The high-profile United Airlines incident in April where a passenger was forcibly removed from the flight to accommodate a member of the airline's flight crew resulted into an instant public backlash, fuelled by sharing of the incident on social media. This raises a number of issues about how companies should handle a major public relations crisis.
It seems that few senior executives, or board members, really know how to effectively prepare and plan for crisis at the board or operational levels.
Shareholders and stakeholders are placing greater expectations on boards to assess risk, protect the company's reputation and act proactively, responsively and responsibly, in the face of a crisis.
New York-based management consultancy firm, Temin and Company, has outlined 11 crisis rules for directors to consider in the event of a public relations nightmare.
1. The buck stops with the Board. It is imperative that directors deny the very human instinct to go into denial when they first hear of an incipient crisis, and skip straight to due diligence, acceptance, responsibility, and positive action.
