burson-marsteller emea 2013 crisis survey

38
2013 Crisis Survey 1

Upload: burson-marsteller

Post on 20-Aug-2015

2.618 views

Category:

Business


2 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

2013 Crisis Survey

1

Page 2: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Methodology

PSB conducted a total of 201 online interviews in Europe amongst business-decision makers in October 2013

Business-decision makers are defined as respondents who:

Aged over 25,

Full time or self employed/business owner

Have an active interest in business and current

affairs issues,

Have final or significant decision making power

in their business.

Overall, half of the respondents were from large enterprise businesses and half were from SME businesses

Region Sample

size

Margin

of error

France 40 +/-16

Germany 40 +/-16

Italy 40 +/-16

Spain 42 +/-16

United Kingdom 39 +/-16

Overall 201 +/-7

Page 3: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

THE THREAT OF CRISIS IS A

KEY CONCERN FOR BUSINESS

LEADERS

3

Page 4: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

The threat of crisis remains a key concern

Q64 As a business decision maker, what are the top three concerns that keep you up at night?

Base: Overall (201)

Page 5: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Q17 What does ‘crisis’ mean to you in a business context?

“A crisis creates opportunity for

realignment and correction”

-Germany SME-

“where the future of the

business or part of it is at

serious risk”

-UK enterprise- “event or events which need to be

tackled urgently with maximum

resource, which have their potential to

do serious harm to the business.”

-UK SME-

“An internal or external

situation that starts to disrupt

the life of the business”

-France SME- “when you start to lose

customers for whatever

reason”

-Germany SME-

A crisis is defined as a disruption to the business which

puts the company’s future at risk

Base: Overall (201)

Page 6: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

41% of business leaders continue to experience crises

Q39 Has your company experienced a crisis while you’ve been working there?

HAVE NOT

EXPERIENCED A

CRISIS HAVE

EXPERIENCED

A CRISIS

HAVE EXPERIENCED A

CRISIS WITHIN THE

LAST YEAR

47

53

41

59

Yes No

2011 2013

Base: Overall 2013 (201),Overall 2011 (204), Overall 2009 (200)

Page 7: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Controversial company developments is STILL the

most commonly encountered crisis…

Q43 What sort of crisis did your company encounter?

(Among those who experienced a crisis)

Base: Experienced a crisis (82)

“Lay-off of huge number

of employees due to

internal unrest within the

organisation”

-UK, Enterprise

“The Icelandic volcano stopping

flights over Europe meant our

customers were unable to travel –

we also had customers stranded”

-UK, Enterprise

“Failure of computer security

allowed third parties access to

our database”

-FR, Enterprise 4

13

10

17

39

9

12

17

16

11

8

19

36

6

12

15

15

17

18

20

21

34

Criminal actions (e.g. bomb attack or fire)

Intense political scrutiny of your company

Intense regulatory scrutiny of your company

Online or digital security failure

Danger to product safety (e.g. defective or contaminated parts)

Critical or negative new media campaigns (e.g. criticism over social media)

Technical accidents (e.g. natural disaster or explosion)

Logistical difficulties (e.g. problems with transport/delivery)

Controversial company developments (e.g. lay offs)

2013

2011

2009

Page 8: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

…It is ALSO the crisis that companies most expect to

experience within the next year

Q30 How likely do you think it is that your company will experience each of the following in the next 6-12 months?

55 56 57 61 62 66 71 74

45 43 43 39 37 33 28 26

Controversialcompany

developments

Logisticaldifficulties

Online or digitalsecurity failure

Critical ornegative new

mediacampaigns

Intenseregulatoryscrutiny

Technicalaccidents

Danger toproduct safety

Criminal actions

Likely Unlikely

56% of Enterprise

respondents think it is likely,

in comparison to 34% of

SMEs.

47% of Enterprise

respondents think it is

unlikely, in comparison to

32% of SMEs.

