How can businesses best manage the impact of activism?

From economic protests driven by pay and working conditions to environmental and political activism, there are many reasons why someone may be spurred on to take action or to join the picket line.

Indeed, Britain recently experienced the largest collective strike action it has seen in a decade. While in recent years, the disruptive actions of groups such as Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion have regularly hit the headlines.

Whether you’re a small business or operate a large multi-site operation, thinking about how you will manage any form of industrial action or activism is something that needs to form part of your operational and contingency planning. While such planning will need to be flexible, as the exact details of such events will likely be unknown, it still pays to be prepared. 

So, what do you need to consider when planning for these types of incidents?

1. Assess the risk

The first question to consider is ‘What is the potential risk of this happening?’.

Is your business likely to be a target? Ask the same question about your supply chain. Do you work with any organisations that are likely to be targeted?

It may be that your business is a natural target, due to the nature of what it does. Or it could be at risk of becoming collateral damage due to its location or associations, or as a result of major routes and services being disrupted.

For example, protesters may choose to gather nearby, which could impede access to your site. In 2022, we also saw an increase in environmental organisations turning to occupation protests to make their voices heard - as was the case when anti-oil activists invaded the M25. This forced Britain’s busiest motorway to close for four consecutive days, with a knock-on effect on hundreds of workers and businesses.

Whilst you can never predict exactly what might take place, doing some research into different tactics may help you better prepare. Some common types of activism include strikes, demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, rallies and civil disobedience.

As well as physical security risks there are also online risks to consider too, such as potential data breaches. For example, sensitive information may be targeted.

2. Review existing security measures

What security measures do you currently have in place? Do you need to adjust or bolster your security provision in any way?

Regularly reviewing existing measures and processes to ensure they are up to date is security best practice for any business. This should include checking that all locks, alarm systems, access controls, CCTV and other measures are in full working order.

Think about where your security weak spots might be. For example, are employees responsible for locking and unlocking the premises and do they often do this alone?

Finally, think about extra training and who might benefit from it. If you work with a private security company, such as ourselves here at Venture, then our officers are experienced and trained in conflict management, recording evidence and emergency service liaison.

3. Formulate a response plan

What would you do if an issue of this nature were to happen?

Put in place some response protocols that aim to limit the impact of any form of activism you may face.  This should include assigning team members roles and responsibilities, such as who will take the lead on the response, your communications and who will be the point of contact for protestors.

Safety is paramount at all times. How will you protect the welfare of employees, customers and site visitors? Model different scenarios as a team.

Also think about how your business will continue operating, either onsite or elsewhere, if it is required. What do you need to have in place to make that happen? How quickly can you action it?

4. Think about communication

Strong communication will be key both during and after any incident occurs.

How are you going to communicate with staff, suppliers, customers and stakeholders?

Making sure that everyone working for the company is aware of the situation and any action that needs to be taken will be vital. Make use of all the channels you have at your disposal.

Remember to think about all your external communication channels too, including company social media and also how you will manage any media enquiries.

This type of communication planning will be important for helping more broadly with reputation management.

5. Have a recovery plan

Once the incident is over, what then?

Think about clean up and recovery plans. This should include welfare and support for any team members who may need it.

While the incident is still fresh in your mind, conduct a thorough review to see what learnings might be taken from it. What went well? What could have gone better? Is there anything you could do to either lower the risk of it happening again, or to make the whole process run more smoothly if it did?

Get expert support for your business

As with any crisis or event that threatens business continuity, advance preparation will always be key to minimising the potential impact. For expert advice and support with any of the issues covered here, please call us on 01264 391538. 

About Venture

At Venture, we offer a range of cost-effective, professional physical security services; from manned guarding and mobile patrols to key holding and alarm response. Our bespoke security solutions can help, no matter what your security requirement may be.

All of our security officers are highly trained, SIA licensed, use with the latest cutting-edge equipment and have the backing of our industry-leading systems and processes behind them.

If you’re based in Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset or Surrey, and you’re looking for a private security company you can trust, then call us on 01264 391 538 or email [email protected] for more details.  

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