Assessing the Vulnerabilities of a Prominent Seminary

A ministry’s reputation is its most valuable asset, and yet organizations are often unaware of the risks they face. While it may be tempting for an internal group to assess the vulnerabilities within an organization, as an outside vendor, Guardian can offer a fresh perspective and give employees more freedom to speak honestly about issues they see in the workplace. When our team looks for vulnerabilities, we do a deep dive into a ministry to better understand risks, reduce the probability of threats, improve communications with core audiences, and explore how an organization could be damaged from both internal and external forces.

After a prominent seminary received some pushback regarding a controversial cultural issue from the denomination connected to the school, they asked Guardian to conduct a vulnerabilities assessment to help them understand their potential problem areas and how to best respond, should the need arise.

Since employees are best positioned to speak to internal issues both big and small, we interviewed a diverse group of high- and low-level staff members across multiple departments, and asked them questions relating to communications, enrollment, school administration, student body culture, employee relations, finances and school policies. We also reviewed the student handbook and other campus documents, as well as the school website and social media presence.

Through these conversations and analysis, we identified cultural vulnerabilities and other areas for improvement. We specifically highlighted five types of crises that we believed were more likely to happen than others. For each of these areas of concern, we provided a detailed explanation of the issue and risk for potential damage. As we found that some campus documents lacked information, and contained language that was vague and confusing, we suggested additional guardrails and more detailed explanations to ensure students and staff would have better knowledge and understanding of school policies. In addition, we included general areas of concern that were less likely to cause a full-blown crisis but still may lead to future conflict.

Guardian can offer a fresh perspective and give employees more freedom to speak honestly about issues they see in the workplace.

Once we identified the seminary’s potential vulnerabilities and potential crises, we made recommendations designed to help maximize the effectiveness of their internal and external communications efforts. For example, Guardian recognized one potential crisis was the school’s belief regarding marriage and human sexuality, since it does not necessarily align with popular culture. We suggested thoughtful crisis preparation to address specific issues, and encouraged the school to do a thorough review of where and when these issues could arise. Guardian offered messaging suggestions to address these issues publicly; however, our team also cautioned them to be selective about over-addressing potentially controversial topics. We also suggested that the seminary would benefit from ambassador training to equip school leadership and staff to better use social media and speak to members of the press. 

The school has a clear mission and focus to provide a spirit-filled and transforming experience for students. By considering potential crises, they are now able to create a plan of action and communication to minimize the likelihood of crises and increase their preparedness.