Base: Overall (201)

Page 9: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Organisations TEND TO ANTICIPATE THE SAME KINDS OF

CRISES THEY HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED

Criminal actions (such as a bomb attack or fire)

Technical accidents (such as a natural disaster or

explosion)

Danger to product safety (i.e. defective parts or

contaminated materials)

Logistic difficulties (problems with transport

or delivery)

Controversial company developments (such as

lay-offs or restructuring)

Critical or negative new media campaigns (e.g.

criticism over social media / online channels)

Online or digital security failure (E.g. personal

information on customers lost, or company internal

emails being stolen)

Intense political scrutiny of your product or company

Intense regulatory scrutiny of your product or

company

Cri

sis

en

co

un

tere

d

Occurrence: High Concern: Low

Occurrence: Low Concern: Low

Occurrence: High Concern: High

Occurrence: Low Concern: High

Perceived likelihood of company experiencing each crisis

Base: Overall (201)

Page 10: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Experiencing a crisis is EXPENSIVE

Q151 Approximately, how much did the crisis cost your company? (Among those who have experienced a crisis)

SMES SAY A CRISIS COST

THEM BETWEEN

€10,000- €49,999

ENTERPRISES SAY A

CRISIS COST THEM

BETWEEN

€500,000- €999,999

Base: Among those that had experienced a crisis from DE, FR, IT and SP (72); overall SME (38); enterprise (34)

THE AVERAGE COST OF A

CRISIS TO A COMPANY

Page 11: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

FOR MANY COMPANIES

CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS STILL HANDLED INTERNALLY

11

Page 12: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

INTERNAL TEAMS remain primarily responsible for

crisis planning

Base: Those with a crisis plan 2013 (102); those with a crisis plan 2011 (105)

Q101 How did your company develop its crisis management plan?

14

18

62

12

33

51

We employed an outside firm to create a crisis action plan forus

We used both external and internal resources to develop acrisis action plan

We have an internal team that created a crisis action plan

2013

2011

9% of SME in

comparison to 15%

Enterprise

Page 13: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

The proportion hiring an outside company to deal with a

crisis has almost doubled since 2009

Q44 What did your company do at the time to manage the crisis? (among those that had experienced a crisis)

Base: Experienced a crisis 2013 (82); Experienced a crisis 2011 (123) ; Experienced a crisis 2009 (106)

34

24

8

47

35

12

51

30

15

We handled the crisis internally either through thePublic Relations Department or Senior Management

We have/had an in-house team especially dedicatedto dealing with crisis management

We hired an outside company to help us managethe crisis

2009 2011 2013

Page 14: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

In the event of a crisis, INTERNAL ACTIVITIES are the focus

Q112-131 Please place these steps in the order of the steps you have or would go through in a crisis situation

Prepare an internal audit 47

Establish a crisis team 43 Organise a crisis check-list 42 Receive training from your internal crisis team 42

Monitor Issues 38 Conduct a crisis workshop 31

Receive training from your external crisis team 30

Prepare Press Statements 29 Evaluate crisis scenarios 28

Publish and distribute a crisis manual 25 Have an on-site crisis team 25

Call your crisis hotline – run by an external company 23 Train crisis team in media relations 20 Engage with consumers/public 18

Engage with local or national politicians 13 Engage with online stakeholders 12

Engage with digital communications / social media 11 Engage with national regulators or public authorities 8 Engage with European Parliamentarians 6

Engage with NGOs 5

Base: Overall (201)

Page 15: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Opinion is split on the best style of LEADERSHIP when

managing a crisis

Q133B Thinking about the most effective attributes for a leading team or figure to have when directing a business out of a crisis, which of these are most

important? (top 8)

27

39

37

41

33

36

45

43

26

30

31

36

38

39

43

48

Ability to challenge status quo

Setting direction

Ability to delegate and empower

Excellent communicators

Strong interpersonal skills

Clear vision

Decision-making

Accountability

C-suite Non C-suite

Base: Overall (201); C-Suite (107); non C-Suite (94)

43

50 50 48

Command and control Collaboration

C-Suite Non C-Suite

Q133A Which of the following two styles of leadership do you believe to be most effective when managing a

crisis?

