PUBLICATIONs

Katherine Sykes 09/05/2023 Katherine Sykes 09/05/2023

A Crisis AROUND EVERY CORNER:TURBULENT TIMES FOR BOARDS

Good governance requires boards to manage risk and act positively to avoid crisis, rather than react to it later…

Published in Influence, 9 May 2023

By Katherine Sykes

Good governance requires boards to manage risk and act positively to avoid crisis, rather than react to it later…

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Katherine Sykes 14/02/2023 Katherine Sykes 14/02/2023

On The Edge: Most CEOs Are Not Prepared For Crisis

A new report by US think tank The Conference Board has revealed that, notwithstanding the volatile times we live in, most CEOs across the globe are not prepared for crisis.

Published in Influence, 14 February 2023

By Katherine Sykes

A new report by US think tank The Conference Board has revealed that, notwithstanding the volatile times we live in, most CEOs across the globe are not prepared for crisis.

The Conference Board 2023 C-Suite Outlook, which was based on a survey of 1,131 C-suite executives including 670 CEOs, was wide ranging in its remit. Yet whilst those surveyed recognised that the global economic downturn, regional recessions, inflation, continued disruptions from the pandemic in Asia, global geopolitical instability, supply chain issues and labour shortages would continue to challenge their organisations during 2023, a significant minority had any plans to improve their risk management processes or invest in crisis management. European CEOs considered such plans as their tenth most important priority; for US CEOs they did not even feature.

In general, CEOs were more pessimistic than the rest of the C-suite team about organisations’ level of preparedness to handle a major crisis. However, because they had recent experience of events such as pandemic, financial instability or a surge in energy prices, they said they were relatively more confident of their ability to handle them than they had been before: they were less confident in their ability to lead through other types of crisis, such as extreme violence, terrorism, major food or water shortages.

Whilst only 36% of CEOs thought that the war in Ukraine would intensify during 2023, 81% believed that cyberattacks outside the theatre of war would intensify as a result. Yet 49% of US CEOs and 45% of European CEOs did not believe they were well prepared to deal with cyberattacks (interestingly, this rose to 79% amongst Chinese CEOs).

Sixty-one percent of global CEOs felt they were not well prepared to deal with the risk of financial instability; 69% with high inflation or a surge in energy prices; 72% with supply chain disruptions; 84% with extreme climate events; 87% with civil unrest; and 92% with war.

These are extraordinary findings which should alarm shareholders and global systems alike. Given their overall responsibility for risk management, it would be interesting to know whether the boards of these global companies are aware of their executive teams’ level of unpreparedness for crisis and if so, whether they have any plans to address this.

Not all crises are global in nature. Many come about as the result of human failure or as the result of ill-chosen words at the wrong time. Although these events were not considered in the survey, they can have a significant impact on an organisation’s reputation and the time it takes to recover normal business operations.

The golden rule for crisis is that prior planning and preparation aids prevention. Think ahead. Get ready. Head it off if you can. If global CEOs feel better prepared for crisis having experienced one themselves, then it makes sense to help them think through potential crises in a strategic and managed way well before any crisis actually happens. Scenario planning is a useful tool here and many providers use crisis simulations as a way of helping CEOs and their teams to think in crisis mode ahead of time in a safe environment, and to identify any gaps, strengths and weaknesses in their crisis response.

There’s an adage that the best laid plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy. Yet money spent on risk management and crisis preparedness is money well spent. We live in a risk-plagued environment characterised by persistent economic weakness, civil unrest, extreme weather events, uncertainty and volatility: this is not an easy operating environment. The best way to reduce damage, disruption and grey swan events is to take preventive measures to reduce risk exposure. This might include developing processes to model possible events; proactively building contingency plans; establishing and rehearsing a cross functional crisis team; building new systems; preparing crisis communications. It may also involve reviewing corporate governance structures.

