Creating your own crisis

Under Pressure 17 March 2022

Creating a Crisis

It is quite shocking to see the video message that was given to 800 people working for P&O Ferries. Through a recorded message they were told there employment was terminated with immediate effect. You can see the message through the BBC news website article.

There is no emotion, no empathy and no heart in this approach. A number of times during the pandemic I said you could have a good redundancy. With an employer that cared, that explained, that gave you support and did it with a focus on you the experience could be made less damaging. No-one wants to lose their job but you can help them through it.

Every step that you shouldn’t take has been demonstrated by P&O Ferries and the reputational damage could be serious. I will be revisiting the details of this case, that has just emerged, in the next crisis communication case study that I produce on a monthly basis, so watch out for that being circulated in the next couple of weeks.

For now, remember that you can avoid creating your own crisis by carefully thinking through what you are going to do, how you are going to do it and most importantly how will it impact on people.

Marking Two Years in Business

I find it hard to believe that I will mark two years in business next Wednesday. The 23rd of March is also the second anniversary of the UK going into the Covid-19 lockdown. It is a moment I will always remember. I started the day with the joy and excitement of setting up a business only to find by the evening that the world had changed and where we being forced to stay at home.

Two years on I am loving my new work. I have the opportunity to work with amazing people and teams looking at what matters to me, which is improving crisis communication. I have written my first book (watch this space for what comes next). I have been able to provide help and advice to organisations under pressure.

There are many people I have to thank for all their help and support during the past two years, particularly when I have had doubts about whether I was doing the right thing. I am grateful to everyone who has been a part of my past 24 months. I will say more about this next week.

Book Competition

To mark the two years I am offering a copy of my book Crisis Communication Strategies to one reader of this newsletter. If you would like to have a chance of being chosen at random just email me to express your interest to amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

Standing with Ukraine

Tomorrow (Friday 18 March) I will be joining Kimberley-Marie Sklinar to discuss how to talk about the events in Ukraine with employees. It is organised by the Institute of Internal Communication (IOIC) and you can find out more here. The situation is so distressing and everyone wants to find a way to help. This may be through fundraising, offering space in your home, or protesting. But as communicators finding the right words and using the platforms we have responsibly is important. I was struck by this video produced by Ukrainian agency Banda to thank a whole range of people, countries and individuals that have been finding ways to help. View the video here. It is important we all keep finding ways that we can help as this terrible situation continues.

Easter support

Communication teams looking for some back up support and the ability to get advice quickly when issues emerge can access Easter cover. Get in touch with Amanda to discuss what support you may need during April and particularly around the two week Easter break. Don’t leave it to chance, email amanda@amandacolemancomms.co.uk

In Brief:

• A report by communication experts has called for a more global approach to reviewing social media and crisis communication. Lead by a professor from North Carolina State University the team reviewed 189 papers and found crisis communication should be considered on a global scale. Find out more here.

• An article in Harvard Business Review has given tips on how to talk to your team about distressing events. Find out what the tips are here.

• The Business Continuity Institute has provided details of the top threats facing businesses in 2022 and considers what can be done to limit the impact of them. It is worth considering how your business or organisation could deal with these threats. What do you have in place and what more could be done? Find out what the threats are here.

Diary dates:

• On 29 March 2022 - Amanda will be talking at the HQN Housing CommsFest. She will be looking at Reputation Management within crisis and issues communication and how it will look in the future. If you work in the housing sector find out more here.

• The CIPR North West are running a Crisis Communications: Learnings from a terrorist incident on 31 March. The session will feature Amanda talking about her experiences managing the police response to the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017 alongside Andrew Duggan, Head of Communications, Marketing and Engagement at Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust talking about the incident on 14 November 2021. Find out about the event here.

• 31 March 2022 - Amanda will join a panel for an event organised by the CIPR Corporate and Financial Group. The session will look at long haul incident management, what to consider and how it impacts on communication. Find out more here.