From the dubious activities at the U.S. Army's military prison at Guantanamo Bay to the lurid rape accusations leveled against members of the Duke University
lacrosse team to the chaos of the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes, the past year has seen no shortage of headline-hogging crises that shock, confuse and anger the general public. Of
course, not every crisis resonates with the fury of these examples. But whether the crisis has global implications or local repercussions, letting the crisis get out of control
is not an option for the PR professional.
And, according to a recent PR News Webinar entitled "Crisis Management Track: PR's Role in Managing and Mitigating Crisis (see sidebar)," it is always essential for the
PR professional not to let the management of the crisis take on a life of its own.
The Need For Speed
Sandy Alstadt saw a surplus in the summer of 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrecked the regions served by her company, Entergy Corp., an electric utility serving
the Gulf Coast. For Alstadt, her duties as director of utility communications required the distribution of up-to-the-minute updates for external and internal audiences during the
back-to-back hurricanes.
"Speed is paramount," she says. "Acting quickly to get our message out was incredibly important for the story. In a crisis, speed isn't everything. Speed is the only
thing."
For Richard Levick, president of Levick Strategic Communications, the lack of speed created significant damage for Duke University during the rape allegation scandal
that paralyzed the school earlier this year. "For the first 10 days of the scandal, they didn't handle it very well," he says.
While Levick adds Duke eventually took control of the situation through an aggressive outreach program, including a partnership with the NAACP to diffuse the racial
tensions created by the scandal, the school's lethargic response nonetheless was not a PR success story.
Through A Glass, Darkly
From the beginning of a crisis until its conclusion, the perception of the entity in the spotlight needs to be consistent. Quite frankly, everyone's eyes are watching and no
one is blinking.
"You are what you say, not what you mean to say," explains Paul Clark, U.S. director of crisis media at Hill & Knowlton. "That is the reality of shaping perceptions
in the managing of a crisis."
In defining the importance of perceptions, Clark noted a money quote from the former CEO of General Electric on the challenge of being viewed and judged by others:
"Jack Welch once said: 'One thing I learned during my years as CEO is that perception matters. And in these times, when public trust and confidence has been shaken, I've learned
the hard way that perception matters.'"
Kirk Stuart, executive vice president at APCO, echoed Clark's concerns. "Substance needs to precede communications," he says. "All of your stakeholders will look
beyond your words to your actions."
"You can't talk your way out of something you acted your way into," observes Levick, who further points out the power of positive imagery to shape public perceptions. Levick
calls up the first rallies in favor of the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay that took place in 2002 outside of London's Old Bailey courthouses. The rallies were in support
of Kuwaiti-born captives being held by the U.S. Army and the demonstration included banners sporting the American and Kuwaiti flags (a reminder, Levick says, of the alliance from
the first Gulf War in 1991).
Levick uses this example and the press photographs generated by it as the first successful attempt to turn public opinion against the Guantanamo detentions. "Pictures like
these were hugely powerful," he says.
Time For New Rules
In the event of crisis, sometimes long-standing policies need to be jettisoned (if only on a temporary basis). For Sandy Alstadt, the challenges faced in the two hurricanes
required the abandonment of a long-standing policy at Entergy: Not allowing outsiders into the company's emergency command center in Jackson, MS.
"We had to accept the risks to open the restoration process to the media completely," she recalls. "We had the media for the first time in the control center to see what we
were doing."
Alstadt and Entergy also broke another unofficial taboo by sharing information with the competition. "Early in the process, we looked to see how to get together with our peer
utilities in the region," she continues. "We wanted to get their best lessons learned and put some of them in place for our operations."
Levick applauds the Entergy approach to responding to the unique nature of its crisis. "When there is a fire, the first thing to burn is the crisis plan," he says.
Hold The Lawyers
Crises, particularly those resulting in significant physical and property damages, seem like the feeding ground for attorneys rather than PR officers. Empirical evidence
suggests that corporate communications and litigation communications run on parallel tracks, with the latter taking a route that can create more PR damage than good.
"Too often, we go straight to litigation defensively as a critical action," says Levick. "In doing this, we are limited in terms of what we can do. Most often, lawyers drive
the bus. It is important to have lawyers on the bus, but not driving it. If they do, we lose opportunities to win in the court of public opinion."
However, Levick provides a respite for lawyer bashing by noting that corporations often balkanize their duties with little opportunity for inter-departmental cooperation. "The
problem here (in the corporate world) is that everyone works in silos," he says. "Inside a company, it is viewed as a legal problem, and IR problem, etc. But consumers are
looking at the situation as a whole. We need to have the whole team in place: Legal, PR, IR, government relations, etc."
Contacts:
Paul Clark, [email protected]; Richard Levick, [email protected]; Kirk
Stewart, [email protected]; Sandy Alstadt, [email protected]
Ten Tips To Live By During Times Of Crises
In the August 16 PR News Webinar, "Crisis Management Track: PR's Role in Managing and Mitigating Crisis," Entergy director of utility communication Sandy Alstadt
offered the following ten key success factors when dealing with a crisis:
1. Speed isn't everything; it's the only thing
2. Have detailed communications plans covering all kinds of crises, drill them and learn from mistakes
3. Have a pre-determined, pre-equipped command center. Get staff there quickly
4. Enforce "one voice" communications
5. Assume all normal communication methods will collapse; have back-ups ready
6. Set lines of authority and approval processes beforehand
7. Understand that employees - not customers - are your most important audience
8. Anticipate significant emotional strain
9. Take calculated risks, especially when dealing with the media
10. Good response and good communications go hand-in-hand; if one fails, they both fail