Amongst other things, the corporate affairs function is responsible for monitoring the external environment, effective communications, maintaining good relationships with stakeholders, managing an organisation’s profile and reputation. It has an essential part to play in preparing for, avoiding and managing risk and crisis. As such, a corporate affairs presence in every C-suite and board will provide organisations with an extra layer of support and protection during these unprecedented times.

Katherine Sykes is the co-chair of the CIPR Crisis Communications Network.

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Katherine Sykes 06/01/2023 Katherine Sykes 06/01/2023

Why No Board Can Do Without a Corporate/Public Affairs Professional

No board should be without a corporate/public affairs professional. In a world that is increasingly disruptive, inter-connected and dominated by 24-hour news cycles and unceasing social media, corporate/public affairs plays a critical role in managing an organisation’s brand, profile and reputation...

Published in Influence, 6 January 2023

By Katherine Sykes

Corporate/public affairs is a specialism which covers a broad range of skills, not limited to external/internal communications, media relations, government relations, policy development, advocacy, campaigns, copywriting and editing, PR and crisis communications. It also includes issues, risk and reputation management, and managing relationships with stakeholders.

Corporate/public affairs and strategic communications allow organisations to recognise, establish, maintain and value good relationships with stakeholders, ensuring that their concerns and perceptions are considered as part of the strategic process. ‘Bringing the outside in’ in this way, scanning the horizon for issues, managing any that arise, and preparing for, avoiding or managing crisis are essential components in maintaining an organisation’s reputation, maintaining its brand value, maintaining understanding and goodwill both inside and out, and promoting enduring resilience and stability. It enables the identification of new opportunities and supports the identification and management of risk.

This is particularly important in the new era of ESG sustainability (managing and reporting environmental, social and governance issues within business operations), as ESG and reputation are inextricably linked. ESG has elevated the importance of reputation management, bringing it firmly to the heart of business strategy. Increasingly, organisations will need to view their ESG decisions through the lens of reputation, aligning it to their stakeholders’ needs and demands.

ESG sustainability is all about risks and opportunities that impact an organisation’s ability to create sustainable long-term value. Much of the value of modern companies is tied up in intangible assets. ESG prompts organisations to build strategy, policies and positions based on a clear articulation of purpose and values. This requires organisations to look hard at every aspect of their operations, as there is an obvious risk that failure to meet any self-set values or targets, or the expectations of society more generally, may lead to reputational damage or even regulatory fines. In extreme cases, it could even lead to crisis.

As the list of issues covered by ESG is both so wide and so important to consumers, regulators, investors, employees and other stakeholders alike, it is important that the board has direct oversight at a high level. Equally, because the board is the ultimate holder of an organisation’s strategy and articulation of purpose, it is ultimately responsible for its reputation too.

Organisations are run by humans, for humans, who make mistakes, and the risk of reputational risk and crisis is ever present. Corporate/public affairs professionals are trained to spot and/or deal with these issues at an early stage so, in order to optimise good governance (the G in ESG), their presence on the board is vital.

A corporate/public affairs professional can provide the board with the expertise it needs to manage these vitally important areas of risk and opportunity.

Katherine Sykes is the founding director and senior consultant at Marland Sykes Communications. Katherine is also co-chair of the CIPR Crisis Communications Network.

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Katherine Sykes 01/11/2018 Katherine Sykes 01/11/2018

The Infant Nutrition Industry Code of Practice

This Code of Practice is a voluntary self-regulation standard developed by manufacturers of specialised infant foods who are members of the British Specialist Nutrition Association (BSNA), the trade association representing infant food manufacturers in the UK.

Published on 1 November 2018

By Katherine Sykes and the British Specialist Nutrition Association

This Code of Practice is a voluntary self-regulation standard developed by manufacturers of specialised infant foods who are members of the British Specialist Nutrition Association (“BSNA”), the trade association representing infant food manufacturers in the UK Compliance with the INI Code is a condition of membership of BSNA.