Abstract
Construction companies will experience a crisis at some point during its existence.
This is especially true for construction companies, where it is not a matter of “if” one will happen but “when” it will happen. A crisis is the sudden occurrence of any unplanned or unexpected event that causes harm to the project/company, employees, or the public. The crisis could be a medical/safety emergency, a natural disaster, or personnel crisis dealing with unethical or illegal activities.
Construction companies must always operate with a “better safe than sorry” mindset. A proactive way to do so is to ensure that there is a crisis management plan in place.
A crisis can strike at any time; advanced planning is the key to survival. Before a crisis strikes, construction business owners should think about how it would impact their clients, employees, suppliers, and the public. Review these critical steps to improve an existing crisis management plan or to create a new one.
Assemble your crisis team: The crisis team consists of a combination of people which would vary based on the type of company (e.g., construction manager, safety officer, a public relations officer “PRO”).
Identify potential crisis scenarios: Think about the different crisis scenarios that could happen and plan out your response (from beginning to end) to the situation.
Anticipating a crisis is not meant to be a scare tactic. It is simply a way of preparing you for a potential event that could have a detrimental effect on the operation of your company if not planned for and managed appropriately.
Additional critical steps must be taken to manage a crisis, what the crisis plan itself should entail and crisis management during and after the crisis
Construction team must be quite familiar with the crises that construction projects deal with on a regular basis. Before a crisis strikes, project team should think about how it could affect employees and the public. No matter the size of the project, advanced planning is central to your company’s ability to survive an emergency.
Critical steps construction team should follow to ensure their communication plan is up to balance, the critical steps and what the crisis plan itself should entail and crisis management during and after the emergency.
Along with assembling your crisis team, designating a spokesperson, and identifying potential crisis scenarios, construction companies must also:
Respond to the public: In the wake of a crisis, providing the public with no answer is the worst thing to do. Your crisis team and spokesperson should always be prepared to give a specific answer, even if the comment is simply informing them of your intent to provide them with additional information once the facts have been gathered and verified.
Educate and train employees: Once the plan is ready, provide everyone with the details of the plan and be prepared to walk them through each step.
Revisit and update the plan: Your plans may change over time, so it is important to periodically review and make updates to the plan. This is especially true after a crisis. You may discover that some of the elements of your plan are inefficient or are simply outdated.
On any given day, an accident involving a worker falling, getting struck by or caught in between an object, or getting electrocuted could happen. A lack of a plan only adds chaos to an already panicked atmosphere. A crisis management plan empowers companies to handle a crisis efficiently and effectively. Handling a crisis in a timely manner is imperative because it could positively or negatively impact the public’s perception of the company.
Most construction companies are aware of the types of problems that may arise, and they put forth great effort to mitigate them. No matter the size of the problem, a plan of action is needed to execute the solution. It is highly recommended that a crisis communication plan is vital for ensuring that construction projects handle the problems well. In the end, having a plan and implementing it properly can save your project time, cost, and your reputation. What Should Your Crisis Management Plan Entail?
Is your business prepared to respond quickly, accurately, and confidently during and following a crisis? When a crisis happens, it can affect different audiences in different ways. Therefore, the plan must be created for multiple scenarios and audiences. Having an outlined plan is the key to a successful crisis management plan. When creating your plan, think about the following:
Does it give your employees a set plan for handling a crisis based on the level of the seriousness?
Does it provide the public with a strong first statement informing them that you have the situation under control?
Does it identify key persons and their roles leading to swift action and responses?
When in a crisis, the crisis management plan must be activated promptly by leadership. The crisis team must assess the situation and collect as much information as possible to begin communication. The crisis team must act quickly and confidently to gather, analyze, and respond to critical matters and make informed decisions. Taking charge immediately can mean the difference between success or failure.
Another step in the crisis management process happens after the crisis. Once the company has applied some damage control, an analysis should be done to identify the weaknesses and strengths of the crisis management plan. This is the time to assess how well (or not) the team handled the situation. Is the team happy with the way decisions were made? Was the communication process efficient? Be honest about what went wrong and how things could have been handled differently. This dialogue will help to improve the plan and processes, and it will also better prepare the project for potential future events.
