Instinctif Partners Middle East speaks on international crisis preparedness

Instinctif Partners Middle East and the Middle East Investor Relations Association (MEIRA) presented the latest thinking on international crisis management to an audience of investor relations officers from some of the region’s top listed companies.

The workshop, held in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on Tuesday 23^rd May, saw crisis experts share crisis management methodologies and real life case studies helping to identify and understand key risks impacting businesses and their share value.

Samantha Bartel Al Khalaf, Managing Partner, Instinctif Partners Middle East, commented:

“High-profile examples of poorly managed crisis situations are commonly reported in the media, often with devastating impact for the company and its shareholders. Failure to handle a crisis situation effectively will have immediate and often long lasting negative consequences for the organisation and its investors. Having a solid investor relations programme, with protocol and procedures in place for a crisis situation, will help manage the crisis effectively.”

The presentation demonstrated how a comprehensive crisis preparedness framework could empower companies to improve their internal and external communications processes, actively taking steps to prevent share prices from falling during a crisis situation.

Clemence Piot, MEIRA General Manager, said:

“Readiness and reactivity are critical for managing crisis situations. Whether or not the crisis is linked to investor relations, the investor relations function should be involved from the beginning of the crisis management process to limit potential negative impacts. The investor relations officer should be in regular contact with shareholders and analysts, bringing comfort and transparency to investors in order to mitigate negative collateral damage.”

The workshop delivered an approach to crisis management that combined communication, corporate governance, risk, cultural sensitivity and internal processes, helping attendees to support the operation of more resilient and dynamic companies. Further discussion included the importance of early identification and understanding of corporate risks for tackling a crisis while at the same time protecting shareholder value. It was established that crisis and product recall preparedness are best quantified and measured in advance, particularly if benchmarked against international and industry best practice.