Guardrails for Crisis Prevention
How to protect your organization from a crisis
Boasting breathtaking views, Colorado's Million Dollar Highway is known as one of the most beautiful roads in America. It can also be incredibly dangerous. The road some call the "Highway to Hell" zigzags through a deep gorge. While one side hugs Bald Mountain, the other drops steeply off a cliff—all without guardrails—leaving little room for missteps. Drivers must tread carefully to prevent a crisis.
Guardrails prevent potential crises
During his lifetime, Billy Graham committed to never allow himself to travel, meet or eat alone with a woman other than his wife. While not everyone desires such strict personal policy, having guardrails to govern each leader and employee helps protect each of them from inappropriate actions and accusations on their reputation. Such guardrails also improve communication across the organization and protect the organization's brand reputation offline and online, where social media can spread a small misstep like wildfire. In recent years and months, we have witnessed the unfortunate fall of many Christian leaders and a corresponding crisis situation for their organization, when the leader didn't take steps to put such guardrails in place.
How to protect your organization from a crisis
Public relations (PR) problems are often management or employee problems—whether personal or professional—that have become public. The best crisis management tool is taking steps to prevent a crisis altogether. Guardrails may seem like a nuisance, until you need them to do what they were designed to do—protect your organization from a crisis.
To ensure business continuity and begin implementing guardrails, your organization can:
Develop a crisis management plan, which details your exact crisis response should the unexpected occur.
Determine each stakeholder and train them on crisis communication.
Get specific about protecting your organization's reputation, such as detailing employee use of social media.
Planning is the only phase of a crisis you can control. At Guardian, we act as a strategic partner to help faith-based organizations and nonprofits protect themselves from a crisis.