risk communications

In a world increasingly threatened by terrorism, natural disasters, and widespread disease outbreaks such as SARS or pandemic influenza, risk communications and post-incident business recovery should be high on the agenda for all responsible organizations.

Insightful risk communications strategies are essential to mitigate confused, ineffectual, fear-driven and other potentially damaging stakeholder responses to serious crises. Moreover, appropriate risk communications, including pre-planning and exercising, are essential in fostering the trust and confidence that are vital in a crisis situation. Yet too many organizations still omit to undertake basic contingency planning.

Even without a natural or man-made disaster, brand reputations are always at risk. Arthur Andersen spent millions on a new visual identity in the months before Enron, but when the scandal broke Andersen ripped itself apart and the Big Five suddenly became the Big Four. Ratner’s, an otherwise sound £500m company, was famously destroyed in five seconds flat by a handful of ill-chosen words. How much better it would have beem if these companies had spent a fraction of their budget on a properly structured communications strategy!

Stuart Notholt Communications Ltd can help with:

	The creation of bespoke risk communications strategies
	Auditing internal communications processes and how they would operate in a crisis when mainstream communications channels may be interrupted
	Establishment of emergency media handling protocols, up to and including 7/7 and 9/11 scenarios and pandemic flu
	War gaming and senior management media training
	Communications aspects of evacuation procedures, working with premises managers and human resources departments
	Communicating through business interruption and business recovery processes
	Defensive PR – confidential handling of incidents likely to result in major reputational damage

Stuart Notholt has experience in risk communications management gained through working with Strategic Health Authorities in the development of pandemic flu countermeasures communications for regional and local NHS organizations. With the outbreak of swine flu in May 2009, he worked with Department of Health colleagues as a member of the Department’s NHS and Social Care Implementation ‘major incident’ team and was subsequently on the Silver Command team for Hillingdon Borough in West London. He was also responsible for the creation of post-9/11 internal communications strategies for the Financial Services Authority and for product development work at Crawford-THG (the world’s largest risk management firm).