How Do You Prioritize Workload During a Major Corporate Crisis?
When a corporate crisis hits, the ability to efficiently prioritize and manage the workload becomes paramount. Insights from a Partner and a Co-Founder & Co-CEO reveal strategies that can make a significant difference. The first expert advises to assess the crisis scope and assemble a team, while the final insight emphasizes the importance of communicating delays and delegating tasks. In total, this article presents four critical insights from top law professionals.
- Assess Crisis Scope and Assemble Team
- Prioritize Based on Impact and Urgency
- Balance Immediate Action with Long-Term Strategy
- Communicate Delays and Delegate Tasks
Assess Crisis Scope and Assemble Team
The first step is to assess the crisis's scope and severity, identifying the areas of greatest impact on operations, customers, compliance, and brand reputation. Immediately assembling a team comprising internal stakeholders (such as legal, compliance, and PR) and external advisors is essential for effective coordination. Clear communication within this team ensures everyone is aligned and working cohesively toward containment and resolution.
Documentation is critical throughout this process, tracking decisions, communications, and actions for potential internal reviews, audits, or regulatory needs. Effective delegation ensures team members handle tasks according to their expertise, and external consultants may be engaged for high-profile crises. Transparent communication with stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the public, is crucial for maintaining trust and controlling narratives.
Finally, focus on recovery and resilience. This includes reviewing and adapting crisis-response protocols to prevent recurrence, planning for long-term recovery and reputation rebuilding, and supporting team morale through open communication and recognition of their efforts. A successful crisis response should not only mitigate immediate threats but also strengthen the business's resilience for future challenges.
Prioritize Based on Impact and Urgency
When a corporate crisis hits, we prioritize cases based on potential impact, urgency, and client needs, making sure our team is laser-focused on the most pressing aspects first. This involves breaking down tasks into clear, manageable steps and assigning them to specialized team members so no time is wasted. We use real-time communication tools to stay updated minute by minute, ensuring that any new developments are swiftly integrated into our strategy. Maintaining a clear hierarchy of tasks allows us to move with precision and prevent any slip-ups under pressure.
Balance Immediate Action with Long-Term Strategy
A corporate crisis requires balancing immediate action with big-picture thinking. When multiple parties were involved in an accident, we used the "10-10-10" rule—what needs resolving in 10 minutes, 10 hours, and 10 days. This method helped us respond quickly to urgent needs, like filing safety reports, while simultaneously strategizing for long-term liability issues. It kept us focused and made the client feel secure in a structured, step-by-step response plan.
Communicate Delays and Delegate Tasks
In a corporate crisis, I prioritize managing the workload by immediately assessing which cases could face delays and communicating these proactively to clients, ensuring they feel informed and reassured. I designate critical cases to senior staff and delegate routine tasks to team members with lighter workloads, leveraging everyone's strengths for maximum efficiency. We also create a temporary crisis-management framework, assigning roles and backup responsibilities so nothing falls through the cracks. This structured yet flexible approach ensures we continue meeting client expectations even in a challenging period.
