IKEA has been in the news lately in association with six toddlers’ deaths. Not something any organization wants to be associated with.
The story:
Over the past several years – in fact, dating all the way back to 1989 – six toddlers have been reported to have died, and dozens more have been injured, after having an IKEA dresser or chest fall on top of them. The latest tragedy occurred earlier this year, but it wasn’t until last week that IKEA finally decided to take responsibility for their faulty dressers and issue a recall. As of last week, 29 million dressers and chests have been recalled across North America.
This is a big deal – and a mess that IKEA will want to put behind them as soon as possible. But it’s also a complicated mess to clean up, as 29 million recalls makes for a lot of customers that IKEA should be determined to reach in order to spread awareness and hopefully prevent any further fatalities or injuries.
What Should IKEA’s Next Steps in Crisis Management Be?
In this week’s #crisisready video I talk about IKEA’s crisis management strategy in response to this issue and where, in my opinion, they’ll need to step up their game if they really want their crisis management to be successful.
Have a watch and then let me know your thoughts on IKEA’s crisis management strategy by using the hashtag #crisisready on Facebook or Twitter!
If you’re interested in watching IKEA’s “Secure It!” campaign video to see what I’m talking about, click here.
CORRECTION: In this video I say that 7 toddlers have died, which is incorrect. There have been a total of 6 toddler deaths and dozens of injuries. My apologies for the misinformation. The message of this video, however, remains the same.
Have more to add to this story?
Comment below or use the hashtag #crisisready on Twitter or Facebook and let’s continue this discussion!
Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, Melissa Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management, and brand protection. Agnes is a coveted keynote speaker, commentator, and advisor to some of today’s leading organizations faced with the greatest risks. Learn more about Melissa and her work here.
Although not intentional, this crisis situation presents a unique set of challenges. Death in general, let alone a child’s death, is not acceptable. Therefore, as you mentioned, IKEA needed to take proactive steps to counteract this costly mistake. Since you discussed the reactive strategies in your video, I would like to point out two major mistakes in pre-crisis planning. First, although easier to point out after the fact, IKEA should have been taking the appropriate steps in their product development process to ensure the sturdiness of their products. It is valuable, as a company or organization, to always be proactive in your crisis management efforts. Think about all that could go wrong in order to properly plan. Also, when the first few incidents happened involving their furniture, IKEA should have taken control of the crisis, and not allowed it to progress to the magnitude that it has. I think it is valuable to understand that in crisis communication, avoiding the issue does not make it disappear. Be proactive, pre-plan, and when crises happen be ready to react in an appropriate manner.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Kalani. As an example to add to your points – it boggled my mind that, as part of their (delayed) crisis response, IKEA promised to ensure its furniture adheres to the American Society for Testing and Materials standard moving forward. But my question is: why hadn’t they always ensured this?
Thinking through various risks and setting out to prevent any type of disaster or negative incident in the first place is a big part of an organization’s crisis preparedness program. It talks to crisis prevention, which as we know, is the best form of crisis management.
What is really difficult to understand is that the decision to recall the chests is valid for USA and Canada but not for countries like Spain, where IKEA has refused to proceed alike. Here the Company has just decided to replicate the protocol of awareness that has already launched in North America, warning of the need to anchor this unit. The firm will disseminate messages in stores, on the website and provide “additional security kits”. Why they have a different approach in America and Europe?
Hi Javier,
It could be for a number of reasons. For example, perhaps the required standards are set lower in different parts of the world, meaning that IKEA is already adhering to the bare-minimum and isn’t required to do more. It could also be that there haven’t been any injuries or fatalities in different parts of the world, so again, they may not feel it a necessity. I haven’t asked IKEA for their reason, so this is pure speculation.