Crisis Communications - After a Robbery

Communication with employees is critical

Trauma happens in the blink of an eye.  One moment, you are engaged in the exceedingly ordinary tasks that often make up the bulk of a comfortable workday.  The next you are confronted with a life-or-death scenario.  In the case of a bank robbery, that dynamic takes on a decidedly personal feel.  Unlike other types of traumatic events, robberies involve that direct interaction of a perpetrator specifically targeting an individual or group as the recipients of his threats or acts of violence.

This quote, from a Crisis Care Network article by Dr. Betty Gilmore and Bob VandePol, MSW, describes one type of incident that creates a crisis that is more internal than external. While insurance replaces losses, and generally the bank itself is not blamed for the robbery, the employees involved often suffer serious after-effects. Because of this, a major part of crisis management in the aftermath of a robbery is communication with employees, especially those directly involved. By letting your employees know that you care about their feelings and well-being, you can improve their psychological health, reduce lost productivity, and hopefully get back to business as usual.


The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Commandments of Social Media

Social media brings new crisis management concerns

Social media is still evolving, but there are certain rules that will help lead you to success. In a recent article, published on Ragan.com, social media expert Priya Ramesh listed her "10 Commandments of Social Media.," a primer on social media crisis management. A sample:

1. Thou shalt move at lightning speed: The first 24 hours after negative news hits online are crucial, and case studies show that bad news spreads like wildfire on social media—especially on Twitter. This demands a sense of urgency to react in a matter of hours and not days.

2. Thou shalt build a micro-site to provide 24/7 updates: Every company must have a micro-site ready to go live with at least basic information about the situation. This will serve as the go-to site for all relevant, timely information. We encourage clients to quickly populate a FAQ page providing essential information, including next steps for customers to follow.

3. Thou shalt deploy a round-the-clock Twitter monitoring schedule: Twitter is fast and easy, and the viral aspect of the micro-blog spreads crises like wildfire. With proactive monitoring and by staying ahead of the conversation on Twitter, you can contain that wildfire, at least to some extent. We have seen that Twitter activity picks up during late evenings and on weekends when people are browsing online, reading a blog post or news story, and the next thing they do is retweet. This escalates the negative chatter online. Simply by monitoring and responding to tweets, you are letting your audience know their outpouring is being heard on social channels.

These are just a few of the list of things that every organization should be aware of and actively practicing. Your stakeholders are turning to these services in droves to communicate both with and about you, and the effort you put into participation will determine what you get out of it.


The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

BIMBOs R Us

Saying the wrong thing during a crisis can make your organization look foolish

Filled with quotes wherein "the speaker causes the listener to believe exactly the opposite of what was said," Merrie Spaeth's "Bimbo Awards" are a who's who of bad crisis management. With the recent release of the "Bimbo of the Year" awards, we would like to share some choice selections, to include Spaeth commentary on each:

WORST LAWYER COMMENT

“Several troubled, troubled people,” was how Novartis’ lawyer, Richard Schnadig, described the women bringing a class action suit against the pharmaceutical company. Schnadig attacked the women’s claims that the company had an environment hostile to women, saying the women were “lie telling,” that the case wasn’t “about mommy time” and the company wasn’t obligated to “make their lives special.” He referred to one of the plaintiffs as “that little blonde.”  (The jury returned a verdict of $250 million for discriminating against women in pay and promotion. Schnadig also claimed it takes time for society to change.  All we have are the press reports of this case, but it’s instructive to look at how the jury “heard” the company’s defense and realized they didn’t like the company. We’ve made this point repeatedly: likeability may not be enshrined in the law but it’s a very real component.)
Bloomberg, “I’d like some sex with that Drug Order,” May 21, 2010

WORDS WITH IMPACT

“While ‘earmark’ has become a dirty word in the eyes of many, it is, put simply, an explicit direction from Congress as to how certain funds should be spent,” Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, tried to insist in an OpEd. (Sorry, Danny boy, micromanaging public funds to direct them toward pet projects is a bad idea. Deceased House member John Murtha earmarked $112 million to for-profit companies that were clients of a lobbying firm that arranged $350,000 to go to seven pals in Congress. The House at least passed legislation prohibiting earmarks to for-profit companies, but Senator Inouye’s chamber promptly rejected the measure. Note how ‘earmark’ appears in the headline.)
USA Today, “‘Earmark’ isn’t a dirty word,” March 26, 2010

DOUBLESPEAK OR JARGON

Boeing’s Stephen Oswald described the problems of the $1.1 billion “virtual fence” on the border as a “nontrivial systems-integration problem,” The translation: “It’s not working.” (Apparently the efforts failed to secure the 53 miles of border the fence covers).
The Washington Times, “Official concedes ‘virtual’ border fence has been a failure,” July 5, 2010


This stunningly common mistake is one of the most dangerous known to crisis management. With a single slip of the tongue, public perception of your organization can go down the drain. Don't be a BIMBO!

