The document discusses the results of a 2013 crisis survey conducted among 201 business decision makers in Europe. Some key findings include: - The threat of a crisis remains a top concern for business leaders, with controversial company developments being the most commonly encountered and expected type of crisis. - Experiencing a crisis is expensive, with the average cost being between €10,000-€999,999 depending on company size. - For many companies, crisis management is still handled internally rather than outsourcing it. - New media has added challenges to crisis management by increasing the need for fast responses and allowing negative commentary to spread widely online. - Having a clear corporate purpose helps companies deliver across key reputational metrics and

1. 2013 Crisis Survey
1

2. Methodology


PSB conducted a total of 201 online
interviews in Europe amongst businessdecision makers in October 2013
Business-decision makers are defined as
respondents who:
Region
Sample
size
Margin
of error
France
40
+/-16
Germany
40
+/-16


Full time or self employed/business owner

Have an active interest in business and current
affairs issues,
Italy
40
+/-16

Have final or significant decision making power
in their business.
Spain
42
+/-16
United Kingdom

Aged over 25,
39
+/-16
Overall
201
+/-7
Overall, half of the respondents were from
large enterprise businesses and half were
from SME businesses

3. THE THREAT OF CRISIS IS A
KEY CONCERN FOR BUSINESS
LEADERS
3

4. The threat of crisis remains a key concern
Q64 As a business decision maker, what are the top three concerns that keep you up at night?
Base: Overall (201)

5. A crisis is defined as a disruption to the business which
puts the company’s future at risk
Q17 What does ‘crisis’ mean to you in a business context?
“An internal or external
situation that starts to disrupt
the life of the business”
-France SME-
“when you start to lose
customers for whatever
reason”
-Germany SME-
“A crisis creates opportunity for
realignment and correction”
-Germany SME“event or events which need to be
tackled urgently with maximum
resource, which have their potential to
do serious harm to the business.”
-UK SMEBase: Overall (201)
“where the future of the
business or part of it is at
serious risk”
-UK enterprise-

6. 41% of business leaders continue to experience crises
Q39 Has your company experienced a crisis while you’ve been working there?
59
53
47
41
HAVE NOT
EXPERIENCED A
CRISIS
Yes
2011
HAVE
EXPERIENCED
A CRISIS No
2013
Base: Overall 2013 (201),Overall 2011 (204), Overall 2009 (200)
HAVE EXPERIENCED A
CRISIS WITHIN THE
LAST YEAR

7. Controversial company developments is STILL the
most commonly encountered crisis…
Q43 What sort of crisis did your company encounter?
(Among those who experienced a crisis)
34
36
Controversial company developments (e.g. lay offs)
39
21
19
17
20
Logistical difficulties (e.g. problems with transport/delivery)
Technical accidents (e.g. natural disaster or explosion)
8
10
18
Critical or negative new media campaigns (e.g. criticism over social media)
“Lay-off of huge number
of employees due to
internal unrest within the
organisation”
-UK, Enterprise
11
Danger to product safety (e.g. defective or contaminated parts)
17
16
Online or digital security failure
13
15
17
“The Icelandic volcano stopping
flights over Europe meant our
customers were unable to travel –
we also had customers stranded”
-UK, Enterprise
15
Intense regulatory scrutiny of your company
12
12
Intense political scrutiny of your company
2013
6
Criminal actions (e.g. bomb attack or fire)
9
2011
4
2009
Base: Experienced a crisis (82)
“Failure of computer security
allowed third parties access to
our database”
-FR, Enterprise

8. …It is ALSO the crisis that companies most expect to
experience within the next year
Q30 How likely do you think it is that your company will experience each of the following in the next 6-12
months?
56% of Enterprise
respondents think it is likely,
in comparison to 34% of
SMEs.
45
43
47% of Enterprise
respondents think it is
unlikely, in comparison to
32% of SMEs.
28
43
37
33
26
39
66
71
74
62
Intense
regulatory
scrutiny
Technical
accidents
55
56
57
61
Controversial
company
developments
Logistical
difficulties
Online or digital
security failure
Critical or
negative new
media
campaigns
Likely
Base: Overall (201)
Unlikely
Danger to
Criminal actions
product safety

