Expert Recall

By Mike Rozembajgier

Earlier this week, I participated in the National Association of Corporate Directors Directorship Forum – a two day event in New York where corporate executives and board members come together to discuss corporate governance and critical issues facing companies today. A recurring theme throughout the Forum, mentioned by almost every speaker, was the need for companies to plan for potential crisis situations so they can react quickly and correctly when a crisis hits. Throughout the day, we heard examples of the recent crises involving well-known brands such as Goldman Sachs, Toyota and BP.

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of discussing the challenges facing companies responding to a crisis with fellow crisis experts Brad Karp, chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Richard Levick, president and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications; and Ellen Zimiles, global head of compliance and investigations at Navigant Consulting, on the “Choose Your Crisis” panel. Together we identified the similarities and differences across various crisis scenarios, including product recalls, federal investigations, litigation and liability issues, as well as the media scrutiny that inevitably follows and fuels every crisis.

Regardless of the product your company makes or the service you provide, you are probably facing a shifting regulatory landscape in Washington, one that is being felt throughout the financial and consumer product industries. As record-breaking fines are levied, criminal investigations into corporate practices are launched, and stricter oversight is put in place, the need for companies to prepare for a crisis has never been greater.

So how can you get be prepared? Companies need to have a tested crisis plan in place. A plan for regulatory investigations.  A plan for a recall. And of course, a plan for communicating with and through the media during any crisis.

Use your peacetime wisely. Do yourself and your company a favor and review your crisis plan as soon as possible. If you don’t have a plan, create one. And then test it. Regularly bring your crisis team together for a meeting. Get to know each other so that when a crisis hits your team knows what needs to be done and who is responsible for every detail of the crisis response.

And don’t forget that it is equally important that your company also test your business partners’ crisis plans to make sure that they are meeting your quality standards.

Then, when the crisis hits, you need to ACT. During a recall this means sending out a clear message to all affected parties regarding the situation, having the right remedy in place, and tracking every piece of data throughout the entire recall process.

And remember, regardless of the crisis situation, crisis preparedness and communication are critical.

Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.