The board of directors’ role in crisis management

Who’s minding your risk?

Sooner or later, every enterprise will face a crisis. When it hits, the ability to side-step disaster depends on the effectiveness of your company’s response. Preparedness and oversight of crisis management is a key responsibility of the board of directors.

Osler surveyed 400 corporate directors across Canada for its white paper “The Board’s Role in Crisis Management” – download the paper [PDF] to learn how they’ve prepared and where more work is needed.

Ready… or not?

Published in collaboration with the Institute of Corporate Directors, our white paper highlights crisis management from the board’s perspective. Based on a 37-question survey completed by 400 Canadian board directors, feedback from director roundtable participants and cross-country panel discussions, the paper provides key insights on how boards can help their organization to effectively respond to a potential crisis situation, and best protect those organizations through:

• Proactive prevention
• Promoting and safeguarding the organization’s reputation
• Explicit crisis management planning
• Defining and respecting  management’s and the board’s roles in preparing for and responding to crises; and
• Balancing the need for a speedy response and communications with informed decision-making