Page 16: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

NEW MEDIA HAS ADDED TO

THE CHALLENGE OF

MANAGING CRISES

16

Page 17: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

23 15

44

42

32

43

20132011

More difficult

About thesame

Less difficult

A third say it is MORE DIFFICULT TO PLAN for a crisis

Q50 Do you think it is more or less difficult for companies like yours to plan for a crisis than it was

5 years ago?

Page 18: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

The pressure to RESPOND QUICKLY is an increasing

difficulty in planning for a crisis

Base: Those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2013 (66); those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2011 (90)

Q52 Which, if any, of the below are reasons why you feel it is more difficult to plan for a crisis today? (Among those who feel it is more difficult to plan)

“More channels to address, increase in

stakeholder groups and groups of

'interested but biased' parties. Mis-

information via the internet.”

-UK enterprise-

“Globalization, changes in

environmental conditions,

transparency, sustainability.”

-Germany enterprise-

34 31

24 21

33

21

50

35 33

30 29

18

Need to respond extremelyquickly

More globalized nature ofcommunications

Increased anti-corporatesentiment in public and/or

media

Increased public demandfor transparency

Overall challenges of digitalcommunications

Rise of citizen journalism /social media (e.g.Facebook, Twitter)

2011 2013

Page 19: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Recent high profile scandals have increased concerns

and PROMPTED THOUGHT AND PLANNING

Base: Overall (201)

Q53 To what extent have these crises increased your own company’s concerns regarding potential crises?

“There have been a number of high profile crises over the past 12 months including the horsemeat scandal, the fixing of Libor, and the US Government shutdown.”

8

69

23

Increased

Stayed about the same

Decreased

SAY THAT RECENT

CRISES HAVE MADE

THEIR COMPANY THINK

ABOUT ITS OWN CRISIS

PLANNING

Q56 To what extent have these recent crises made your company think about its own crisis planning?

Page 20: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

An increasing number of companies HAVE a digital

crisis communications plan

Q110 Does your current company have a digital crisis communications plan?

Q111 How did you or your company develop its current digital crisis communications plan?

20

22

57

8

31

62

We employed an outside firmto create a crisis action plan for us

We used both external and internalresources to develop a crisis action plan

We have an internal teamthat created a crisis action plan

2013

201157

52

28

39

2011 2013

Yes

No

Base: Overall (201); Overall 2011 (204)

Page 21: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

37

29 28

21 20 16

Slow response time Lack of dedicated team torespond to new media

New media (includingsocial media) channelsflooded with negative

commentary

Treating old and newmedia types differently

Being undermined byemployees

Not seeking the support orassistance from third

parties

Companies still FEEL OVERWHELMED by online

communication channels

Q54 What do you think are the biggest issues for companies in crisis like Tesco, Barclays, and the BBC when responding to the online public debate?

“A major factor in these crises was the online public debate over new media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs.”

“They should have a team

that monitors all new media

for any potential crisis and

responding quickly with

damage control.”

-UK SME-

“It is a whole new ball game with

rumours ricocheting around the

digital world.”

-UK SME-

“The communication with the public has

changed, but, many companies do not

know how to handle it and use old

communication methods .”

-Italy SME-

Base: Overall (201)

Page 22: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

New media has increased pressure during crises, but

used correctly IT CAN HELP manage reputation

70% of respondents believe that new media is

playing an increasing role in driving

reputation during crisis

64% believe that new media (including social

media) makes crises more difficult to

manage

60% Believe that it is hard to know who

influences opinion online

59% Think that new media has significantly

increased the potential cost of a crisis

50% Think social media has made it harder to

recover from a crisis, while the other 50%

believe it has made recovering easier

Base: Overall (201)

Page 23: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

CORPORATE PURPOSE

IS A VITAL TOOL

IN THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE

23

Page 24: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

91% say that their company has a clear corporate purpose

QCP1 To what extent do you agree or disagree that your company has a clear corporate purpose?

QCP1 What do you understand by the term ‘corporate purpose’?

