As a founder or CEO, the threat of impending criminal charges can quickly transform into a PR nightmare for your entire company. Even if you aren’t actually convicted of these allegations, the situation can be enough to seriously affect customers’ faith in your business. The best way to offset the toll these charges will take on your company is to step down.
Facing criminal charges but not sure what to do? Depending on the severity of the situation, you won’t necessarily have to step down from your job. If you’re facing a PR disaster as a result of criminal charges, consider the following information:
1. Separate Yourself From the Brand
Though you may eventually have to take a step down from your company, the first step to take right now is to separate all allegations and your actions from your company. Regardless of whether the charges are accurate, you need to make every effort to salvage your company’s reputation.
PR experts suggest separating any problematic actions from your brand. Do what you can to shift the topic from your criminal charges to the positive work that your company is doing. This includes pushing negative press further down on Google and taking to social media to share positive information. In the situation that your actions have permanently affected the way the public views your brand, you may need to ultimately step down.
2. Get Legal Help
Whether you’re expecting a guilty or not guilty verdict, getting hit with criminal charges is something no one really anticipates. As the face of your company, you need to do all you can to make sure you’re in the best hands when it comes to legal aid. Start looking for the right Tampa criminal lawyer now to make sure your case is handled appropriately.
Working with an experienced criminal lawyer gives you the best chance of alleviating your criminal charges. Whether you’re facing a misdemeanor like prostitution or marijuana possession or a felony like burglary charges or something similar, it’s best to call an attorney as soon as possible. While your lawyer will try to prove your innocence, if they can’t, they will work to get the charges lessened for a more lenient sentence. Though there’s no guarantee about the future of your position at your company, working with a lawyer will help to improve your chances.
In addition to providing the legal support you need to be exonerated, the best Tampa criminal lawyer will do all they can to make sure these criminal charges don’t affect the future of your business.
3. Admit Your Mistakes and Remediate Quickly
In a situation where fingers are pointed at you, it’s important that you come out with the truth as soon as possible. Make sure to speak out about what’s happening and to publicly admit wrongdoing. After discussing your mistake, it’s up to you and your team to handle the firestorm that will ensue.
While leaving your company may solve the issue, it may do little to mitigate the serious damage to your company’s reputation. If possible, speak publicly about the charges and share your truth while protecting the company from any undue damage.
4. Gather a Response Team
While you’re figuring out your future at your company, it’s a good idea to put together a response team that can focus on crisis management. Amidst the buzz around the criminal charges, it’s important to have a response team in place that will be able to offer updates and insight into the company. Moreover, this crisis management team should have a strategy in place for how to move forward with your brand whether you’re still with the company or not.
During a crisis, it’s important for your company to respond quickly and with a unified voice. While there may be uncertainty surrounding your criminal charges, having a clear plan in place to get the company back on track is essential.
It isn’t easy to make the difficult decision to step down from your company. However, this may be in the best interest of your brand and for your professional future as you sort out the criminal charges against you