical situations include the kidnapping of a top executive while he is visiting another country or the hijacking of a passenger plane.
However, people
often panic and lose sight of the future. This is where crisis management comes
in. Because the people involved are often emotionally attached, it is important
to hire a team which could analyze the situation objectively and formulate a
smart and attainable plan for dealing with the crisis.
What Crisis Management Offers
Aside from kidnap for ransom and hijacking and piracy, whether it is on land,
air or sea, crisis management specialists are able to respond to situations
such as extortion, illegal detention and arrest and product tampering or
intentional product contamination.
Characteristics of a Good Crisis Management Team
When looking for a good team, the fundamentals include choosing one which has a
24-hour support, multilingual capacity, international links, and competent team
members. The non-stop support is needed because crisis situations usually
extend beyond hours and can even last days or weeks. The team should be
available 24/7 and should be able to provide reports and advice to the client
without compromising privacy, confidentiality and security.
The multilingual capacity of the team is needed to cover all bases. Many crisis
situations nowadays involve people from different countries. It would not do if
the operation gets botched just because the crisis management specialists took
a yes for a no. Moreover, if the team has formed international linkages, the
situation would be managed better since international contacts could be
mobilized to act for the client.
Competence is a must. In fact, crisis management specialists should not even
have the job if they are incompetent. Skills and techniques are taught in
special training schools and crisis management personnel are trained through
simulation of actual crisis events. Competence is needed for the response
personnel to be deployed as soon as possible for situation recovery. It is also
needed in case negotiation is needed for crisis resolution. A measure of
competence is reputation. If the crisis management company has good reviews and
is reputed to be an excellent one, then one could be assured that it is indeed
competent.
Crisis situations, more often than not, involve life and death, whether
directly or indirectly. Failure is not an acceptable option. Hiring crisis management
specialists helps people in crisis deal with the situation using the most
efficient means possible. When in a difficult situation that seems to be beyond
control, crisis management offers the best possible results.