Crisis communication is receiving more and more global attention from both the corporate environment and from public or governmental institutions. With the world being under the threat of crises of a diverse nature, the need for cooperating and finding an appropriate solution for crisis communication is all the more poignant in an era driven by new media and the impact it has on people and their understanding of current events. Regardless of the crisis, without a proper crisis communication strategy in place, any company, institution, or government agency can suffer damages in its aftermath.

Although it has been around for many years, crisis communication is just now starting to see an increase in awareness towards the importance of the industry and the impact crisis communication has on the wellbeing of businesses and institutions from all over the world. In today’s technology-driven times, when information travels with the speed of light, the way a company handles a crisis – whether internal or external – is of utmost importance and can even decide the faith and future of said company. A mishandled crisis may lead to financial loses, a decrease in brand loyalty, and even bankruptcy, depending on the situation.

When we hear the word ‘crisis’, we think about a situation that is generally out of our control, perhaps caused by external factors, a situation which will cause havoc regardless of your implication in it. Adopting this approach can trigger a wide range of negative effects in times of crisis.

Not being prepared for a crisis, no matter its nature, is something you can’t fix on the spot, so when the time comes, without an already-implemented crisis communication plan, it will be difficult to handle the unfolding events. Crises arise in all environments, not just in the case of institutions such as the police or the firefighting department but a variety of industries from financial services to manufacturing.

Corporate crises are more common than people think, and being prepared for them makes the difference between recovering with grace from the impact, and having to work months, if not years to undo the damage to the brand.

It was arguably one of the most dreaded crises of our decade: the first Ebola diagnosis in the U.S. in Dallas, Texas in 2014. Independent reports into the Ebola crisis indicated a general lack of preparedness and stumbling caused by communication failures. Coupled with the frenzied social media, news about the crisis quickly exploded out of proportion, spreading like wildfire and created public panic.

Any situation that is threatening or could become threatening and harm people, property, businesses, and even damage reputations is considered a crisis. The world is and has always been vulnerable to a wide array of crisis. People, institutions, organizations, countries, landscapes, everyone an everything on this earth could at one point be in crisis.

Studies have shown that 79% of business decision makers believe that they are only 12 months away from a potential crisis. Despite this, only 59% of business decision makers have experienced a crisis in the current or previous company. A scarier statistic is that only 54% of businesses have a developed crisis plan in place. Business crisis situations can occur with little or no warning, often leaving businesses unable to continue trading efficiently and damaging both physical and non-material infrastructure.

Critical incidents often occur with little or no warning and need to be addressed immediately and professionally. In the event of a critical incident it is important to have the correct measures in place in order to keep all parties informed and updated with all details available in real time. Failure to communicate during a critical incident can create insecurity and deeper problems right across the board for businesses.

The JLL Retail Division recently gathered a panel of experts, partners and members of corporate to discuss crisis communications in the retail context, and our very own Daniel Wagstaff joined the panel.

Is your company reviewing your harassment policy? Recently, the #MeToo movement and surrounding stories of workplace harassment left many HR departments scrambling to update harassment policies. Even though the law and sound corporate management have mandated good workplace harassment policies for decades, some companies just didn’t pay enough attention – until now, when workplace harassment has become a hot-button cultural issue. Now, companies that waited are behind the ball (and some are even facing lawsuits). Many companies that waited to review their harassment policies regret it.

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