Some conferences go smoothly. Others end in the wake of an active shooter event. There is a lot of grey between those two extremes, and organizations sending personnel to conferences ought to have a communications plan in place for the unexpected.
Last month, my colleague Eileen Coyne and I were attending RISKWorld in Atlanta (April 30 to May 3). On the final day of the conference, ahead of the closing keynote, an active shooter event took place a few miles from the conference location.
Our first notification of trouble came in the form of an ABC News alert. Text alerts from our hotel and the convention followed. Digital signage at the conference turned green with white text, alerting everyone to shelter in place and that the conference center was not part of the active shooter scene.
We immediately reached out to our families as well as colleagues to advise them that we were fine, that the conference was shutting down and the event in question was not nearby. As it turned out, the shooting took place two blocks from our hotel. It would be hours before the hotel would come out of lockdown and allow guests to come and go.
In speaking with other attendees, it became clear that if their companies had formal crisis communications plans at all (and about half of most US organizations do not), they did not have protocols for staff attending off-site events during an emergency.
Given the current social climate, all organizations need to develop crisis protocols for off-site events. Contacting the staff attending the event, confirming they are safe and cascading that message across the organization – and potentially to the family of those staffers involved — should be part of any crisis communications strategy. This applies whether it’s your CEO speaking at the conference as well as employee attendees or sales team members staffing the company’s vendor booth.
Whether the crisis originates from the actions of a person or persons, Mother Nature or something else, having a plan for out-of-town staffers in case of emergency is key. And, importantly, those traveling should be trained in the details of the plan — including phone contacts and protocols if cell or other communication services are disrupted.
According to the FBI, active shooter deaths and injuries are at a 5-year high this year. Companies with traveling personnel who spend any significant time on the road should receive active shooter training. This includes the basic principles of run, hide and fight, as well as what to do when and if authorities arrive on scene if you are present during an active shooter event.
This may all appear extreme. And it may be, until your organization is receiving urgent calls from worried families, coworkers or clients in the middle of a crisis event. Being able to respond quickly, with a protocol to follow and facts in hand can help keep your team safe during a chaotic and worrying situation and allow you to communicate factually with all parties concerned.
In the span of just three months – one at the end of 2022 and two at the beginning of 2023 – the insurance industry has been at the center of significant crises situations that have played out in the media. While the scenarios cover a broad spectrum of what could go wrong, from each situation emanates one key theme – the value in planning ahead for a potential crisis.
In December, State Farm was the focus of an investigative feature story detailing allegations that the insurer discriminates against black homeowners in claims scenarios. With a human, empathetic approach to its response, State Farm struck exactly the right tone in a situation where the story would have proceeded with or without the company’s input. The response, shrouded in what appears to be sincere embarrassment, may ultimately serve State Farm well if the company continues to resolve the matter while owning any mistakes made.
The Norfolk Southern train derailment on Feb. 3, 2023 and the resulting chemical spill dominated most headlines and broadcast news coverage for most of February. As investigations proceed and claims likely exceed Norfolk Southern’s liability coverage, increased scrutiny will fall on railroad insurance generally and risk management practices in the transportation industry more specifically. In time, insurers will face questions about how the U.S. transports sensitive cargo and the safety measures it mandates of its insureds.
And finally, in late February, North Carolina investment firm founder Greg E. Lindberg again generated headlines when he was charged by a federal grand jury in a $2 billion fraud scheme. According to the indictment, Lindberg and others are accused of improperly taking money for personal use from insurance companies controlled by Lindberg. This news follows a 2020 bribery conviction of Lindberg that was overturned on appeal in 2022. Lindberg has since made several combative statements, issued a press release announcing planned actions by his defense team, and otherwise taken actions to ensure his name remains in the headlines, come what may.
And these are just a few of the more recent, audacious headline makers.
As has been said many times before, the insurance industry has a communications problem. And like so many other industries, the crisis communications capabilities of the insurance industry are lacking.