9. Organisations TEND TO ANTICIPATE THE SAME KINDS OF
CRISES THEY HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED
Occurrence: High
Concern: High
Crisis encountered
Occurrence: High
Concern: Low
Technical accidents (such
as a natural disaster or
explosion)
Danger to product safety
(i.e. defective parts or
contaminated materials)
Occurrence: Low
Concern: Low
Intense political scrutiny of
your product or company
Critical or negative new
media campaigns (e.g.
criticism over social media
/ online channels)
Intense regulatory scrutiny
of your product or
company
Occurrence: Low
Concern: High
Criminal actions (such as a
bomb attack or fire)
Controversial company
developments (such as
lay-offs or restructuring)
Logistic difficulties
(problems with transport
or delivery)
Online or digital security
failure (E.g. personal
information on customers
lost, or company internal
emails being stolen)
Perceived likelihood of company experiencing each crisis
Base: Overall (201)

10. Experiencing a crisis is EXPENSIVE
Q151 Approximately, how much did the crisis cost your company?
(Among those who have experienced a crisis)
SMES SAY A CRISIS COST
THEM BETWEEN
€10,000- €49,999
ENTERPRISES SAY A
CRISIS COST THEM
BETWEEN
€500,000- €999,999
THE AVERAGE COST OF A
CRISIS TO A COMPANY
Base: Among those that had experienced a crisis from DE, FR, IT and SP (72); overall SME (38); enterprise (34)

11. FOR MANY COMPANIES
CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS STILL
HANDLED INTERNALLY
11

12. INTERNAL TEAMS remain primarily responsible for
crisis planning
Q101 How did your company develop its crisis management plan?
51
We have an internal team that created a crisis action plan
62
2013
33
We used both external and internal resources to develop a
crisis action plan
We employed an outside firm to create a crisis action plan for
us
18
12
14
9% of SME in
comparison to 15%
Enterprise
Base: Those with a crisis plan 2013 (102); those with a crisis plan 2011 (105)
2011

13. The proportion hiring an outside company to deal with a
crisis has almost doubled since 2009
Q44 What did your company do at the time to manage the crisis?
(among those that had experienced a crisis)
51
47
35
34
30
24
15
12
8
We handled the crisis internally either through the We have/had an in-house team especially dedicated We hired an outside company to help us manage
Public Relations Department or Senior Management
to dealing with crisis management
the crisis
2009
2011
2013
Base: Experienced a crisis 2013 (82); Experienced a crisis 2011 (123) ; Experienced a crisis 2009 (106)

14. In the event of a crisis, INTERNAL ACTIVITIES are the focus
Q112-131 Please place these steps in the order of the steps you have or would go through in a crisis situation
Prepare an internal audit
Establish a crisis team
Organise a crisis check-list
Receive training from your internal crisis team
Monitor Issues
Conduct a crisis workshop
Receive training from your external crisis team
Prepare Press Statements
Evaluate crisis scenarios
Publish and distribute a crisis manual
Have an on-site crisis team
Call your crisis hotline – run by an external company
Train crisis team in media relations
Engage with consumers/public
Engage with local or national politicians
Engage with online stakeholders
Engage with digital communications / social media
Engage with national regulators or public authorities
Engage with European Parliamentarians
Engage with NGOs
Base: Overall (201)
47
43
42
42
38
31
30
29
28
25
25
23
20
18
13
12
11
8
6
5

15. Opinion is split on the best style of LEADERSHIP when
managing a crisis
Q133A Which of the following two styles of leadership
do you believe to be most effective when managing a
crisis?
Q133B Thinking about the most effective attributes for
a leading team or figure to have when directing a
business out of a crisis, which of these are most
important? (top 8)
48
43
Accountability
50
50
48
43
45
Decision-making
43
Clear vision
39
36
Strong interpersonal skills
38
33
36
41
Excellent communicators
Ability to delegate and empower
Command and control
C-Suite
Collaboration
Non C-Suite
31
Setting direction
30
Ability to challenge status quo
C-suite
Base: Overall (201); C-Suite (107); non C-Suite (94)
37
39
26
27
Non C-suite

