Crisis Management for SMEs

Crisis Management system is reprehensible under the law. With CountAct, we support Crisis Management for small and medium-sized businesses and the implementation of this system. Indeed, the crises a company may face can have internal, external, or combined origins. If these risks have not been anticipated, the company may face a situation that threatens its survival, even in the short term. There is no universal solution for managing a crisis. However, there are skills and management approaches that are essential to successfully dealing with a crisis.

Identifying crisis warning signals

To properly identify signals, it is necessary to place people at the heart of the process. Indeed, identifying anomalies in reports is a relatively easy task. But when a crisis is caused by human factors such as a toxic manager, a lack of managerial skills, or an uprising, it can be harder to detect and address. It is important not to take these situations lightly. They can endanger the overall balance of the company, particularly in small organizations. Crises generally do not resolve themselves and require swift intervention. It is not possible to constantly monitor every parameter of a company in order to anticipate a potential crisis. The key to managing reports lies in the relevance and regularity of the parameters monitored. Indeed, it is not necessary to have a large number of them. Reports are often too numerous in large companies, which can make their use inefficient. In SMEs, leaders keep in mind the few vital parameters for their business. This is why it is essential to maintain a Crisis Management system for small and medium-sized businesses. It is important to detect weak signals by maintaining regular contact with teams on the ground, with humility.

Creating a Crisis Unit system

The term "crisis" is reserved for situations that have a severity and scope likely to endanger the company as a whole. Note that this does not apply to individual cases, which must be handled separately. The first step is to set up a unit dedicated to crisis management.

• In a large company: this will be a small team covering all impacted areas, with the help of crisis communication specialists.
• In an SME: the unit will be made up of the business leader and a few trusted employees. The leader will be responsible for all internal and external communications related to the crisis.

In crisis management, a "commando" mode prevails internally. Externally, however, the focus is on customer service and communication. It is a constant balancing act. All the while keeping in mind that the company's image and future are at stake. We can help you set up a Crisis Management team.

Mobilizing teams around Crisis Management in SMEs

During a crisis, emotional reactions such as fear, anger, and ego are inevitable. Be careful, they should not be overlooked, as they can worsen the situation. In this context, an external transition manager can be an asset by showing pragmatism and empathy while following the established roadmap. It is important to put in place a reference communication plan to raise awareness among crisis management team members about the importance of communication. This communication must be clear, factual, and straightforward. But overcommunicating must be avoided. For example, using catastrophic adjectives only increases anxiety. It is also essential that all recipients of this communication have the same understanding of the situation as the decision-makers.

Not trying to handle everything

When it comes to communicating during a crisis, it is essential to prioritize transparency. Denying the existence of the crisis or downplaying its scope can undermine management's credibility. On the other hand, excessive communication can also have harmful effects. It is therefore important to find the right balance between these two extremes and focus on concrete facts. Very often, the leader's mistake is wanting to handle everything internally. Setting up a Crisis Management system for their SME is essential. Through CountAct, we offer them strong expertise on the topic of Crisis Management and support them in order to manage this internally but with a dedicated digital application designed with Major Risk experts.

Making good decisions during Crisis Management

First and foremost, the team in charge of crisis management must take stock of the situation. In a large company, each affected department has a limited view of the problem. In SMEs, responsibility is often attributed to one person or a single identified cause, without considering the deeper causes. By pooling information within the crisis management team, it becomes possible to assess the scale of the crisis and make the right decisions at the right time in a controlled manner. The decisions are then compiled into a short-term crisis management plan. This must be regularly updated according to how the situation evolves. In a crisis, time is divided by four, and weekly deadlines replace monthly ones. For small and medium-sized businesses, the most attractive solution for managing a crisis is to bring in external Transition Management solutions and providers.

Turning crisis into opportunity

Effective crisis management represents an opportunity to strengthen cohesion among team members and implement meaningful improvement actions. It also makes it possible to demonstrate the company's responsiveness and show customers that they are a priority. In short, crisis management can help rebuild solid foundations, provided action is taken promptly, in a measured and balanced way. The major risk in crisis management is not having a clear vision of the goal to be achieved. It is therefore important not to focus solely on the changes underway, but also to remind employees of the elements that will not change. Paradoxically, the 2020 health crisis fostered communication rituals between managers and employees thanks to remote work. This allowed them to get to know each other better and collaborate more effectively on a daily basis. To help you set up a crisis management system, feel free to send us your challenges at: countact@countact.fr and we will help you address them.