Countless businesses of all sizes are ill-prepared for crisis situations where they must communicate with multiple stakeholders: investors, board members, employees, vendors, the public at large, industry leaders, etc. Most lack a Crisis Communications Plan. And for those who might have a crisis plan of a sort, those plans are often out of date by many years and/or have never been stress tested. In fact, if you quizzed most senior executives at any number of organizations, they would be hard pressed to verify a Crisis Communications Plan exists for their company, and who is assigned to what roles on the designated crisis team.
Crisis Communications Plans give companies and non-profits a road map to follow, designate team members with clearly defined roles, and provide approved language for a range of scenarios that allow for the type of rapid response required in the current media environment. These plans also empower crisis team members with both formal training that helps them to avoid missteps and with the authority to act in the best interests of the organization within certain parameters. Lacking such a plan, most companies find themselves making it up as they go, which is akin to trying to close the barn doors while the horses are mid-stampede from that same barn. The best you can hope for in that scenario is not to be crushed in the experience.
Like insurance itself, a good Crisis Communications Plan is a hedge against disaster. While it will require an initial investment, the savings such plans provide can be incalculable in a true emergency situation. Some crises result in bet-the-business risks that often can only be resolved if the actions taken are deftly communicated. One need only look at recent bank failures – driven by crises of confidence primarily – to understand how vital quick, thoughtful and fact-driven communication can be in the life of any organization.
They could present as one (or more) negative online reviews of your business. Others manifest through the court system in the guise of lawsuits or other law enforcement actions involving executives, employees or clients/customers. Customer complaints, employee disputes or soured relations with the local community or other stakeholders can constitute critical crises situations. Still others might involve negative press coverage or complaints on social media. The worst crises involve issues of life and death.
In Crisis, You’re Surrounded. Sometimes Literally.
Try to imagine having your workplace or for senior leadership, your home, surrounded by numerous news vans for hours or even days; harassing your workers, customers, and neighbors relentlessly to secure comments about whatever negative issue has befallen your organization. Now try to imagine keeping to a business-as-usual schedule as the world puts you under an intense microscope.
You don’t have to be a crisis expert to recognize when your organization is mired in one. In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart described how he determined if something was obscene by famously saying, “I know it when I see it.” The same standard applies for leaders in determining if a crisis exists and how seriously it threatens the organization.
In more than 15 years of crisis communications management, I’ve seen all the above scenarios and quite a few more. Most of the organizations involved were wholly unprepared and found themselves, at best, struggling to manage.
Yes, they had lawyers. In nearly every case, the lawyers were excellent. But lawyers concern themselves with minimizing liability; their concern is rarely public opinion. And public opinion, frankly, will make or break a business’s bottom line or crush a non-profit’s fundraising capabilities, not to mention create reputational damage that can linger for years.
The Scariest Role Playing Ever
I like to pose the following to senior leaders, and while some may find these scenarios alarmist or extreme, they happened. My colleagues and I have managed them. Nearly every case was a bet-the-business situation and in each, the client lacked a crisis plan. This meant the best that could be done was to try to get their version of events out in front.
Imagine getting a text message or email that briefly outlines one of the following scenarios:
Your CFO has been arrested, is in custody and there will be a mug shot and perp walk in front of waiting press outside the police or district attorney’s office within the hour.
One of your workers has been killed on the job, either in a work-related accident or active shooter incident, and numerous local and national media are asking for a statement immediately.
Your CEO has been unexpectedly terminated or has died. The press are seeking an interview with whomever will take over, and the board of directors has called an emergency meeting expecting you to lay out how you will manage this situation.
Protesters have surrounded your business with signs and megaphones that are paralyzing your operations and drawing the attention of media regarding alleged poor worker conditions, or health code violations or claims that non-union labor was employed in a recent or ongoing renovation.
One of your leading donors has been arrested on charges of financial fraud and the media are reaching out asking if you will return the substantial funds provided to help compensate the donor’s alleged victims.
You have been accused of sexual harassment, law enforcement are at your door or on their way to interview you and the press have learned of this and are surrounding your workplace or home right now.
