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WHO WE ARE. J. Vander Stoep Principal Sound Counsel. Bruce Cordingly Principal Sound Counsel. CURRENT CRISIS. Susan G. Komen mistakes Not forthcoming Was not prepared Did not express empathy for those affected No social media plan. HUMAN COST. AGENDA.
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WHO WE ARE J. Vander StoepPrincipalSound Counsel Bruce CordinglyPrincipalSound Counsel
CURRENT CRISIS • Susan G. Komen mistakes • Not forthcoming • Was not prepared • Did not express empathyfor those affected • No social mediaplan
AGENDA • Crisis communications best practices • Obstacles to good crisis communications • Preparation: What you can do now • Discussion
POSSIBLE CRISIS SCENARIOS • Congressional Hearings • 20/20 Investigation • Company truck hits school bus, driver found using drugs • Crane collapse • Executive DUI accident • Repeated employee injuries • Oil spills, chemical releases, toxic waste spills • Fire, earthquake, flood, terrorist incident • Executive giving money to controversial organization • Product tampering • Management deceiving consumers/investors • Mislabeling • Technological breakdown • Business discontinuity • Organizational crisis • Bribery • Sexual harassment lawsuit • Race discrimination lawsuit • Misuse of funds/lavish spending • Embezzlement • Wrongful dismissal • Workplace violence
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CRISIS RESPONSE • Credibility • Speed • Be Prepared to Own the Problem
GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO A CRISIS RESPONSE 1. CREDIBILITY
CREDIBILITY • Be honest • Be forthcoming • Assume damaging information will out • If you deliver it, you help shape narrative • If you don’t, you look like you are hiding • If you don’t know the answer, say so • Use third-party validators • Apple and Fair Labor Assn • Keep employees informed
CREDIBILITY:BP & Deepwater Horizon • Declared 1K barrels leaking into ocean every day; it was 5K. • CEO claimed environmental impact, “very modest.” Now called worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. • Would not release live feed of spill. • Bad publicity = U.S. President saying, “My attitude is, we have to verify whatever it is they say about the damage.”
SPEED • The “Beast” will be fed, with or without you. • Either you help shape the story or it will be shaped by others without you. • Press is trying to create narrative of good & bad guys • Establish yourself as the primary source of information for the story. • This must begin immediately. • Credible allegations that go unanswered are assumed to be true.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO A CRISIS RESPONSE 3. BE PREPARED TO OWN THE PROBLEM
BE PREPARED TO OWN THE PROBLEM • If you are at fault, accept some responsibility. • If you do not accept, you will anger constituencies, and that will prolong the crisis. • Express empathy. • Tony Hayward, “I’d like my life back.” • Do what you can for victims. • Develop and communicate a plan to fix the problem. • Consider steps to become an industry leader in the area in which you had problems.
IT’S HARD TO DO WELL • We are human • Lawyers • Adrenaline • Not core competency • Incomplete info
IS YOUR COMPANYPREPARED TODAY? “If possible we want to avoid any negative publicity.”
CRISIS READINESS:How organizations prepare • Clear chain of command • Identified spokespeople • Trained executives & spokespeople • History of your company’s safety preparedness • Supporting collateral • Dark Sites • Draft press releases • Video • Technology audit • Contact lists • Third party experts identified • Relationship with PR firm
SOCIAL MEDIA • Twitter • People will use Twitter to talk about you. You should be able respond using the same medium. • In a crisis you want to use that channel to broadcast messages. • For industry-wide issues, SCRA has a Twitter feed and can respond • Video -- increasingly large portion of the social media world
SC&RA ISSUES Applying this principles to your industry risks: • Crane Collapse • Worker Safety • Fleet safety • Environmental issues • Labor issues
ABOUT US:EVENTS SINCE LAST YEAR • Food tampering • Food packaging • Food contamination • Product recall • CEO indictment • Labor/management conflict • Management conviction • Negative air pollution publicity
SERVICES WITH SC&RA Specially-priced services • Media Training • Crisis Communications Plans • Crisis Communications Readiness Training • Annual Crisis Communications Audits
Thank You. Contact us with questions, soundcounselcrisis.com