Crisis communications in a social media age · 2019-10-29 · New expectations in a social media age. And today… • Speed & depth • Media only one audience for your messages
48
Leah Morantz Head of Communications [email protected]@LMorantz Crisis communications in a social media age
● Outbreaks● Lookbacks● Internal reviews● Information leaks● Mergers and divestments● Cyber attacks and IT incidents● Unpopular policy● Dodgy staff behaviour● Politics● Redundancies and organisational change● Car parking
Presenter
Presentation Notes
What I’ve dealt with – probably not as much as you!! A COMMS specialist will have expertise across a broad range of topis. This helps form judgement. Think about how this applies to your context. Outbreaks – measles, legionnaires disease, TB Lookbacks – Cervical screening issues, mycobacterium in cardiac patients Internal reviews - Information leaks Mergers and divestments – (Switzerland, Japan, Uruguay) – 5 countries, 3 languages, 44 simultaneous briefings to 600 staff, timed to the announcement on the London Stock Exchange Cyber attacks (Wanna Cry) and IT incidents Unpopular policy – changes to people’s pensions Dodgy staff behaviour – arrests for unsavoury activity while using employers’ IT equipment Politics Redundancies and organisational change – 4000 staff changing division Car parking – the MOST divisive of all
What these things have in common
● Each carries reputational risk● Each causes pressure (people,
system, health, organisation)● Each of these is a crisis to someone
The new landscape
New expectations in a social media age
Remember when…
• Clear roles and responsibilities • Traditional media reaches a lot of people – think
TV and tabloids• Objectives and strategy drive tactical decisions• People get their updates from the 6 o’clock news
Presenter
Presentation Notes
I’ll go into some of this in more detail shortly but as many of you already know, there are new expectations in the social media age.
New expectations in a social media age
And today…• Speed & depth• Media only one audience for your messages• Everyone’s a journalist• Trust is hard to come by• Democratisation of tools to research, speculate and
activate• And new tools for experts to leverage too, eg.
Surveillance and insight online
Presenter
Presentation Notes
I’ll go into some of this in more detail shortly but as many of you already know, there are new expectations in the social media age. Expectations around speed of response have evolved much faster than the culture of the organisations that need to communicate. Number of outlets has expanded, audiences are fractured and they seek information they already know from sources they already know and have affinity with Everyone’s a journalist, commentator, documentarist,
Then…
and now.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Then: Like linear steps. We are in control. When I started: Crisis identified (internal or media) Comms and response team activated Info gathering Press release written Approval Issued Media questions answered (conference or phone) Media cover breaking news in next cycle And now: Crisis happens Witnessed and shared by people with phones & cameras Comms and response team activated Media covering story with eyewitness accounts and public reaction from social media NOW (no waiting for response to form) Members of the public reporting, uploading Media & communications report in parallel Public share info with each other with comments & observations
Millenials and Gen Z:Low overall trust
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Deloitte’s Global Millenial Survey 24% have zero trust in business leaders 30% have zero trust in media 41% have zero trust in political leaders 49% have zero trust in religious leaders
And a growing trust gap emerges
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Trust in government is at an all time low according to Edelman Trust Barometer And even Trust in media is lower than before
Emergence of ‘employer’ as trusted source
Why does it matter?
United Airlines CEO acknowledging the situation, saying it’s under control shows calm, serious intent. But who do
Character and capability are two valuable lenses through which to view the dynamics of trust and reputation.
The first reflects social and moral qualities; the second reflects how capable an organisation is deemed of fulfilling the tasks that it promises stakeholders it can perform.
(Oxford Centre for Reputational Studies, 2017)
“I apologize for having for having to re-accommodate these customers.”
Presenter
Presentation Notes
“I apologize for having for having to re-accommodate these customers,” United C.E.O. Oscar Munoz said in a statement Monday. The airline said in a statement that it “apologize[d] for the overbook situation” while making zero mention of the fact that a human being had been dragged off one of their planes by the arms and legs. The Chicago Police Department did their part to make things worse by releasing their own statement explaining that the man injured his face when “he fell” onto an armrest. https://youtu.be/90jSUe_vdhM?t=22
And this is how the stock market responded:
Some examples:
Safety: Train derailments/gas leaksPerformance: Horsemeat scandal/poor maintenance or serviceSecurity: Terrorism or hurricanesPolicy: Starbucks corporation tax outrage/tax increase
In addition to organisational crises – there’s personal scandal. Affects both the individual and the organisation. Impacts trust and reputation
And when the personal affects the organisation…
Principles for communicating
in a crisis
Clear messages
• Keep time free in the days following initial crisis.