16. NEW MEDIA HAS ADDED TO
THE CHALLENGE OF
MANAGING CRISES
16

17. A third say it is MORE DIFFICULT TO PLAN for a crisis
Q50 Do you think it is more or less difficult for
companies like yours to plan for a crisis than it was
5 years ago?
32
43
More difficult
44
42
Less difficult
23
15
2011
About the
same
2013

18. The pressure to RESPOND QUICKLY is an increasing
difficulty in planning for a crisis
Q52 Which, if any, of the below are reasons why you feel it is more difficult to plan for a crisis today?
(Among those who feel it is more difficult to plan)
50
34
2011
35
33
31
24
30
2013
33
29
21
21
18
Need to respond extremely More globalized nature of Increased anti-corporate Increased public demand Overall challenges of digital Rise of citizen journalism /
quickly
communications
sentiment in public and/or
for transparency
communications
social media (e.g.
media
Facebook, Twitter)
“Globalization, changes in
environmental conditions,
transparency, sustainability.”
-Germany enterprise-
“More channels to address, increase in
stakeholder groups and groups of
'interested but biased' parties. Misinformation via the internet.”
-UK enterprise-
Base: Those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2013 (66); those that say it is more difficult to plan for a crisis 2011 (90)

19. Recent high profile scandals have increased concerns
and PROMPTED THOUGHT AND PLANNING
“There have been a number of high profile crises over the past 12 months including
the horsemeat scandal, the fixing of Libor, and the US Government shutdown.”
Q53 To what extent have these crises increased your
own company’s concerns regarding potential crises?
Q56 To what extent have these recent crises made
your company think about its own crisis planning?
23
Increased
Stayed about the same
69
Decreased
8
Base: Overall (201)
SAY THAT RECENT
CRISES HAVE MADE
THEIR COMPANY THINK
ABOUT ITS OWN CRISIS
PLANNING

20. An increasing number of companies HAVE a digital
crisis communications plan
Q110 Does your current company have a
digital crisis communications plan?
Q111 How did you or your company develop its current
digital crisis communications plan?
62
We have an internal team
that created a crisis action plan
28
57
39
Yes
31
We used both external and internal
resources to develop a crisis action plan
22
2013
No
57
52
2011
We employed an outside firm
to create a crisis action plan for us
2013
Base: Overall (201); Overall 2011 (204)
2011
8
20

21. Companies still FEEL OVERWHELMED by online
communication channels
“A major factor in these crises was the online public debate
over new media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs.”
Q54 What do you think are the biggest issues for companies in crisis like Tesco, Barclays, and the BBC when
responding to the online public debate?
37
29
28
21
20
16
Slow response time
Lack of dedicated team to
respond to new media
“They should have a team
that monitors all new media
for any potential crisis and
responding quickly with
damage control.”
-UK SME-
New media (including
social media) channels
flooded with negative
commentary
Treating old and new
media types differently
“The communication with the public has
changed, but, many companies do not
know how to handle it and use old
communication methods .”
-Italy SME-
Base: Overall (201)
Being undermined by
employees
Not seeking the support or
assistance from third
parties
“It is a whole new ball game with
rumours ricocheting around the
digital world.”
-UK SME-

22. New media has increased pressure during crises, but
used correctly IT CAN HELP manage reputation
70%
of respondents believe that new media is
playing an increasing role in driving
reputation during crisis
59%
Think that new media has significantly
increased the potential cost of a crisis
64%
believe that new media (including social
media) makes crises more difficult to
manage
50%
Think social media has made it harder to
recover from a crisis, while the other 50%
believe it has made recovering easier
60%
Believe that it is hard to know who
influences opinion online
Base: Overall (201)

