In recent months we have seen Byron Burger come under fire after 35 staff from at least 15 branches were called to what they thought was a staff training event. It turned out to be an immigration sting, arranged by Byron in conjunction with government authorities. Staff are thought to have been deported, following their initial arrests. The company immediately came under fire from pressure groups and various elements of the media. They also inadvertently trended on Twitter with the hashtag #boycottbyron.
Is your company prepared for a PR disaster? Here is our advice for how you can prepare for, and handle such an eventuality.
Internal communication
This can be just as important as your public facing communication during a time of crisis. It may well be your staff and not you or your senior management team that are facing the public. In the case of Byron Burger, it was the staff who were clearing cockroaches from premises, covering shifts from deported colleagues, fielding questions from customers and running the gauntlet outside of restaurants.
How would your staff respond to external questions about your company? Do they have a clear directive in how they should initially respond, or who they should escalate such matters to? You and your managers need to communicate daily messages on how frontline staff should respond on the ground, to ensure there is a united front.
It would be wise to already have an appointed spokesperson who can speak on behalf of the company. Your staff will then be clear on who can respond and who can’t, and then if you do ever face a PR disaster, from the outset everyone will know who the public facing person for the company is.
Happy employees
Fostering an open culture and making your staff feel part of a team will lead to a happier workforce. If you have an open door policy and happy employees, they are much less likely to lash out at you as an employer, for example, by posting negative comments on social media about you and the company. After all happy employees will want to keep their jobs. Creating clear policies and enforcing them can also help to ensure that everyone understands their responsibilities and what is expected of them.
Public
The public are not always forgiving, and in this age of social media bad publicity can go viral very quickly. Be prepared to respond to disasters swiftly and decisively, using all platforms to communicate with the public. It helps to respond first on the channel where the crisis broke. Make sure you have a crisis plan for all communication including for social media.
Accept responsibility for your actions rather than distance yourself from them. You can’t avoid scrutiny with a vague and impersonal response. A proactive and transparent approach is best practice. Don’t wait for people to demand answers but acknowledge what has happened, even if you don’t have a solution or answer available yet. Prepare your key messages and be prepared to talk to people directly. Honesty and accountability are key components of any communication strategy whether it’s a crisis or not.
It is imperative that you don’t try to distance yourself or ignore a PR crisis, as in the long term it can be much harder to recover from if you haven’t responded quickly and decisively. If you have any concerns about how to handle a PR disaster or if you need any help on how to avoid a PR disaster in the first place, why not give us a call. Please visit our web page for more information about a full HR assessment.