“This is the identity of a

company”

-France enterprise-

91%

8%

Agree

Disagree

but only 45% “strongly”

agree; 46% agree

“somewhat”

“Your governing ethos,

what makes the company

tick”

-UK enterprise-

Base: Overall (201); agree & disagree (top 2 box)

Page 25: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Corporate purpose enables organisations to deliver

across key reputational metrics

QCP4 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below? (% strongly agree)

45 43

41 37

40

17

22

11

28

22

My company has strong leadership

My company invests in employee development

My company contributes to society

My company acts in an environmentally responsible way

My company invests in the local community

Has a CP No CP*52% amongst those with

a plan and only 32%

amongst those without 27% amongst

those without a

plan

Base: Companies with a CP (183); Without a CP (18)

*Denotes a low base size

Page 26: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

And becomes EVEN MORE IMPORTANT during a crisis

Base: Among those that experienced a crisis and had a clear corporate purpose (76); among those that used their

corporate purpose to handle their crisis (57 )

OF THOSE THAT

HANDLED THEIR CRISIS

INTERNALLY

USED THEIR

CORPORATE PURPOSE

TO MANAGE IT

“We tried to promote our quality

work emphasizing the ethics of

the way we work.”

-Italy enterprise-

“It was important to keep

customers and the media

updated as to the impact and

what actions we were taking.”

-UK enterprise-

Q44C To what extent did having a clear corporate purpose help you in managing the crisis?

11

90

2013

Helped Did not help

“It acted as a reminder to staff of

the objectives of the business”

-France SME-

Q44A Did you use your corporate purpose in external communications to talk about what you do and why

you do it, in dealing with the crisis?

Page 27: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

CRISIS PLANNING IS IMPERATIVE

AND MANY COMPANIES

REMAIN UNPREPARED

27

Page 28: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Crisis plans are seen as BENEFICIAL yet half of

companies still do not have one in place

Q95 To what extent do you agree or disagree that having a crisis plan in place would benefit

your company?

Q96 Does your current company have a crisis management plan?

14 16 23

86 85 76

2009 2011 2013

Agree

Disagree51 49 49

49 51 51

2009 2011 2013

Yes

No

Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)

Page 29: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

A third of those without a plan say crisis management

planning is NOT A PRIORITY Q157 What are the key barriers to developing a crisis management plan for your company or

organisation? (Amongst those without a plan)

10

14

14

18

24

25

31

33

I think setting up such a plan within my company would be difficult to accomplish

Too difficult to manage

I don’t feel I have enough information about what is out there and how it could benefit me

It would take too much time to plan

My business doesn’t need a crisis management plan

It’s expensive

It’s rarely going to be needed

It’s not a high enough priority

2013

Base: those without crisis plan (99)

Page 30: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

24

24

24

25

25

27

27

28

29

29

19

21.00

23

25

26

37

23

29

29

35

18

24

23

22

22

30

43

30

53

Media training

Receive training from your internal crisis team

Plan to liaise with online stakeholders

Issue monitoring

A previously set-up crisis team

Internal Audit on crisis awareness, preparedness and management'

Prepared crisis check lists

Action Plan for crisis management

Evaluation of possible scenarios

Financial planning in case of a crisis

2009

2011

2013

FINANCIAL planning and evaluation of SCENARIOS

are the most important components of a plan

Q65-89 How important are each of the following components to a crisis preparedness/communications plan? (% very important, showing top 10)

Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)

Page 31: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

24% of those with a plan have NOT TESTED it in the

past year

Q106 In the past 12 months have you done a crisis communications exercise to test the efficacy of your plan in any of the following areas?

11

12

16

19

21

21

24

30

31

Intense political scrutiny of your product orcompany

Criminal actions

Danger to product safety

Logistic difficulties

Controversial company developments

Intense regulatory scrutiny of your product orcompany

None of the above

Technical accidents

Online or digital security failure

2013

Base: those with a crisis plan (102)

BELIEVE THAT THEIR PLAN WILL

COVER THE COMPANY TO SOME

EXTENT, BUT THERE WILL BE

GAPS

IN THE EVENT OF CRISIS:

OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE

SUFFERED A CRISIS THINK

THEIR CURRENT PLAN STILL

HAS GAPS

Page 32: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

51% of companies recover from crisis within a year but

those with a crisis management plan RECOVER FASTER

Q45 How long would you say it took your company to recover from the crisis?

