Every business knows that risks and disasters are a normal part of doing business. There can be drops in the economy, natural disasters, world pandemics, and even sudden changes in how people act. Store owners need to have a plan for how to handle emergencies and times of uncertainty more than anyone else.A company's ability to handle a problem well can make or break it. For example, think about how many stores closed across the country during the COVID-19 outbreak. In the same way, many stores weren't ready for things like hand sanitizer and toilet paper to run out, which caused problems for their customers.
For the bigger businesses that did make it through, many had to change their hours.
lay off more than half of their staff, or even close their shops and offices. When a problem hits, most stores have to make tough choices like the ones in these strategies."Crisis management is like your dad putting away MREs before Y2K," says Brandfolder CEO Steve Baker. "It seemed like too much, like getting ready for something that would never happen." But if the worst happened, they were ready because they had a plan, supplies, and even written down contact plans. As a brand, you hope that a crisis never happens, like Y2K. But if it does, you want to be ready with the best crisis management plan ever so that your business and brand are safe.Dealing with RiskCrisis management in retail is an important part of any company's overall risk management plan. Finding, evaluating, and reducing any possible threat to the business's operations and image is what risk management is all about. But managing a crisis is all about getting ready for and reacting to bad things that happen out of the blue.Businesses should make management plans to deal with different problems as part of a larger risk management plan. These plans spell out how to respond to disasters and who is responsible for what. A retail crisis could be a natural accident, a cyberattack, or even a problem with how the store is seen by the public.
Risk assessment and training are needed to handle a crisis well.
As with all risk management plans, this one includes training workers and running mock drills to make sure the response team is ready for a real emergency. As an example, active shooter drills are a good way to teach people what to do in an emergency.A store owner might be aware of the danger of an active shooter situation in one of its shops. The company would then do a risk assessment by looking at where the store is located, how dangerous the area is, and anything else about the store that might make it more likely for an active shooter to happen.The store can then put together a team and a plan to deal with the problem and figure out who is responsible for what. People from different areas, like operations, human resources, public relations, and security, should be on the team.Depending on the plan, training can be done through videos, handouts, or real drills. Then, more preventative risk management plans would be put in place to lower the chances of an active shooter happening. Some of these plans could be to make the store safer by putting in place security measures before customers even walk in or doing background checks on people who are applying for jobs.There is less chance of an active shooter now. The team has a plan for what to do if something still goes wrong.What is risk in running a store?Risk can mean different things, but in general, it means not knowing how much you might lose. Some common threats that stores face to their business areProblems with the supply system and distributionDamage to a brand or imageTechnology problems that can stop business services from running, whether they're online or off
New rules, like changes to the minimum wage or laws about workers' benefits.
Being unable to understand and meet customer needsTurnover of employeesMost businesses put a high priority on reducing common risks like general liability and workers' compensation. One good example is a store making plans for how to handle the damage after a storm. If the stores aren't too badly damaged, workers may follow standard company procedures to get them back open and running smoothly.An important part of a store's risk management plan is how they handle crises. By thinking about the storm again, the store can first figure out the risk of being in the path of a hurricane.Now, a certain shop might never be hit by a hurricane. However, if it does happen, there is a plan in place to help with business survival after the disaster and keep the store running normally.Strategies for Good Management in ActionWhat Johnson and Johnson did in 1982 taught everyone else how to handle a disaster. Many businesses still do things the way they did them.They took Tylenol that had cyanide added to it, and seven of them died. Sadly, this crime has still not been solved.The company reacted right away by stopping all ads for their products and sending more than 450,000 messages to healthcare facilities and stakeholder groups. People were also sent safety advice.Johnson and Johnson didn't try to hide the truth, even though there is proof that the poison was put into containers on store shelves. Instead, the company did the first mass refund in U.S. history. Johnson and Johnson also used tamper-proof packaging, which is now standard for both food and over-the-counter medicines.Unfortunately, in 1986, another person died after taking Tylenol capsules that were tainted with cyanide. James Burke, who was CEO at the time, openly acknowledged the death and said he was upset that the company hadn't switched to a safer tablet after the deaths in 1982.
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