Biggest Threat of PR Crisis Comes from Higher Management Team - Say UK Workers

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research of UK staff, commissioned by online reputation agency Igniyte, has revealed that managers cite higher management teams (39%), lapses of online security – such as hacking – (35%), their organisation’s CEO (30%) and social media (27%) as the biggest threats of a PR melt-down.

What causes a PR meltdown? Higher management, CEOs, social media and hacking to blame, say workers #crisiscomms

With regard to knowing the details of their organisation’s crisis communication strategy, only 22% of workers could confirm that they were aware of this and understood their role within it. However, 24% stated their company had a strategy, but had no idea what it involved. Additionally, 17% said their company doesn’t have a crisis management plan in place.

Despite the rise of social media and its potential to adversely affect organisations, only 10% currently have resources in place to manage comments made about their company online.

The travel sector was revealed to be the least prepared for a crisis. Here, 26% of managers admitted their companies didn’t have a crisis management plan in place, compared to a 17% sector average. Within this sector, 15% of those surveyed also said their company had suffered a crisis which it had not yet recovered from – double the average figure (7%) across all industries surveyed.

Igniyte works with companies strategizing for online crises. Commenting on the findings, founder and director, Simon Wadsworth, said:

“The effects of a highly-publicised crisis can be devastating. Recently, Volkswagen and TalkTalk have been severely impacted by this, affecting their share prices and reputation.

“With the internet offering increasing transparency and scrutiny, reducing the risk of a PR crisis should be paramount to any company’s marketing strategy.

“One ill-judged tweet from a key executive can bring the whole company into disrepute, while negative comments from disgruntled ex-employees can raise questions about how you treat your staff. Monitoring what people are saying online means you can respond quickly to negativity, limiting the damage this could have.”

Igniyte’s free ‘Reputation Protection’ guide details how to prepare for a crisis.

Notes –

• Survey of 508 UK managers working in Finance, Travel & Leisure, Marketing, Public Sector, Utilities, Property, Retail, Manufacturing was carried out by The Leadership Factor, 02/2016