CONSULTING FIRM (anonymous)
Minimizing the Impact of a Potential Business Breaker

One of the world's leading consulting firms had settled a federal investigation to avoid negative publicity. Now, at a crucial time for the company financially, it received word that the settlement would be announced publicly within the month. The firm's employee-owned status made the situation ripe for discontent – employees might assume the settlement was paid from their own pockets. If leaked to the media, this threatened to compromise the firm’s well-established reputation.

A crisis team was organized to work with the company's legal counsel and senior management. A comprehensive internal and external communications plan was developed and executed with a controlled announcement strategy and a contingency plan should a leak occur. The plan succeeded in avoiding a leak prior to the settlement and relegated the few subsequent mentions to back-page news coverage with minimal impact. The internal program informed employees without generating additional press.

Just one month after the settlement announcement, the company was awarded two multi-million dollar contracts. New clients continued to seek out the firm while confidence among clients and staff remained high.