Recall Management Team
It is critical that your company has a team of employees ready at all times to manage the recall process. Like any good crisis plan, your recall plan should outline the roles and responsibilities of each person on your recall management team so that when a recall strikes, every person knows their responsibilities. Your recall management team, along with your recall plan, should also be tested on a regular basis to ensure that your recall procedures and strategies align with new recall regulations.
During a recall, there are several important stakeholders who are likely to be impacted:
Business Operations: In order to keep your company running smoothly and return to “business as usual” as quickly as possible, your business operations team must understand the recall lifecycle and what it means for current procurement, supply chain, manufacturing and selling strategies. For example, if one specific component or ingredient causes the product to be recalled, your business operations team must find new suppliers fast. Your business operations team will also understand what other products may use that same defective component, informing your recall decision and minimizing the risk of expanding your recall in the future.
Finance: Your finance team must be aware of any recall processes, extra costs, and when the company can expect to recover. Their knowledge of recall costs and their impact on the bottom line will weigh directly into the cost-benefit analysis of hiring third-party recall experts to ensure the recall process is managed effectively.
Marketing: Depending on the circumstances, you may want to make strategic marketing adjustments during a recall. For example, during the recall process, it may make sense to pull any television advertisements for a recalled product or for your entire company. Your marketing team should be fully involved in the recall process in order to make these critical evaluations and strategic decisions.
Legal: With any recall comes the potential for litigation. Plaintiffs’ attorneys are constantly trolling for class action lawsuits against companies who may have put consumers at risk. Your legal team must be informed quickly of any threatened legal action or complaints from consumers that, left unanswered, could lead to a lawsuit.
Customer Service: Finally, whether your call center operations are in-house or outsourced, your customer service department will have to answer calls from consumers and consignees. Your customer service team should be prepared at all stages of the recall process with messages and talking points for these circumstances and be able to handle call surges and spikes at anytime.
When identifying your recall management team, it is critical that each of these key stakeholders is represented and is kept informed of any relevant developments. Keeping your entire business team aware of the competitive landscape in which they are doing business during a recall is critical to your overall corporate communication and recovery.
