Crisis Management and Planning
Ball Consulting Group is a premier crisis communications and management firm and has been at the forefront of many major crises, helping to lead clients through the process, minimize the damage, and restore integrity and reputation.
Some crises have been international news events and others have been localized to a small community. Regardless of the scale, a crisis is a threat to an organization’s survival, and it is easy to make a wrong turn and deepen the crisis. Ball Consulting Group takes pride in its ability to bring a guiding hand and abundant experience to help organizations overcome crisis and emerge stronger for having weathered the storm.
Organizations engage us for crisis communications and management at different points along the crisis continuum. In some instances, we are brought in by a board or a CEO who has knowledge of a situation that could become a crisis. At other times we are called to the scene of a major event and asked to take over.
As a nimble firm that is low on bureaucratic process and high on accessibility, we can step in when we are needed, regardless of the scope, severity, or timing of a crisis. Crises seldom appear conveniently at 9 a.m. on Monday. We have worked with clients over holiday weekends and in the middle of the night to create order out of chaos.
Matters that we work on include:
- Bankruptcy filings, liquidation, and the closure of companies
- Controversial land use, permitting, and construction issues
- Employee abuse of a client
- Executive compensation matters
- FDA actions including drug recalls, warning letters, cease-and-desists
- Fires, floods, gas leaks, all resulting in long-term loss of business
- Fraud
- Landlord-tenant issues
- Large settlements with government agencies regarding reimbursement issues
- Litigation matters where a client is a party to a high-profile lawsuit
- Medical and medication errors
- Nursing facility licensure issues
- Program siting and community relations issues
- Strikes and other labor actions
The best way to handle a crisis is to be prepared for it through the development of a comprehensive crisis communications plan. Through the planning process, we help clients get ready for a crisis by:
- Identifying the crisis management team and the communication protocols needed in a crisis
- Firmly and precisely establishing reporting and communications protocols
- Developing and putting in one place materials that will be needed in a crisis, such as media holding statements
Our plans walk clients through a crisis hour-by-hour.
Our crisis planning process includes interviewing key staff members, board members, counsel, and visiting program sites. We inventory all potential IT, legal, accounting, insurance and operational issues that could contribute to a crisis, and we make recommendations for addressing them up front.
We develop and deliver to the client a Crisis Communications and Management Plan binder that can serve as a key reference during a crisis, and we recommend that our clients conduct regular drills to ensure their readiness.
CLIENT EXPERIENCE
“I highly recommend Ball Consulting Group as an invaluable and trusted partner. They can help you navigate a major media issue and help re-build your professional image in light of a negative news event.”