If you were involved in any of the above scenarios and you looked out your window, you would likely see a parade of news vans pulling up while your cell phone and email exploded with all manner of stakeholders asking questions. What would you do in the first 5 minutes? The first 10 minutes? The first hour? Most importantly, what would your plan be to manage the situation?
Calling the lawyers is a given, but they won’t manage the press.
Dozens of Questions at Once
What’s the process one follows to draft a statement the lawyers can live with that will also help the organization to try to stop the bleeding? Who will write that statement? How will they vet it? Does someone from the organization read the statement to the press? Is it emailed? What if the press keep asking questions? Do you do an interview, and if so, with which outlet? What are the pros and cons of doing an interview? Is the person to be interviewed media trained? Who is in charge of ongoing messaging? Who has to sign off on the messaging?
So many questions will emerge. Unfortunately, answers will be needed for most of those questions within the first hour or two. Otherwise, the situation can easily devolve to the point where it becomes nearly impossible to manage all the moving pieces.
Now, is every situation so extreme? No. A few bad reviews of your restaurant won’t prompt a media blitz. But, you’d better have a timely plan to message to your existing and prospective customers before reservations start canceling. However, every crisis scenario — from minor to major — requires timely communications, and that’s a challenge at best when there’s no plan and each passing hour might be damaging the organization.
If what I’ve shared raised an eyebrow or you actually tried to answer some of the above and struggled to clearly answer my questions even a little, then you are not prepared for a crisis. And you absolutely need to be.
Start By Asking for Help
Crisis communications planning, like life insurance, is something no one really wants to use. But to protect the people and things you care about you need both.
If you’re curious about what you might need in a crisis communications plan or what the process might look like for your organization to create one, get in touch with me.
Our agency offers free crisis communications planning consultation — which, of course, is different from crisis communications management. We do that too. But if you’re planning for 2023 and beyond for your organization, consider putting the development of a crisis communications plan at the top of your priority list. Because when a crisis comes, and one will, not only will you know it when you see it, you’ll wish you had a robust and tested plan to address it.
You don’t have to be a communications professional to cringe when you read certain emails and social media posts today. In the new COVID-19 world we find ourselves, it can be difficult for businesses to know what to say, when to say it and how often to say it to their clients and the public. Everyone wants to jump in with a message, look for revenue opportunities or offer helpful advice, but some do it better than others.
Below we offer common mistakes and some tips to avoid them.
4 Mistakes to Avoid When Communicating During a Crisis:
Not adjusting scheduled social media posts in light of new circumstances. This should be an automatic step whether you’re facing a global pandemic or a crisis isolated to your business. Make sure you read them all, and then delete and edit them to be relevant and tasteful in the context of new circumstances.
Going ahead with planned announcements without considering how they will be perceived. You may be excited about your latest opening or product launch, but such an announcement may be ignored or — worse — perceived as insensitive and opportunistic when you do it. Timing is everything.
Being opportunistic. There is a difference between offering sincere help during difficult times and being perceived as trying to make an extra buck when others are suffering. It’s all about perceptions.
Pitching related stories to the media that are just in very bad taste and opportunistic. Just take a look at this piece by Mashable to see PR people at their worst. PR pros should be able to know when they have an expert who can make a real contribution to a conversation and when it’s just a bad idea.
5 Things to Consider When Messaging:
How do you know whether your message will be well received or will make you appear careless and opportunistic?
Put it in perspective. COVID-19, for example, is a global pandemic with unprecedented and tragic consequences. People are dying and more will die. Many more will lose their jobs, businesses will suffer and many will face economic and personal hardship. Most of us are scared and worried. Think about this when messaging and make sure your messages are in touch with the current reality.
Make sure it’s relevant. In the context of the above, what is relevant? For example, this blog is being written to help prevent businesses from making mistakes when communicating during the current and future crises. That seems relevant to our audience and a way we can help.