• Monitor emerging issues.
• Plan for the aftermath.
• Support your staff.
Monitor and evaluate how it’s going
• Plan communications in advance, identifying who will deliver the message when, with what materials. Write it down
• Who is most impacted? Tell them first.
• Who else needs to know? Where are they and how will you reach them?
Consistent, sensitive,responsive
Planning, control and collaboration
• Be clear about who needs to own the message.
• Agree point of dissemination –who will sign off and who will issue messages?
• Talk to key audiences in a way that reflects their needs, and via channels that suit them.
• Adjust the tone of communications to the audience.
• Be sensitive to the impact
• Be honest or you will lose trust.
Principles for communicating in a crisis
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Effective communication is essential for managing crises – you need to pre-plan. Expect a crisis will emerge at some point. Plan and practice in advance. Stakeholder acceptance and buy-in will not happen without it Communication is not a single step or component of crisis – it must be fully integrated with the crisis response Effective communication should not be done to a target audience, it is a two-way dialogue leading to an alignment of interests – if resources allow, this works in crisis situations too Strategically planning for effective communication involves more than sending out emails or holding a meeting Vision trumps information – spell out the why as well as what and how Stakeholders can help lead change Be honest or you will lose trust Where possible, segment your audience and tailor your messages to help pull them along the change curve
Public Health Wales Communications Planning Cycle
Communications planning cycleCheckpoint:
Will a communications solution solve your business problem?
Checkpoint:
Does your audience have the right conditions to do what you’re asking?
• CapabilityOpportunityMotivation
Clear messages - quickly!
Bad news travels at the speed of light;good news travels like molasses.
● Who do you need to talk to in the organisation? Sign off?
● What is the correct tone of voice here?● What will you say publicly? ● Will you send private messages?● What will you and won’t you respond to?● Will you prioritise some people for responses?
Presenter
Presentation Notes
How do you prepare? Get your decision making mechanisms in place BEFORE crisis hits.
Consistent, sensitive, responsive
Think about your audiences
What are the issues for each? Who is most pressing?
“We were praised by the media for our response yet we didn’t issue a single news release.”Amanda Nash - Head of communications at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Following a Major Incident in which 55 people were expected to arrive at their emergency department, the communications team: “Our first tweet confirmed we had declared a major incident. We were quickly RT’d by the local BBC, ITV and local newspapers. We heard it being given as news on the local radio a few moments later. We worked hand in hand with our doctors, nurses and other professionals in the control room and gave the updates we could – carefully balancing the need to keep the personal information of those patients arriving confidential. So in subsequent tweets we confirmed that our staff had gone to the scene to help respond, we had received less than ten casualties in our Emergency Department and we were working hand-in-hand with police and the ambulance service. While we were all busy making things happen, whatever our role, we were also thinking about the families who had lost loved ones in the incident, as well as those families worried about relatives who were on the coach. We talked to the police and tweeted our switchboard number for anyone worried to call.”
Answer the question/issue where it was asked/reported.
Avoiding accusations of selective hearing
Is answering everyone an option?Depends on:● Volume of comments● The size of your team● Comments with queries vs those that vent● How much you know about the situation
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This one alone had 70 comments.
Streisand Effect
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The Streisand effect is a phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely, usually facilitated by the Internet. She sued aerial photographer Kenneth Adelman for displaying a photograph of her home in Malibu, California, published as part of a series of photos of the California coastline that he was taking for a photographic project. Her legal action was later dismissed under California law - but she was probably more upset by the 420,000 visits in a month to the site where her photo was published. Naturally, these all came after the news of her legal action made headlines around the world. In fact, according to documents filed in a California court, her house's image had been downloaded only six times before Streisand's legal action - including twice by her own lawyers.
When a local council tried to censor a schoolgirl:
Result:
What else?
Could staff ‘leak’ your communication?
Can you effectively explain social media issues to others in the organisation?
What tone will you adopt for each audience?
Are there legal considerations around disclosure?
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Contempt of CourtAct1981 Defamation,libel and slander Copyright Disclosure - Criminal Procedure and InvestigationsAct Freedom of Information Act Malicious Communications Act Data Protection Act 1998 Protection fromHarassmentAct Human Rights (Article 10 – freedom of speech) PublicOrderAct
Preparations (checklist + template)
Digital capabilities (web, blog, social)A bank of approved, general statementsDecisions on priorities
Buy-in:● Senior leader understanding of the web
(media training)● Video stars, internal influencers● Sorry training/values
What will your next action be to prepare for a crisis?
