Issues & Crisis

Expert support and strategic, confidential advice

Are you a CEO or Managing Director and concerned that you and your C-suite are unprepared or ill-equipped to lead your organisation through a reputational crisis?

Are you a Director of Communications and out of your comfort zone in crisis? Have you assessed the internal risks and weak spots? Are your colleagues primed to identify and mitigate potential issues before they escalate?

Are you a Head of Brand or Marketing and worried about how to protect your brand if/when in the firing line?

The reputational risks facing organisations and their leadership have never been more significant than today. No business is immune and nurturing your repuation has never been more valuable.

Cyber security breaches, company failure or restructure, litigation, financial scrutiny, whistleblowing, protests, viral consumer complaints, workplace injuries and death - the potential for a crisis is ever-present and increasingly complex to manage.

In a world where perception moves faster than facts, how you manage a reputational issue or crisis can make or break your long-term commercial health and protect your business from financial loss.

I have extensive experience in a host of issues and crisis scenarios, advising teams throughout the operation, from legal and people teams to customer and brand.

360° consultancy

  • Assessment & Preparation

    I can support with crisis preparedness from full crisis communications playbook production, to scenario planning and assessing risk. Investing in issues and crisis preparedness before it happens saves time and money. The savviest businesses do not wait for crisis to strike.

  • Management & Response

    I have managed some of the most sensitive and high profile issues and crises. I can guide you through the entire process, from assessing impact and direction of travel, to providing consistent messaging and materials for your stakeholders, from media and employees to customers and investors.

  • Training & Resilience

    Confidence builds from preparation and practice. I offer tailored training that equips spokespeople, leadership teams and brand/comms functions to respond calmly, clearly and credibly under pressure. From live media training and message development to crisis simulation exercises, I help build the skills and mindset required to spot issues early and manage them when they arrive.

Endorsements

  • “Crisis management comms is something few 'PR' and comms people can do exceptionally well, but Lorna has shown she can do this and displays the right balance of curiosity, compassion and command of the situation. Lorna challenged where necessary to get the right outcome and engaged confidently and credibly with all stakeholders.”

    - Jamie Queen, Chief Commercial Officer, Buzz Bingo

  • “Lorna’s reputation, issues and crisis management training for hotel General Managers and our senior leadership team regarding interacting with the media (of all sorts) and particularly in crises situations was fantastic, it was engaging and insightful, the feedback from all the team has been super and we feel so much more prepared.”

    - Peter Hales, Managing Director, Michels & Taylor

  • “I can’t thank Lorna enough for the insights and skills myself and my team have gained. It has made us more prepared, whether that’s thinking ahead and pre-preparing statements/protocols, or responding in an appropriate, empathetic way to our customers. The training was relaxed and interesting – we were all really engaged and came out feeling very motivated! Crisis management is one of those things some might feel there isn’t much to. If you are one of these people then I couldn’t encourage you more to think again. It’s a no brainer.”

    Victoria Fryer, Marketing Director, Sigma Capital Group

“Crisis management is something few ‘PR’ and comms people can do exceptionally well, but Lorna can. She displays the right balance of curiosity, compassion and command of the situation, challenging where necessary to get the right outcome and engage confidently and credibly with all stakeholders.”
— Buzz Bingo