‘We should have the courage to be transparent during a crisis, ’ said Habibul Rahman.
IN the wake of the Covid-19 health crisis, organisations are continuously exploring new options to manage the pandemic’s impact on their operations.
Policy changes, movement restrictions, lower customer spending, deferred investments, disrupted supply chains, uncertainty in financial markets, new workplace regulations – these are now all part of the new normal presently.
A good crisis plan is therefore integral to navigate through all complex situations that affect the profitability, integrity and reputation of an organisation.
To this end, corporate strategist and financial advisor HKS Consultants Sdn Bhd is offering a crisis management training programme to equip management personnel with the right approach, thought processes, strategy and tactics to overcome the new challenges.
“In this pandemic times, many organisations realise it is essential that their leaders be equipped with crisis management skills, ” said HKS Consultants founder and managing director Habibul Rahman Kadir Shah.
“Our programme will teach them the five steps to manage crises (see chart 1). It doesn’t take a long time to put up a crisis plan, if the board of directors gives its full support and endorsement because time is of the essence in any crisis.
Chart 1
“The programme helps participants to analyse and assess the crisis in the context of problem, issue and situation.
“Most of the time, people make the mistake of lumping problems, issues and situations together as one concern.
“We will show them how to segregate and differentiate problems, issues and situations, then move to develop implementation plans for containment, solution and recovery (see chart 2), ” he said.
CHART 2
Real and reputational crisis
The virtual programme provides inputs pertaining to a “real” crisis (whereby people are upset about a situation that threatens the public) and “reputational” crisis (when it adversely affects a company or government agency’s reputation more than the public).
“People will be upset over a situation that genuinely endangers public safety and livelihood as in the case of Covid-19. Therefore, we will facilitate the training programme using Covid-19 ‘real’ crisis experience in Malaysia as a case study for the benefit of the participants (see charts 3 and 4).
CHART 3
CHART 4
“Failure to properly manage a crisis will lead to loss of stakeholders’ confidence in those entrusted to lead an organisation.”
The training programme costs RM1, 000 per head, and the session will be conducted over four to five hours.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has captured the attention of everyone who now knows how vulnerable we are in a crisis. A crisis is a clear and present danger which people previously would think won’t affect them, ” said Habibul Rahman who has more than 10 years’ experience in top-level crisis and conflict management, and communication strategy.
“This programme is meant to educate and guide participants on how to prepare in advance a crisis plan and how to win our battle with any crisis.
“A crisis is not a permanent thing, and neither should it be unnecessarily prolonged. A crisis can drag on if it is not properly managed, ” said the Human Resources Development Fund-certified trainer who will be the presenter in the crisis management programme.
He said the programme caters to the needs of various types of industries because its principles and thought processes are similar.
“It is applicable to business, politics, government, social life, family and personal.
“The programme would be able to incorporate a set of crisis scenarios through our workshops. This will require participants to attend another two days’ training and work on a potential or hypothetical crisis scenario that is relevant to their organisation, ” he said.
Habibul Rahman said the workshops would be held either face-to-face or via a virtual platform (due to the current pandemic).
“The workshop will be conducted in a highly reflective and interactive approach – with case study sharing, video clip presentation, real-life scenario discussion and enhancement of knowledge acquisition via Power Point presentation, ” he said.
At the end of the two-day workshop, the participants should be able to:
> Develop an overall crisis plan and formulate a communication strategy to reduce the impact of cause and effect of a hypothetical crisis on the company.
> Define and segregate the various problems, issues and situations caused by the hypothetical crisis on to the company.
> Manage the stages – containment, solution and recovery – with proper strategy and tactics.
> Minimise stress and tension on the management team and board of directors with the avoidance of negative publicity.
Habibul Rahman, who is an accountant, said that many organisations have used his expertise and advice in crisis management. “I have managed plenty of crises at the top level (management and others), ” he said.
On managing public perception when a crisis strikes, he said: “Use the right face, actions and narratives.
“This programme will give a distinct emphasis on the importance of a proper and effective communication strategy to manage, control, and influence public expectations and perceptions using the right face, actions and narratives. This is to avoid negative publicity and perceptions of all parties concerned.”
Additionally, he said, the programme would give insights into how to deal with millennials, especially those who are active on social media, during a crisis.
Need for transparency
The programme will highlight the need to be transparent in times of crisis.
“When facing a crisis situation, the need to be transparent is important, especially when we want to properly analyse and understand a situation or problem; when we need to identify patterns or connections; and when we have to address key underlying issues to resolve the crisis.
“Lack of transparency will lead to wastage of manpower and financial resources which in turn will prolong the crisis situation and cause loss of confidence in stakeholders.
“It’s only a matter of time before people realise there is a lack of transparency and competency. We should have the courage to be transparent during a crisis, ” he said.
Habibul Rahman stressed that the communication plan should be transparent and clearly elaborate the facts of the problems, issues and situation.
“Thereafter, it should also be transparent with the implementation plan for the three stages – containment, solution and recovery. For each stage, there should be a proper policy or objective, strategy, tactical approach and action plan.”
From his personal experience, he said that “the key to successful crisis management is knowledge, moves, timing and speed.”
Saying sorry
Will a public apology help in crisis management?
“In a crisis, we must make ourselves appear as a victim too, which we are indeed. Therefore, we should know when, how and what to apologise. Otherwise, we might be seen as the villain who is trying to manipulate the crisis and shift the blame to others.”
To know more, contact Azmi Abdullah (019-358 3686/ email abdullahazmi69@yahoo.com)
