Is Your Business Ready For Some Bad PR?

In our last post, we tackled what happens when an HR team is in crisis. In this article, we take a look at managing an external HR crisis. This type of crisis is usually accompanied by negative press or publicity. The sort of thing that happens when the CEO suddenly starts trending on X and for all the wrong reasons or serious allegations concerning the business come to light. Think Post Office and BBC scandals, and whilst your business scandal might not be on the same scale, any crisis is still going to have to be handled very carefully.

Spotting when your company is in or on the brink of an HR crisis

Some industries are more at risk of an HR crisis than others such as businesses that work with well-known personalities and those in a position in trust (legal, medical and religious institutions, for example). Your business may, of course, be aware of a pending crisis or it may, in some cases, catch you unawares when your business suddenly finds itself the subject of intense media or social media attention.

Unfortunately, the old adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity is no longer true in an intensely digital age. And whilst not every grumble on social media by a disgruntled employee will require a response, you should have a process that you can deploy quickly to assess how critical the crisis is (or has the potential to be) by reference to how senior the people involved are and the full potential ramifications. The chances are you will have to react and respond fast, and your messaging and conduct is likely to come under intense scrutiny, so it has to be appropriate and in line with your brand values.

Your crisis management plan  

Main areas that should be covered in your crisis management plan include:

1. Identify key personal to be involved

You need to identify key decision-makers bearing in mind the potential for senior leadership to have to exit the business as a result of the crisis. You should also consider appointing someone to oversee the overall management of the crisis including internal and external comms, and you should consider onboarding external advisors such as your lawyers and or a specialist PR agency. Onboarding and briefing them in advance with proper terms of engagement in place can prevent a great deal of work if your business suddenly finds itself in the thick of a crisis.

• Approach

Whilst your approach may well be dictated to a greater extent by the exact nature of the crisis in hand, having a clear idea of your overarching objectives and brand messaging enables you to slot a tailored response to an individual crisis into an existing and well defined framework. It also, of course, helps create an environment of informed decision making that is aligned with your brand.

• Facts and investigation

You need to get a clear understanding of the facts as early as possible. This may require either a preliminary internal or external investigation. Often, this is best done by your legal team who can sensitively interview witnesses and collate evidence. They may also be able to make a provisional report and recommendations.

• Reactions and responses

Here you need to consider both your duty of care to those involved and your business reaction to the issue in question. How can you safeguard and protect victims, witnesses and whistleblowers and what support have you got in place for them going forward? Will you consider compensation schemes?

In terms of the individual at the centre of the scandal, you may need to consider whether the scandal is sufficient to justify an instant dismissal or whether you should follow a longer dismissal procedure. Having a well briefed legal team is again critical here.

Moving on from the crisis, what further steps will or should the business consider? Will you review and revise operations, change leadership or put in place more robust safeguards.

• Communications

Your communications is the thread that runs through the heart of any crisis management plan. 

Internal comms

Certainly in high-risk sectors, it is helpful to adopt a proactive approach to help spot and identify a crisis early. Pop-up alerts and real time monitoring of news and social media channels can be crucial and allow for a prompt response and damage mitigation.

You should also consider your internal comms management. At some point, you will need to communicate with all employees and stakeholders across various devices and locations. Some messaging will be urgent and needs high visibility and read confirmations. You may need to review your existing software and systems. Have in mind, legal privilege and the legal implications that come with the disclosure of information, particularly if legal proceedings could result.  

External comms

Your external communications may be complex. Your messaging will have been informed by your crisis management plan and all of the above. Whilst it is occasionally prudent to remain silent, this can often exacerbate the problem and speculation can run riot.

You may need to communicate with the press, police, members of the public, industry regulators and even select committees. Each sector will require a considered and possibly a different approach and you will need to work closely with your legal team. The timing of your communications and whether you are proactive or reactive can be critical. 

Resolution

It may be possible to resolve certain issues by way of a settlement agreement with a confidentiality clause or non-disclosure agreements. However, these will need to be carefully drafted to ensure they are enforceable. 

Key takeaway

Don’t leave it to chance. However unlikely you think it is that you’ll be facing an HR crisis, it will be an awful lot easier to navigate and mitigate if you have a well thought out strategy to fall back on.

If you would like to discuss the above, please call 020 3988 0170 or contact us via our website.

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