Does it address what your audience’s needs. Ask yourself if you’re tooting your own horn, going through the motions or really addressing what your clients, employees and partners need to know. Sometimes, as in the current environment when our mailboxes are full of COVID-19 messages, what your audience needs is a message as simple as “We’re here for you.”
What are others doing? You don’t want to follow the crowd necessarily, but seeing what others in your industry are doing can help guide your decisions about what to do or what not to do.
Test it. There no time for focus groups, but try running your message by a long-time partner or client who you trust and get their reaction.
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” – Thomas Paine
As far back as the late 1700s, even Thomas Paine knew that “shrinking from service” during a crisis was a bad idea. That sentiment remains true today.
In my most recent article, “The Biggest Mistake Businesses in Crisis Make,” I noted the mistake in question was not realizing when one is already in a crisis. I also noted the four primary phases of any crisis: discovering the crisis, disclosure of the crisis, managing the crisis and completion of the crisis. Here I will explore the second phase, disclosure of the crisis.
Stage Two: Houston, We Have a Problem
The disclosure of a crisis can take many forms. The worst is when businesses learn of the situation via the news media. More often, however, it is the business itself that identifies and discloses the crisis by recognizing a problem exists and pulling in the leadership team to debrief and consider options.
The decisions made by leadership during this discovery phase determine whether the situation will be truly negative or if a positive outcome might result for the business. The best-case scenario is for businesses to already have a crisis communications plan. Management must also be willing to address the issue at hand as well make meaningful changes to better the situation for the business as well as its clients or customers. In such situations, there is potential for the business to emerge with its reputation not only intact but possibly improved by demonstrating its responsiveness and sincere effort to make needed course corrections.
However, as Mr. Paine alluded, those who shrink from the responsibilities of meeting a crisis head-on only add to the damage. One need only consider Toyota’s 2010 recall debacle and the company’s initial, repeated denials of any vehicle defects to recognize that failure to take ownership of a crisis situation and create a corrective action plan can do serious damage to a business’ reputation.
Best Practices
As I’ve noted repeatedly, businesses are best protected when they already have a crisis communications plan in place. However, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, business leaders must prepare for a crisis by creating a plan either immediately before a storm or in the eye of one.
In such situations, we recommend business leaders, upon discovering the problem, take the following steps promptly:
Quickly and thoroughly assess the facts of the situation and its practical impact on the business/customers/employees
Begin planning what steps must be taken immediately, as you also look at long-term strategies to remedy the situation for all parties involved
With your crisis communications team and attorney, create a small crisis response team with clearly defined roles and responsibilities
If you don’t have media response and social media protocols, create them
Craft a response strategy and related messaging that will help ensure your side of the story is made simply and clearly
If possible, prepare by testing your strategy and responses through simulations with your crisis team
Consider all your audiences, including your employees, when you craft your messaging and strategy, and tailor the tone and style of each message to each audience — while making sure you are consistent with facts
Don’t lie, don’t speculate and be sure to put your emotions aside as you prepare to manage the crisis
What is key to remember is the steps listed above must happen in near synchronicity, and they must happen quickly. Depending on the situation, businesses might be faced with a crisis in the public eye with little or no warning. I’ve seen crisis situations emerge where businesses get a day or two of warning before news goes public. However, I’ve also gotten phone calls from C-suite executives who received phone calls from reporters seeking comment on situations these executives were completely unaware of, with only minutes before publication or broadcast of the story.
If you believe the reputation of your business is important, you need to know what steps to take and how to communicate effectively to help protect that reputation.
Lack of planning, poor communication and disorganization in response to a crisis situation can lead to a “bet the business” risk responsible business leaders don’t need to take. Following the steps above when a significant problem arises can help your business weather a crisis.
In my next article, I’ll discuss managing crisis situations, including what to look for, how to respond and how best to manage both the crisis and yourself as you attempt to shape the resulting impact.
