And if something goes wrong with a medicine?
The question 
The Belgian pharmaceutical company Solvay Pharmaceuticals wants to be prepared for a crisis situation on all levels. Executive directors, management teams and teams of specialists all over the world must be trained for a possible crisis.
The answer 
Together with Solvay Pharmaceuticals’ communication department we set up a training programme for all the relevant teams, worldwide. In some countries we train the teams ourselves, in other countries we assist in finding local trainers. The training sessions are always based on highly realistic situations. On the basis of a scenario determined in advance the teams are guided through a real crisis. The team in question undergoes the training with the aid of phone calls from the press, internal calls, the authorities, patients’ associations and many other individuals and organisations. Afterwards the day is analysed with the help of video recordings.
The result
The trainees indicated without exception that the day was not only instructive but also enjoyable. Because of the relaxed way of training, where a strong element of tension is always present, the trainees are receptive to every improvement. Because they experience the crisis in a safe situation “at first hand”, they gain a very good impression of what a genuine crisis feels like. Being well prepared, and therefore being able to deal with a crisis professionally, is of great importance for the reputation of the company quoted on the stock exchange.
