Is your business under attack from the media or on social media?
Our experienced crisis communications team will work alongside your legal counsel to protect your reputation and your business.
We have dealt with every type of crisis communications issue imaginable in the health and social care sector and have helped our care home clients navigate tough media investigations and negative social media content.
From BBC Panorama and Channel 4 Dispatches to The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and The Guardian, we have dealt with the most robust journalistic teams and helped our clients manage these scenarios successfully so their reputation remains intact.
Led by a former journalist and a healthcare crisis expert our team knows the precise vulnerabilities of health and social care providers to media investigations and how best to handle them, from issues around hidden cameras and poor CQC inspections to whistleblowers, serious safeguarding issues and criminal investigations.
Effective crisis communications depend on three factors, preparedness, accuracy and speed.
Prepare
We work alongside your own in-house communications team to audit your business and identify the areas of operations that are most vulnerable to a media investigation. From employee practices, long-standing complaints and ongoing investigations to corporate policies, investment plans, critical stakeholders and pressure groups, there are always threats to your reputation.
Accuracy
Using our crisis communications training protocols we can ensure your frontline team understands the need to constantly monitor/document reputational threats and how to act when an issue threatens to go public – either via the mainstream media or on social media.
Speed
The first 24 hours of any crisis are vital, as the rolling news machine and social media demand comment and reaction within minutes, not hours or days. Our experienced team remain calm under pressure and can advise you on how best to respond to take the momentum out of any crisis and put you back in control. Choosing not to engage does not limit the damage.
How we can help your business
- Provide an emergency response team with a 24/7/365 press office
- Review existing crisis management plans and systems and suggest improvements where necessary
- Crisis communications training for all frontline staff – they are the most likely source of unscripted commentary in a crisis, something you must avoid
- Media training for leadership and key spokespeople
- Full crisis communications strategy and positioning statements
- Liaise with your legal team and advise on the reputational challenges and limitations of taking legal action in the face of negative media coverage
- Issue briefings to all key stakeholders
- Reputation recovery communications strategy – rebuilding in the aftermath of a crisis