Five days. That’s how long it took for Mark Zuckerberg to respond publicly after the revelation that Facebook data was used by U.K.-based Cambridge Analytica to aid the Trump campaign. During that time, Facebook stock lost more than $30 billion in value and #deleteFacebook swept other social media platforms.
Did he respond as fast as possible, gathering all the facts and developing a plan? Or did he wait too long? I’m always a fan of a fast response in the face of a crisis, but also of a response that is strategic and made with all the facts. So, look at the Facebook timeline:
On Monday Paul Grewal, deputy general counsel at Facebook, made the first comment, saying in an email that the company is taking action to make sure the data harvested has been deleted: “We are in the process of conducting a comprehensive internal and external review as we work to determine the accuracy of the claims that the Facebook data in question still exists,” he said. “That is where our focus lies as we remain committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information.”
Monday’s news read like this CNBC report: “The future of Facebook as an advertising platform was called into question by marketers, lawmakers and privacy activists on Monday after revelations that its data on 50 million users was harvested and used by Donald Trump’s political ad firm in 2016.” A hashtag also appeared: #WheresZuck, a sign that the world was waiting for the founder to speak.
On Tuesday, Facebook went further in a statement: “Mark, Sheryl and their teams are working around the clock to get all the facts and take the appropriate action moving forward, because they understand the seriousness of this issue. The entire company is outraged we were deceived. We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information and will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens.”
Their strategy was clear: to say that they, too, were victims who were violated and they would take strong action. They also promised Mark would speak on Wednesday—by which time #DeleteFacebook was trending, a WhatsApp cofounder had joined the movement and tens of thousands of users had, indeed, deleted Facebook. Plus, governments on both sides of the Atlantic were calling for more regulation.
When Mark finally spoke on Wednesday, putting a long statement on Facebook, he took responsibility and laid out a plan to ensure this doesn’t happen again. But he stopped short of apologizing (which he did later in media interviews).
So, was five days too long to wait for the Facebook response? It seems so. Even if they needed time to gather all the facts and formulate a plan, Zuckerberg could have posted this himself, because it seems his audience only would hear from him, something he should have known. And what was never addressed was why nothing was disclosed about a problem that may have known about since 2015.
Dante Disparte outlines the problem nicely:
The coat of Teflon that usually shields Facebook and its affable leader, Mark Zuckerberg, who has matured into a techno statesman in the public eye, is beginning to wear thin. Facebook now joins a growing number of firms embroiled in a trust deficit with a case of reputation risk whiplash. …Facebook’s eroding market confidence appears to be self-induced by 5 days of silence and lax third-party risk management. Reports of more than 50 million personal records being accessed by Cambridge Analytica… is not only a terrible violation of consumer privacy, it highlights how trust (the new thrift of the modern economy), is hard to earn and easy to lose. (Read more in Disparte’s Wednesday article in Forbes.)
Losing the trust of regulators, business partners and the public—that’s what happens when your response to a crisis is too little, too late.
There is no shortage of powerful men being felled by scandal lately. From Hollywood to Wall Street, from Capitol Hill to the Fourth Estate—no industry is immune. And it appears the cycle of revelations, accusations, ham-fisted apologies, pseudo-apologies and angry denials is just getting started.
Considering the scale of this wave of accusations, business leaders need to ask themselves: What do we do when it happens to us?
Most of us hope this won’t happen to our organization. However, hope is not a strategy. Most companies have anti-harassment policies and this seems like the ideal time to dust off those employee handbooks for a review. But to be effective you should be proactively communicating your policies to ensure compliance. Deploying some simple, professional and preventative internal communication can make a world of difference. It’s easier to avert a fixable problem than to ignore it and try to do damage control later. Because, frankly, there is no good way to respond to accusations of sexual misconduct.
However, there is a right way. With the hurt victims, misuse of power and highly-charged feelings, these situations first require an empathetic, human response. That’s where communications come in. I can’t comment on the legal procedures. And the human resource issues are another matter as well. However, I can provide insight into how skillful crisis communications can protect a business and the people that are part of it.
