It can be hard to know what to do in a crisis. From who needs to be in the room, through to who needs to hear what first and from who. There’s a lot to consider and one wrong move can have lasting implications for brands. From how your employees perceive leadership and the faith they hold in the company, through to what the press say and how that can influence customer trust.

I have a wealth of experience managing crises across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. From the Covid-19 pandemic, through to protests, civil unrest, and natural disasters. Or pivotal news moments such as the murder of George Floyd, or the war in Ukraine, which can spur employee activism. If you employ people, the chances are, events such as these will impact them in some way at some point.

Then on the corporate side, a major tech outage can damage your brand, as can a misplaced word from a spokesperson, or an ill-timed advertisement - the ways in which your brand and people can be affected by a crisis are varied and complex. Engaging a cool-headed communications consultant can help you think through what needs to happen now, next and in the future. This might look like:

• Quickly coming up with a crisis comms plan when something happens.

• Establishing a playbook for your business in the event of future crises.

• Guiding your spokesperson/people on what to say.

• Drafting and issuing statements and other comms to press and employees.

• Monitoring and documenting coverage and sentiment.