Each organisation occasionally faces disadvantages. Burying your head in the sand whenever there is a storm is, however, never a good idea. Those who opt for pretending nothing is wrong in a crisis are asking for trouble. Crisis communication ensures that the situation does not escalate.
A good reputation is extremely important. In other words: building up a good reputation takes time and effort. And a crisis can nullify all this in the twinkling of an eye. The aim of crisis communication is providing the right and complete information for all concerned, as soon as (and preferably before) a crisis occurs. Communicating in times of crisis is a must. Being prepared is even better...
An informed manager is worth two... research has shown that a well-prepared organisation can master a crisis faster and with less damage as a result. Risk analysis identifies and estimates risks and their consequences. This is followed by the crisis preparation: structuring and organising the communication policy based on the risks. Crisis management and monitoring is about realising and supervising the risk-based communication policy.
Each self-respecting organisation should pursue a crisis communication policy. Research has shown that just 4% of all Belgian companies has a crisis communication plan... So there is plenty of crisis work to be done!
The RCA team has several crisis communication specialists:
Bruno Leyssens (partner)
Els Bruynickx (senior communication advisor)
Kim Reynders (senior communication advisor)
Jochem Goovaerts (senior communication advisor)