23. CORPORATE PURPOSE
IS A VITAL TOOL
IN THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE
23

24. 91% say that their company has a clear corporate purpose
QCP1 What do you understand by the term ‘corporate
purpose’?
QCP1 To what extent do you agree or disagree that
your company has a clear corporate purpose?
Disagree
8%
but only 45% “strongly”
agree; 46% agree
“somewhat”
“Your governing ethos,
what makes the company
tick”
-UK enterprise-
“This is the identity of a
company”
-France enterprise-
91%
Agree
Base: Overall (201); agree & disagree (top 2 box)

25. Corporate purpose enables organisations to deliver
across key reputational metrics
QCP4 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statements below?
(% strongly agree)
52% amongst those with
a plan and only 32%
amongst those without
45
Has a CP
No CP*
27% amongst
those without a
plan
43
41
37
40
22
22
28
17
11
My company has strong
leadership
My company invests in employee
development
My company contributes to
society
My company acts in an
My company invests in the local
environmentally responsible way
community
*Denotes a low base size
Base: Companies with a CP (183); Without a CP (18)

26. And becomes EVEN MORE IMPORTANT during a crisis
Q44A Did you use your corporate purpose in external
communications to talk about what you do and why
you do it, in dealing with the crisis?
Q44C To what extent did having a clear corporate
purpose help you in managing the crisis?
“It acted as a reminder to staff of
the objectives of the business”
-France SME-
OF THOSE THAT
HANDLED THEIR CRISIS
INTERNALLY
USED THEIR
CORPORATE PURPOSE
TO MANAGE IT
“It was important to keep
customers and the media
updated as to the impact and
what actions we were taking.”
-UK enterprise-
“We tried to promote our quality
work emphasizing the ethics of
the way we work.”
-Italy enterprise-
90
Helped
Did not help
11
2013
Base: Among those that experienced a crisis and had a clear corporate purpose (76); among those that used their
corporate purpose to handle their crisis (57 )

27. CRISIS PLANNING IS IMPERATIVE
AND MANY COMPANIES
REMAIN UNPREPARED
27

28. Crisis plans are seen as BENEFICIAL yet half of
companies still do not have one in place
Q95 To what extent do you agree or disagree
that having a crisis plan in place would benefit
your company?
Q96 Does your current company have a crisis
management plan?
49
51
51
76
86
85
Yes
Agree
Disagree
No
51
49
49
2009
2011
2013
23
14
16
2009
2011
2013
Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)

29. A third of those without a plan say crisis management
planning is NOT A PRIORITY
Q157 What are the key barriers to developing a crisis management plan for your company or
organisation? (Amongst those without a plan)
It’s not a high enough priority
33
It’s rarely going to be needed
31
It’s expensive
25
My business doesn’t need a crisis management plan
24
It would take too much time to plan
18
I don’t feel I have enough information about what is out there and how it could
benefit me
14
Too difficult to manage
14
I think setting up such a plan within my company would be difficult to accomplish
Base: those without crisis plan (99)
10
2013

30. FINANCIAL planning and evaluation of SCENARIOS
are the most important components of a plan
Q65-89 How important are each of the following components to a crisis preparedness/communications plan?
(% very important, showing top 10)
Financial planning in case of a crisis
29
53
35
30
29
29
Evaluation of possible scenarios
Action Plan for crisis management
43
29
28
Prepared crisis check lists
27
22
A previously set-up crisis team
37
26
25
23
Issue monitoring
2013
27
22
Internal Audit on crisis awareness, preparedness and management'
2011
30
23
25
25
Plan to liaise with online stakeholders
23
24
Receive training from your internal crisis team
24
21.00
24
Media training
18
19
2009
24
Base: Overall 2013 (201); overall 2011 (204); overall 2009 (200)

31. 24% of those with a plan have NOT TESTED it in the
past year
Q106 In the past 12 months have you done a crisis communications
exercise to test the efficacy of your plan in any of the following areas?
Online or digital security failure
IN THE EVENT OF CRISIS:
31
Technical accidents
BELIEVE THAT THEIR PLAN WILL
COVER THE COMPANY TO SOME
EXTENT, BUT THERE WILL BE
GAPS
30
None of the above
24
Intense regulatory scrutiny of your product or
company
21
Controversial company developments
21
Logistic difficulties
19
Danger to product safety
Criminal actions
Intense political scrutiny of your product or
company
16
12
11
Base: those with a crisis plan (102)
2013
OF COMPANIES THAT HAVE
SUFFERED A CRISIS THINK
THEIR CURRENT PLAN STILL
HAS GAPS

