It's become apparent that how companies will ultimately fare in the wake of a crisis won't be in how good they are at quick fixes but how skilled they were at preventing mishaps as well as having workable and well-cemented checks and balances should a crisis erupt.
New statistics - from The Corporate Reponse Group's Fortune 1000 survey showing that 86 percent of companies consider crisis management "very important" (compared to 75 percent a year prior) to Thomas Harris's most recent findings - point to how critical firms believe crisis analyses is. (The Harris/Impulse Research study shows that out the 24 work functions assigned to outside agencies, crisis management ranked No. 9.)
To help you manage crisis communications and analysis, PR NEWS is hosting an Advanced Crisis Management Workshop on Feb. 17, 1998, in Washington, D.C. You'll hear from more than a dozen communications experts with a diverse range of skils, including Gregory Rixon, senior director of communications at Amtrak; and Susan Bell Tomai, a former senior producer with CBS and the founder of Evergreen Media Counselors in Washington, D.C. Your response to the survey below will automatically place you in a drawing next month for free admission to the workshop. Results from the survey will be published in an upcoming issue. For workshop registration details, call 800/777-5006.
PLEASE COMPLETE THE SURVEY BELOW
AND FAX BACK BY DECEMBER 22. FAX TO 301/340-1451
1 Does your company have a crisis management or crisis communications plan that's updated regularly?
Check those that apply
Crisis comm. plan updated
Crisis mgt. plan updated
Both
2 How involved were you in bringing the components of the plan together?
Very involved
Relatively
Not at all
3 How prepared for a crisis do you think your company is?
Very
Somewhat
Not very
4 Has your company had a major (personnel conflict reported by the press; explosion, accident, crash, etc.; lawsuit; racial/business controversy; image/brand problem; product recall) in the past 1-2 years?
Yes
No
Explain briefly
5 What was the estimated cost of your crisis plan? Please account for consulting, staff hours, research, drills, materials, operational overhauls directly related to making the plan work - i.e., new equipment, computer hardware, database creations? Circle one.
$300,000 or More
$200,000-$300,000
$100,000-$200,000
$50,000-$100,000
$50,000-$100,000
Less than $10,000
6 What would you like to learn more about when it comes to crisis communications and crisis mangement planning?
Name:
Title:
Company:
Phone:
E-mail: