Could you manage an international crisis?

The latest posting in our 28 day look at the crises affecting businesses this month is a little late. The reason? I’ve been travelling to Bratislava to present on crisis management at a conference. So, with apologies for my tardiness, here are three organisations in crisis management mode today:

Alliance Boots: retail; job cuts

Talacre Caravan and Leisure Park: tourism; death of child at holiday park

Transport for London: transport; industrial relations

My overseas jaunt made me think about some of the challenges of managing interntional crises and some of the elements that need to be considered:

- do you have contact details for everyone you might need to contact – including international codes?

- do you have access to a translation agency 24 hours a day, or an alternative solution to produce a statement in multiple languages?

- do you have teleconference and videoconference facilities set aside for use in a crisis – and does someone on the team know how they work?

- are the head office approval procedures clear – especially if there’s a timezone difference?

- are you operating across geogrpahic boundaries with the same crisis communication principles?

- have you tested your plans across borders?

The organisations listed today are dealing with UK-specific crises. But if you operate across more than one country, you need to know the answers to the questions listed above if you want to be confident of protecting your international repuation.