32. 51% of companies recover from crisis within a year but
those with a crisis management plan RECOVER FASTER
Q45 How long would you say it took your company to recover from the crisis?
2009
2011
2013
OF COMPANIES WITH A
CRISIS MANAGEMENT
PLAN RECOVERED IN 6
MONTHS
57
VS
44
38
26
19
15
10 11
6
15
11
8
6
6
2
2 weeks or less
2 weeks-1 month
2-12 months
1-2 years
3-5 years
2
4
0
OF COMPANIES THAT
DON’T HAVE A PLAN
5 years or more
Base: Those that experienced a crisis 2013 (82); those that experienced a crisis 2011 (123); those that experienced a crisis 2009 (106)

33. When it comes to planning for a crisis, there are
THREE TYPES of company
Boy Scout
(Well-Prepared)
Those with strong,
comprehensive plans, which
will stand up to the pressure
of a crisis
20%
Tightrope walker
(Vulnerable)
Ostrich
(Exposed)
Companies with plans that will
not necessarily cover them,
or which aren’t sufficiently
comprehensive
Lack plans entirely,
they see only barriers to
creating plans and thus
avoid making them
40%
40%

34. THE NUMBER OF EXPOSED COMPANIES HAS
INCREASED SINCE 2011
Boy Scout
(Well-Prepared)
Tightrope walker
(Vulnerable)
2011
2011
2013
22% 20%
2013
45% 40%
Ostrich
(Exposed)
2011
2013
33% 40%

35. STILL ONLY ONE IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE
PREPARED FOR A CRISIS
Boy Scout (Well Prepared, 20%)
•
•
More crisis focused than other groups
• 70% review their plan every year
• All say that their plan would be satisfactory to take on a crisis.
• Have a specific digital crisis comms plan (76%)
•
Most common components include:
• Evaluation of possible scenarios (49%)
• Action plan for crisis management (46%)
• Prepared crisis check-lists (44%)
• Internal audit on crisis awareness, preparedness, and management (41%)
•
35
More likely to think a crisis management plan is important (46%)
Most likely to have a clear corporate purpose (63%) and strong leadership (66%)

36. TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE VULNERABLE
Tightrope Walker (Vulnerable, 45%)
•
•
But less engaged with crisis management than the Boy Scouts:
• Only 34% say a crisis plan is very important
• Less likely to review plan frequently (58% review their plans every year or less)
• Only 32% say their plan would be satisfactory in the event of a crisis
•
Main barriers to developing a more adequate plan are the time it would take (22%), a lack of
information (21%) and the cost (17%).
•
Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (51%), strong leadership (51%), and to invest in
employee development (48%).
•
36
Have a crisis management plan, and put importance on this (34%)
Less likely to have a digital crisis comms plan (66%).

37. TWO IN FIVE COMPANIES ARE CURRENTLY UNPREPARED
FOR A CRISIS
Ostrich (Exposed, 35%)
•
•
Less likely to have a clear corporate purpose (36%) or strong leadership (31%), or to invest in
employee development (29%).
•
The barriers to creating a plan are:
• Thinking it's rarely going to be needed (35%)
• It’s not high priority (32%)
• It's expensive (25%)
•
37
Do not have a crisis plan – though 27% have experienced a crisis
• 39% are currently in a crisis.
Less likely to think having a plan would decrease recovery time in the future.

38. In summary
 The threat of crisis remains a key concern for business leaders
 For many companies crisis management is still handled internally
 New media has added to the challenge of managing crises
 A clear corporate purpose is a vital tool in the current landscape
 Business decision makers are split on whether leadership in a crisis
UNLIKELY TO
UNLIKELY TO
should be about command and control, or collaborationEXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
REGULATORY
SCRUTINY
crisis planning is still
 However,
remain unprepared
POLITICAL
SCRUTINY
imperative and many companies