If you'd like to see the winners and more honorable mentions from this year's awards, check out BCM President Jonathan Bernstein's HuffPost blog!

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Social Media Policy

Not having a solid policy in place leaves the door open for crises

Social media can no longer be considered a fad, as the network of services continues to become more intertwined with each other and with our lives. By this point, most businesses understand that they need a social media policy, but very few have an idea of how to go about it. Lucky for them, business writer Jacuelyn Lynn does, and she's shared some of her knowledge in an article for our Crisis Manager newsletter. Covering several important points, this is a great read for anyone involved with, or planning to become involved with, social media.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Don't Ignore Your Customers

A perfect example of how poor crisis communications leads to trouble

Ignoring your customers is bad for business, bottom line. In an article written for the latest Crisis Manager newsletter, appropriately titled, "Ignoring Customers - Not Smart Business," friend and Checkmate Public Affairs owner Jeff Chatterton provides a perfect case study of an incident involving the owners of Ironman Canada, whose refusal to reply to angered customers snowballed into a full-on crisis management situation, replete with mass web protests and more than $20,000 in possible losses.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Crisis Manager Newsletter

Not Smart Business & Social Media Policy

The newest edition of our Crisis Manager newsletter is up now on the BCM website! This time around we get started with a piece by frequent contributor and reputation management expert Jeff Chatterton, of Checkmate Public Affairs. His article, a case history of bungled crisis management by the owners of "Ironman Canada," is yet more evidence attesting to the fact that not responding to critics is rarely an option. Following that we've got an article from business writer and speaker Jacquelyn Lynn that gives some helpful tips on creating a proper social media policy for your organization.

Looking for more helpful crisis management tips and resources? Check out our page, including the Crisis Manager archives!

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

No Lap Dance for Santa

Strong social media crisis communications prevents a major boycott

Harvey Norman nearly had a very unhappy Christmas. The retail chain, one of Australia's largest, recently ran an ad campaign that had consumers up in arms, but thanks to an alert social media team and responsive execs, the problem was resolved in a matter of hours. SmartCompany AU's Patrick Stafford has the story:

The entire Harvey Norman exchange is documented on activist Melinda Reist's blog. Reist says she was sent a Facebook alert about the Harvey Norman advertisement, which reportedly promoted the ability to have in-store photos with Santa but used the line "Do you want to give Santa a lap dance?"

Immediately, Reist sent out some tweets about the incident calling for a boycott. Soon after, several other Twitter users joined in the chorus until the official Harvey Norman Twitter account stepped into the fray.

Soon after, Harvey Norman social media head Gary Wheelhouse sent Reist an email, stating that he would "absolutely make sure this goes to the right people". Forty-five minutes later, the company confirmed the radio ad had been pulled – about four hours after Reist sent her first tweet.

Did Harvey Norman have to suck up the money spent on the radio ad? Yes. But what if the outrage sprouting on Facebook and Twitter had blossomed into a true national boycott, and during the holiday selling season no less? Clearly that would have cost far more than was lost. Simple, smart crisis management from the Harvey Norman team.

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/

Qantas' Crisis Management

Aussie airline is using smart crisis communications to advance its brand

Qantas airlines has been in full out crisis management mode for nearly a full month now, ever since one of its new A380 jets was forced to make an emergency landing as a result of a mid flight engine malfunction. In the weeks after the airline faced accusations of poor quality control from pilots and another Qantas flight was grounded due to electrical issues. Some companies would crumble under the pressure, but the forward-thinking Qantas has rallied back, led by CEO Alan Joyce. A quote, from a MarketingWeek article by Mark Ritson:

It’s a mighty set of circumstances to manage - and yet the smart money remains on Joyce riding out the storm. For starters, the past three weeks have witnessed a masterful demonstration of crisis management. As soon as the A380 emergency hit, Joyce took direct control. It was a lightning quick response and one in which he immediately placed the emphasis on the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce engines and not on Qantas’ service record.

More than a dozen media interviews have followed and each time his emphasis has been on Qantas’ safety record and on communicating updates and reassurance to concerned passengers. Flying on the first A380 since the safety scare is the final touch on what many are hailing as a textbook crisis management performance from Joyce.

With the blame successfully shifted to Rolls-Royce, Joyce has taken the right path in striving to assure potential passengers and shareholders alike that Qantas is in fact more safe than ever before. The campaign is building momentum and, barring a sudden swath of damaging incidents, has the distinct possibility of leaving the airline with a more respected reputation than it held before these troubles began.
   

The BCM Blogging Team
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/