Company: Shell Oil Company
Agency: Dittus Communications and Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald
Timeframe: October 2005-ongoing
After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita decimated the U.S. oil and gas production operations in the Gulf of Mexico, exacting $250 to $300 million in damages, Shell Oil Company sought
to create a business recovery plan in the Gulf region, as well as to align itself with the needs of an area brutalized by Mother Nature. Targeting Shell employees as well as
business partners and local decision makers, Shell launched its "Coming Home Campaign" (CHC), a community relations and employment engagement program whose goal was twofold: to
provide immediate assistance for both the hurricane-affected communities and the employees who work in these areas, and to attract and retain the Shell workforce in this region.
In October 2005, the program commenced when the team, which worked with Dittus Communications on the initiative, polled local Shell employees in the Gulf region who believed
that for New Orleans to recover from the devastation, Shell should lead the way. Because Shell was already a client of Dittus Communications, it was a fait accompli that they
would work together on the program, according to Laura Sheehan, vice president and practice leader of Dittus Communications.
The Shell employees were critical in developing a plan of action. "One of those things we did was interview employees to see what they thought was most important that they give
back to the community," explains Sheehan. "We developed benchmark goals and focused on those throughout the campaign to make sure we were hitting [displaced] employees' goals and
wishes of returning 1,000 of them to the city and keeping the project on time." Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald, a local New Orleans PR firm, also worked on the program.
The preliminary research honed CHC objectives and aligned directly with Shell's three-pronged mission of efficient business recovery: immediate recovery to employee needs;
community recovery to support the community where employees live, work and operate; and investment in the future to retain and attract workforce and support workforce
development.
The strategizing focused on two main areas:
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Employee Engagement: In those areas in which Shell excels, the company engaged its personnel for projects that leveraged their knowledge, expertise and capabilities;
and
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Public-Private Partnerships: For those projects that did not touch Shell's core competencies, the company expanded upon existing relationships or developed new private-pact
partnerships.
To foster community and employee goodwill, the CHC team relied on events, internal communications and earned and paid media. It was important that the program be seen as a
comprehensive community and employee engagement initiative and not as yet another disaster response effort. The team worked with partners to carry out key messages of the
program.
Providing $45 million in hurricane-related employee assistance programs, Shell helped employees, business and civic leaders move toward closure. It developed the Employee
Ambassador Grant Program, which was used to restore daycare centers and preschools, as well as rebuild homes and replace libraries. The company also donated funds to the New
Orleans Police & Justice Foundation to address first responder housing needs, and financed permanent volunteer housing in certain Louisiana parishes.
By partnering up with the Kennedy School of Government, Shell supported the revitalization of Broadmoor, a New Orleans neighborhood. Shell sponsored interns from the Kennedy
School to live and work in Broadmoor. The collaboration with residents resulted in a rebuilding plan that became a model for other neighborhood rebuilding programs.
Also, because Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused $1 billion worth of damage to the Gulf Coast, the Louisiana fishing industry was badly damage; plus, no federal funds had
reached fishermen. Shell donated funds for icehouses that would revive the Louisiana fishing industry.
Another noteworthy project that fell under the auspices of this program was the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Despite its positive impact on New Orleans, Jazz Fest
2006 was in jeopardy. The venue was heavily damaged, musicians were displaced and event sponsors were hesitant to continue their support. Shell stepped in and became the first-
ever presenting sponsor.
Providing its employees with 10,00 discounted tickets, approximately 220 Shell staffers volunteered at the event, traveling as far as Houston to fill the void left by relocated
residents. What was important about the continuation of this event is that Jazz Fest demonstrated that New Orleans was open for tourists. Consequently, hundreds of thousands of
music lovers from all 50 states and across the globe attended the event.
To fulfill the third part of the program's mission--keeping jobs in Louisiana, Shell employed the following tactics:
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Collaboration with Louisiana State University (LSU): LSU and Shell partnered up to increase recruitment in areas central to Shell's business model, including research
and environmental studies. Shell also contributed to a workforce development project to support the transition from college to work; and,
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Restoration of the McMain Unified School: Shell supports a four-year science and engineering curriculum at McMain Unified School, one of the two public high schools open
five months after Hurricane Katrina hit the region. Here Shell installed state-of-the-art computer labs at McMain and forged a partnership with New Orleans Public Schools and the
National Science Resource Center to improve math and science education.
The program's ROI was staggering in scope. Almost 60% of local employees accessed nearly $60,000 in Ambassador Grants, while Shell employees logged 22,000 volunteer hours.
Also, 99% of local Shell employees polled stated a commitment to stay with Shell.
Other results were the following:
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$200 to $250 million in Jazz Fest revenue was raised for the city of New Orleans;
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60 tons of ice per day was produced for fishing (up from less than one ton in June '06);
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LSU's recruitment goal was exceeded by 170%; LSU was Shell's top recruiting university in 2006;
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36% of metro New Orleans residents are much more likely to apply for a job at Shell;
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71% of New Orleanians have a favorable view of Shell, higher than that of its competitors;
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Local opinion groups place Shell as the most socially responsible oil/energy company; and,
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According to a University of New Orleans analysis, Shell contributions to New Orleans recovery accounted for more than $1 billion in primary and secondary spending. Local
and state revenues rose by more than $13 million and Shell employees volunteered more than $800,000 worth of time.
The team secured more than 1,000 media hits about CHC that resulted in at least 135,000 impressions. Highlights were a feature story on Katie Couric's inaugural broadcast of
the CBS Evening News, a front-page feature story in the New York Times, a front-page Business Section feature in the Washington Post, eight stories on CNN and placements with the
New Orleans Times-Picayune, Houston Chronicle, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, CNBC, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor.
For Sheehan, the challenges were easily overcome by the determination and initiative of Shell employees.
"You can do so much in a situation with the devastation that was wrought down there by Hurricane Katrina and then Rita. There are so many opportunities to do these things,
picking and choosing what you were going to do was a challenge. And the employees really provided the guidance to make that happen."
Shell's "Coming Home Campaign" was the recipient of numerous laurels, among them the Clinton Global Initiative, which recognized the Broadmoor Project as a public-private
partnership model, and a 2007 PR News Platinum PR Award in the category of community relations.
In addition, Frank Glaviano, Shell VP of production, Americas, was named "New Orleanian of the Year" while the Kennedy School invited Shell to share its CHC best practices in
its Social Responsibility Initiative. PRN
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Rising From The Ashes
When implementing a community recovery program, having committed team players is essential to a successful outcome, says Laura Sheehan, VP and practice leader of Dittus
Communications, one of the PR firms that help spearhead Shell's Coming Home Campaign.
"Each situation is inherently different, and you have different players and focal points, but it's really to amass people who have knowledge of the community and expertise to
be able to reach out to third-party groups and connect the dots," she maintains. "[It's important] that you have a group of people who are empowered to make decisions, that you
have a plan of action and are working toward that plan of action and that you don't get bogged down in bureaucracy."