By ANGELA McCARTHY
Theft, floods, product recalls, negative publicity - a crisis can take many forms and place people and companies in the spotlight without warning.
Take last year's marriage-split rumours that put footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria in the public gaze. No sooner had the rumours been published than the couple's publicity managers released a statement that helped to end the run of speculation in its tracks.
Few people really understood what was happening in the background, but it was crisis management - pure and simple. In the case of the Beckhams it was public perception and rumour that had to be addressed, which is a little harder than correcting matters of fact. But the same basic principles apply to any industry - music, sport, manufacturing ...
When Hansells New Zealand heard that a scrap of metal was found in one of the snacks it produces, the firm's managing director, Stuart Walker, had to act quickly and activate the company's crisis management procedure.
A company rep visited the customer to see if medical treatment was required and collect the product for examination. At the same time the company's recall team - which includes distribution, sales, customer services, technical and public relations staff - met to discuss the situation. Within five hours of the complaint being made, all products that had passed through a particular snack fryer were recalled.
"We got an engineering report [on the machinery], did a personal inspection and decided there was further risk," says Walker.
The recall followed an established written process including informing the Health Protection Officer, who legally must be consulted and kept in the loop. Hansells didn't alert the media until the problem had been pinpointed.
"We just told them we were still gathering data and agreed on a time when we would have that data and be able to talk. We didn't want a spin put on anything," said Walker.
It was also vital to ensure information was provided to call centre and frontline staff and that customers were informed.
Walker was four months in the job when it happened. He's had two more recalls since and knows the company's reputation is on the line if it doesn't hit the ground running. Hansells' response was textbook stuff: the firm followed a plan, controlled communications and kept in touch with all stakeholders. Crisis management consultants would applaud.
Paul Hemsley, New Zealand acting managing director of management consultancy Hill & Knowlton, says 15 per cent of crises come out of the blue, the rest from issues already simmering.
"Prevention, such as checking quality and auditing systems, and safety regimes, is a major proactive step that will help manage that simmering 85 per cent."
There should also be a crisis plan showing the steps to be taken, preferably steps that have been rehearsed. This includes establishing a crisis management team consisting of the chief executive or a delegated decision-maker, as well as HR, legal and community representation. Technical expertise should be included when required.
Mark Scott, executive director of public relations consultancy Consultus, says crisis teams must have the power to make decisions instantly - there is no place here for a press release that has to be approved by dozens of managers before it's released.
Practice scenarios are a good way to follow through on planning, says Scott. Obviously a company can't plan a response to all possible crises, but if they are already accustomed to a process they will deal better with the unknown.
Up-to-date contact details must be part of any plan, says Hemsley. Identification of the main players to be informed will make crisis control easier. And if your company doesn't have an in-house communications adviser, line up a consultant, preferably with crisis management experience.
An essential component of crisis management is a good communications strategy with a designated media spokesperson at the helm.
"A straight line of communication is critical, with one person in charge if possible so there are no mixed messages," says Scott.
This is easier to insist on if the company has a designated spokesperson for day to day matters. At Hansells, all media inquiries go initially to Walker who decides how best to deal with them.
"The biggest minefield is when no one is in charge of communications and people who should know things don't," says Hemsley.
When a crisis hits, the first step is to clarify what is rumour, supposition and fact. Talking to the media before the facts are clarified is asking for trouble, says Hemsley. "So you say you're in the process of gathering information and can't say anything yet because you don't have the detail. Or that this issue involves other people and you need to talk to them about it first."
The overriding principle is that you don't lie, says Scott. "Our advice is deliver the facts - unadorned - once you know them. There will be opposing viewpoints to deal with and you may choose your timing to deal with those, but you never lie."
Uninformed and unauthorised comment can be a major problem, says Scott, so there has to be a clear policy about referring all questions to the appointed spokesperson.
He agrees this can sound like there is something to hide.
"We always tell clients not to say 'no comment' but 'I can't comment because ... "'
Scott spent two-and-half years working for British Nuclear Fuels, which recycles nuclear fuel rods shipped from Japan to Britain and France. His role was to deal with parties involved, from Greenpeace to governments.
"There were often demands for information that couldn't be answered because we were bound by the International Atomic Energy Agency not to divulge that information, Yes, refusing to divulge information may reflect negatively. It is human to think that when someone says 'I can't' they really mean 'I won't'."
It is important to view a crisis holistically. It isn't just about media response but relationships with the shareholders, such as staff, business partners and clients.
Armourguard New Zealand and Fiji regional manager Ken Pascoe had to make that call in February when cash fell out of an Armourguard vehicle along State Highway 1, and was picked up by 10 people including two Swiss tourists, who felt they were not thanked appropriately and should have been rewarded in cash for their trouble.
"On a scale of one to 10, this was 10.5 for us," says Pascoe. "But Armourguard policy is never to give cash rewards."
The major issue for Pascoe was that he couldn't answer some media questions because the information was security sensitive.
Although he has been accused of not handling the crisis well, Pascoe can't see what he could have done differently.
"We took a lot of flak but we followed standard operating procedures and policies. We don't comment on things that affect security and staff safety and we don't give cash rewards. It was a no-brainer to us."
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A CRISIS
* Form a core crisis management team.
* Conduct a crisis audit to assess vulnerabilities.
* Write a crisis management plan.
* Create a crisis management notebook that contains press and staff contact information.
* Cultivate a crisis management mindset among employees.
AT THE START OF A CRISIS
* Acknowledge the incident.
* Come across as an ally of the reporters and the people, not an opponent.
* Give examples of how effectively you are handling the crisis so far.
* Immediately and clearly announce internally that the only people to speak about the crisis to the outside world are those in the crisis team.
* Move quickly - the first hours after the crisis first breaks are extremely important, because the media often build on the information in the first hours.
* Give accurate and correct information. Lying or bending the truth will backfire externally and internally.
DURING A CRISIS
* Gather information continually.
* Know your legal rights and responsibilities.
* Fix the problem or develop a plan to fix the problem.
* Communicate effectively.
In crisis-control mode
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