OF COMPANIES THAT

DON’T HAVE A PLAN

OF COMPANIES WITH A

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

PLAN RECOVERED IN 6

MONTHS

VS

Base: Those that experienced a crisis 2013 (82); those that experienced a crisis 2011 (123); those that experienced a crisis 2009 (106)

6

15

57

11

2 2

10

19

44

15

6

0

11 8

38

26

6 4

2 weeks or less 2 weeks-1 month 2-12 months 1-2 years 3-5 years 5 years or more

2009 2011 2013

Page 33: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

When it comes to planning for a crisis, there are

THREE TYPES of company

Boy Scout (Well-Prepared)

Those with strong,

comprehensive plans, which

will stand up to the pressure

of a crisis

20%

Tightrope walker (Vulnerable)

Companies with plans that will

not necessarily cover them,

or which aren’t sufficiently

comprehensive

40%

Ostrich (Exposed)

Lack plans entirely,

they see only barriers to

creating plans and thus

avoid making them

40%

Page 34: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Boy Scout (Well-Prepared)

Tightrope walker (Vulnerable)

Ostrich (Exposed)

22% 20%

2011 2013

45% 40%

2011 2013

33% 40%

2011 2013

THE NUMBER OF EXPOSED COMPANIES HAS

INCREASED SINCE 2011

Page 35: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Boy Scout (Well Prepared, 20%)

• More likely to think a crisis management plan is important (46%)

• More crisis focused than other groups

• 70% review their plan every year

• All say that their plan would be satisfactory to take on a crisis.

• Have a specific digital crisis comms plan (76%)

• Most common components include:

• Evaluation of possible scenarios (49%)

• Action plan for crisis management (46%)

• Prepared crisis check-lists (44%)

• Internal audit on crisis awareness, preparedness, and management (41%)

• Most likely to have a clear corporate purpose (63%) and strong leadership (66%)

35

STILL ONLY ONE IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE

PREPARED FOR A CRISIS

Page 36: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

Tightrope Walker (Vulnerable, 45%)

• Have a crisis management plan, and put importance on this (34%)

• But less engaged with crisis management than the Boy Scouts:

• Only 34% say a crisis plan is very important

• Less likely to review plan frequently (58% review their plans every year or less)

• Only 32% say their plan would be satisfactory in the event of a crisis

• Main barriers to developing a more adequate plan are the time it would take (22%), a lack of

information (21%) and the cost (17%).

• Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (51%), strong leadership (51%), and to invest in

employee development (48%).

• Less likely to have a digital crisis comms plan (66%).

36

TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE VULNERABLE

Page 37: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

37

Ostrich (Exposed, 35%)

• Do not have a crisis plan – though 27% have experienced a crisis

• 39% are currently in a crisis.

• Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (36%) or strong leadership (31%), or to invest in

employee development (29%).

• The barriers to creating a plan are:

• Thinking it's rarely going to be needed (35%)

• It’s not high priority (32%)

• It's expensive (25%)

• Less likely to think having a plan would decrease recovery time in the future.

TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE CURRENTLY UNPREPARED

FOR A CRISIS

Page 38: Burson-Marsteller EMEA 2013 Crisis Survey

In summary

UNLIKELY TO

EXPERIENCE

REGULATORY

SCRUTINY

UNLIKELY TO

EXPERIENCE

POLITICAL

SCRUTINY

The threat of crisis remains a key concern for business leaders

For many companies crisis management is still handled internally

New media has added to the challenge of managing crises

A clear corporate purpose is a vital tool in the current landscape

Business decision makers are split on whether leadership in a crisis

should be about command and control, or collaboration

However, crisis planning is still imperative and many companies

remain unprepared