Beyond their fiduciary responsibility to the company, business leaders are responsible to the people with whom they work to be prepared for any scenario—yes, even sexual harassment—with a disaster recovery plan. And that includes a robust crisis communications strategy. A lack of clear communications can make employees feel unmoored and demoralized.
However, having a plan ensures everyone in your organization is on the same page. It lets employees know you’re dialed-in on the issue and taking positive steps to address it. In part, you will also help protect the jobs of those who have done nothing wrong but are nonetheless impacted. Having a communications strategy for this type of scenario reassures your clients and customers you are looking out for their interests as well. But most importantly, planning for the worst will help to produce the best possible result under the circumstances. It may very well save your business.
So, ask yourself: What will you do if your CEO or board member or a high-ranking manager is accused of inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace? What will you do when the local news station calls for comment? Do you have a plan?
The answers come from conducting a realistic threat assessment. From that assessment, you must create a communications plan that ensures your company can effectively weather such a scandal, including the rebuilding of trust with your employees, customers, vendors and the public. You need buy-in from stakeholders, clearly defined roles, back-up personnel and—most importantly—a rock solid commitment to the truth and sharing the facts as you know them. Developing a plan like this takes time, so first focus on prevention. But also have a plan.
After all, the worst time to prepare for a crisis is when you are already in one. As we’ve witnessed through countless media statements from the accused, saying “sorry” isn’t easy. In fact, when done poorly—yes, I’m looking at you Kevin Spacey—these statements make matters substantially worse, adding to the number of negative news cycles, the confusion of employees and the pain of survivors.
The majority of hotels recognize the critical need for crisis response planning. But have they factored in social media? Over at Hotel Executive, Gary explains eight ways hotels can be effectively using social media during a crisis response.
Donald Trump has jumped to the top of the Republican primary polls with an acerbic style that runs contrary to established political rhetoric. But when Trump International made the announcement yesterday that it was hacked, the PR effort was by the book.
And effective.
The Donald Trump Hotel chain says its payment data system was breached, potentially exposing customers’ credit and debit card information for more than a year. The chain posted a notice on their website and media coverage like this CBS report shows how to communicate a breach:
The facts about the breach: malware may have given hackers access to payment information between May 19, 2014 and June 2, 2015
The exposure: they have “not found any conclusive evidence that the information was taken or misused.”
Steps taken to correct it: they notified the FBI and financial institutions and hired an outside forensic expert to investigate.
Recommendations for customers and what it is doing to help: offering a year of complimentary fraud resolution and identity-protection services.
The Donald is in the crosshairs of many, so the New York Daily News and others took their shots, but coverage was once and done. As of now, they appear to have avoided what the IRS, Target and others have done – underestimate the extent of the damage in their initial reports, leading to multiple news reports and keeping the story alive.
I’m on my way back from The Clean Show, where there was tremendous interest in my TRSA-sponsored educational session, “Crisis Communications: A Practical Guide to Protecting Your Reputation.” Whether they were commercial laundry operators or others in the textile industry, attendees recognized the importance of communicating effectively in a crisis.
Space ship or tunnel washer? You decide.
Among the highlights of my presentation were:
Having a crisis response plan that includes communications protocols for media, customers and other key audiences.
Identifying a spokesperson who can represent the company well.
Dos and don’ts of media interviews, focusing on honest, open communications.
Preparing talking points that drive all answers in media interviews.
Incorporating social media in a crisis communications plan
The role of leadership in navigating a crisis effectively.
Following the presentation, TRSA hosted a press conference to unveil results of a new survey that reported business and consumer perspectives on service professionals wearing uniforms. The conference also unveiled the new TRSA animated video we developed with videographer Tom Donnelly.
Opening day on the trade show floor was eye opening with the size of the equipment and advanced technology used by the commercial laundry industry TRSA represents. For me, it was a valuable window into an important, far-reaching industry.
As far back as the late 1700s, even Thomas Paine knew that “shrinking from service” during a crisis was a bad idea. That sentiment remains true today.
Hits and Misses 