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This is probably not a week that Nick Buckles ever wanted to have to face. The Chief Executive of G4S was  hauled up in front of the Parliamentary Committee this week to explain his company’s failings in their ability to provide enough security staff for the Olympics. The beleaguered Mr Buckle wearily battled his way through what was the inevitable mauling by this small group of MPs.

However, if the PR team at G4S think they’ve had the day from hell there is potentially an even bigger problem looming for Lord Coe and his minions. The last thing the Olympic organisers want is for all their hard work to promote all that is good and wonderful about these games to be over shadowed by this monumental c**k up.

What they don’t want are the picture editors of all the national newspapers continuing to put photos of  ‘our brave boys’, just back from the horrors of Afghanistan, now protecting the beach volleyball team! The key to all of this is containment. The longer the story has ‘legs’ the harder it is to get it off the front page. Find a positive angle, get it out there and move on as quickly as possible.

So be aware in any organisation - if there is a difficult issue, big or small that is not dealt with quickly, it will inevitably gain its own momentum and the battle is lost. Never think if you ignore the problem it will just go away.

So here are a few top tips to ensure your company’s reputation is protected:-

  • Respond quickly to any media enquiry surrounding a tricky issue.
  • If you can’t give the journalist what you want always say you will get back to him shortly with the right information and do so.
  • Prepare a statement  and have your spokesperson ready.
  • When talking to journalists never introduce negative words,  always positive – or they will only come  back to haunt you!

If you need to learn how to protect your organisation's reputation in a crisis, please contact the Media First team.
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