Frequent and future crises for companies and organizations

If business leaders need any more reasons why their companies should prepare for a crisis, a new dire warning about the economic impact of climate change and a report about the frequency of crises will get them to act now. can inspire.

“The head of the European Space Agency (ESA) has warned of economic damage from heatwaves and droughts could exacerbate Europe’s energy crisis as he called for urgent action to tackle climate change,” Reuters reported today.

“Josef Aschbacher, director general, told Reuters that persistent heatwaves measured from space, along with wildfires, shrinking rivers and rising land temperatures, left no doubt about the toll on agriculture and other industries from climate change.”

“Today, we are very concerned about the energy crisis, and rightly so. But this crisis is very small compared to the impact of climate change, which is of much greater magnitude and has to be dealt with really fast,” he said.

Crisis News and Trends

Then there are the findings of a new report from the Crisis Management Institute this week.

The 2021 ICM Annual Crisis Report is a compilation of news, trends and highlights industries that were most affected by the crisis last year. According to the report, the disaster category again took the top spot with 36.6% of all news tracked, followed by whistleblowers, consumerism/activism and executive dismissals.

“My advice to business leaders is steady: Invest in crisis planning and training,” Deborah L. Hillman, president and CEO of the Institute for Crisis Management, said via email.

“The cost of preparation is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of a crisis absent a strategy. Objectively assess risks and vulnerabilities without bias. Make sure the plan addresses risks that are considered highly probable or highly impactful on the business,” she advised.

The list and nature of hazards that can pose a threat to a business is increasing day by day. They include the following, according to a survey of CEOs and crisis management experts and supervisors.

Energy and food armament

“One of the most serious crises facing businesses is Russia’s armament of energy and food, resulting in harmful global impacts of petroleum in the form of plastics, fertilizers and a multitude of industrial and consumer products,” said Michael Susong, senior vice president of the US. Global intelligence in Crisis 24 and a former CIA officer via email.

delivery method

“We are going to see many businesses impacted by the developing supply chain snapback, predicted Corey Donovan, president of Alta Technologies, via email.

“Companies are filling shelves with side chain ingredients to address recent backlogs, but their traditional product allocations are about to flood their docks as manufacturing comes back online and shipping channels loosen up.

“Brands that have higher indexes on their purchases will face the most pain, as they incur losses on liquidated goods along with write-downs on unsold product,” he said.

inflation and taxation

“Inflation causes all price increases, and this includes the rental of commercial space,” Rank Secure CEO Baruch Labunsky said in a statement.

“Inflation on gas, products, utilities” [and commercial rent space] Has increased by more than 200% since January 2021. This must be factored into pricing, and businesses are finding it challenging to keep customers interested with higher pricing. After all they too are battling high prices [on] everyday things,” he said.

to tax

“Taxation is one of the biggest concerns for businesses,” Labunsky pointed out.

“Congress has just passed a bill that significantly increases taxes and adds an additional 87,000… IRS agents to be added to the exchequer. Many businesses cannot afford such growth or defend themselves against audits. audit, together [the] Seizure of computers and documents can easily shut down many small and medium-sized businesses,” he said.

Pandemic and rising business costs

“A turbulent economy, the long-term effects of the pandemic, and rising costs for businesses are the conditions for a serious financial crisis facing businesses in 2022. Tackling one of these factors alone will keep CFOs and financial professionals up at night,” said Daniel Docherty. Said, director of strategy at Advanced Financial.

“Yet when they all play together, it becomes more important than ever to protect the financial health of your business. In times like these, it’s time for the mind to re-evaluate belt-tightening, ship-stability and It is easy to stop/start without giving any concrete solutions to the new thinking that the current climate requires,” he said.

“In an uncertain future, businesses need to think beyond traditional bottom-line metrics and put purpose and trust at the forefront of their strategies. Now is the time to take the initiative to transform the finance function into a strategic and value-driven powerhouse now and in the future,” recommends Doherty.

allegation of misconduct

Employers should recognize that they are in an increasingly binary position as it relates to allegations of misconduct – particularly around allegations of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sexuality and gender,” said Kia Roberts, Principal and Triangle Investigation. The founder said via email.

Impact of Discrimination Strategy

According to Roberts, “the discrimination strategies associated with these biases within an organization can be literally devastating to the organization – related to productivity, employee turnover, and overall employee satisfaction.”

“Employers should realize that major aggression and subtle aggression still occur while employees work remotely, or in a hybrid work arrangement. Managers may still display discriminatory behavior while employees work remotely. and for an organization not to recognize it and create mechanisms to counter it opens the organization to tremendous liability, both legal and reputational,” she warned.

“It is very wrong for employers to think that this risk of exposure has been mitigated with so many employees working remotely. Cultural competence, sensitivity and emotional intelligence [are] still much needed as it pertains to employee experience,” concluded Roberts.