Preparing and Implementing an effective Issue Management Programme: ….the aprio and akkanto way…. ABOUT APRIO • APRIO is an independent operator, 100% South African owned, with ground support in Johannesburg and Cape Town • APRIO has a superb media network and a good knowledge of the investment funds, analysts and media operating in Johannesburg and Cape Town • Aprio has been active on numerous South African transactions as well as issue management projects. These include: • • Xstrata’s (Aprio) proposal to merge with Anglo American; • Xstrata (Aprio) and Glencore’s proposed merger; • ArcelorMittal’s (Aprio) dispute with Kumba Iron Ore, and • Walmart’s (Aprio) offer to acquire Massmart in South Africa. APRIO has formed a working relationship with Brussels based strategic communications firm, akkanto ABOUT akkanto • Independent communication agency specialized in strategic consulting, Brussels, Belgium • Strong track record in managing crisis situations and helping clients prepare for crisis • 7 senior partners • Turnover 2010: 4,448 million EUR CRISIS MANAGEMENT REFERENCES • Quick, 1998 – Dioxin crisis • Husqvarna, 2004 – explosion at Ghislenghien (24 casualties) • Merck Sharp & Dohme, 2005 – withdrawal VIOXX • SWIFT, 2006 – public investigations into protection of confidential data • Mattel, 2007-2008 – product recall due to presence of lead paint and loose parts in toys • KBC, 2008 – theft of clients' data in Czech Republic • CERAN, 2009 – children contaminated with A/H1N1 • Infrabel, 2010 - in-house support train crash (19 casualties) • Unilever, 2001-2010 – various product recalls (Lipton Ice Tea, Amora, silent recalls, etc.) • Saint Gobain, 2010 – Gyproc • Eternit/Etex, 2006-2011 – asbestos issue • Fluxys, 2010-2011 – trial Ghislenghien explosion • [Company], 2011 – suicide employee TYPES OF SUPPORT PRE-CRISIS CRISIS Consultation before the crisis hits Consultation in crisis situations Analyse current crisis preparedness Help determine the course of action to be addressed through communication Weaknesses Potential improvements Prepare crisis communication Plan and manual Tools Raise awareness among management and crisis teams Provide the opportunity to test existing practices and procedures PROACTIVE Support teams to develop communication initiatives Prepare spokesperson Guarantee permanent availability Observe and analyze crisis communication management and propose recommendations REACTIVE + PROACTIVE CRISIS PREPAREDNESS PRE-CRISIS Analysis of current situation Exercises Managing issues and being prepared for a crisis Training Tool Development ANALYSIS - EXISTING PROCEDURES Group discussion and management Board interviews to visualise potential incidents (impact versus probability): identify and rank potential crisis scenarios Chief Executive Officer Analysis of existing documents (manual, plan) and procedures (role description, responsibilities, team composition) Interactions between teams – information and validation flows Head of Stakeholder Relations / Comms Crisis Executive Head of other affected groups Team composition (crisis management versus Communication management) Comprehensibility documents Link with legislation (local authorities and emergency services) Recommendations and action plan Crisis Executive Stakeholder Relations / Comms Functional Line Management Local Command Team CRISIS MANUAL PRE-CRISIS: TOOL DEVELOPMENT Development of documents, procedures, tools & templates Centralize existing information of internal procedures Visualise procedures Role distribution and responsibilities Crisis manual/crisis plan CRISIS PREPAREDNESS TRAINING • Raise participants’ awareness of importance of crisis preparedness • Create a team-building experience • Exchange experiences in preparing and managing crises • Develop participants’ ability to handle media relations • Develop a common approach for crisis management • Define each individual’s role in a crisis and back-ups WALK THROUGH EXERCISES • Exercise where participants learn how to use their crisis manual and the crisis tools • Step by step scenario • Debriefing moments to evaluate the team’s performance Walk-through agenda (approx 2.5 hours) 09h00 Welcome 09h05 Interactive session - Individuals will be asked how they view their role in a crisis situation 09h20 Roles and responsibilities - Role and organisation of team leaders in crisis - Review individual functions - Review cascading responsibilities 09h35 Review tools 09h50 ‘Intermezzo’ - Case study 10h05 Walk-through crisis scenario - Interactive session 10h50 Wrap up: Do’s and don’ts 11h00 Ends ACTIVATION EXERCISE Exercise focusing on the alert phase – the first 45 minutes of a crisis where teams and procedures are activated Testing the crucial first moments of a crisis Specific attention is paid to information flows correct use of tools Less focused on communication output (releases, stakeholders) Two exercises in half a day DESKTOP CRISIS EXERCISE Crisis simulation in a controlled environment during which participants are confronted by a variety of stakeholders who want to give an opinion on the crisis or who will request information must protect the company’s reputation on the basis of internal procedures Realistic scenario and stakeholders interventions Real-time and no outside help DESKTOP CRISIS EXERCISE EVALUATION, OBSERVATION AND REPORTING Observers assess each group during the session without intervening. They observe the way in which the group acts and reacts based on 5 categories: management of the team, attitude, decisiontaking, management of information and production of an output. The total score for each category is shown in a diagram, visualising the performance of the group in each category. OPERATIONAL CRISIS SIMULATION Simulation of a potential crisis to see how well information is transferred from different departments to the communication department and vice-versa Objectives Test, evaluate and improve the communication process and the crisis management at the local and corporate level Prepare the spokesperson(s) and the internal stakeholders for a crisis Same ‘rules of the game’ as for desktop crisis exercise SUPPORT DURING A CRISIS - + Adversary Ally Detractor Sympathetic STAKEHOLDERS’ MAPPING & CRISIS COMMUNICATION STRATEGY (see slide 22) SUPPORT DURING A CRISIS HOLDING STATEMENT A short written statement you prepare to answer questions re-actively in the beginning of a crisis PRESS RELEASE A more elaborated statement you send out pro-actively to the press SUPPORT DURING A CRISIS Press statements – internal statements Call centers CRISIS MANAGEMENT Product recall SUPPORT DURING A CRISIS CRISIS MANAGEMENT – PRESS MONITORING 4 types of media monitoring SUPPORT DURING A CRISIS SOCIAL MEDIA MATRIX Pre-crisis Crisis Post-crisis maintain corporate site crisis blog activated crisis blog deactivated crisis blog dormant and ready to go continuous relationships with key bloggers monitoring blogosphere/ Twitter/forums through advanced search engine Radian6 (picking up over 85% of online conversations) integration of useful information on crisis into corporate site continuous social media monitoring in case of lingering issues reach out to key bloggers Crisis team monitors Blogs, Twitter, Social Networks and Forums APPENDIX COMPOSITION OF A CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM TYPE OF CRISIS FUNCTIONAL AREAS TRAITS Natural disaster ⍌ CEO or deputy ⍌ Low in communication ⎕ Finance apprehension ⍌ Legal ⍌ High in cooperation ⎕ Marketing ⍌ High in ambiguity tolerance ⎕ Operations ⍌ Moderate in ⎕ IT argumentativeness ⍌ HR ⍌ Stress tolerance Workplace violence Rumours Malevolence ⍌ Stakeholder … relations/Communication ⍌ Safety ⍌ Security ⎕ Quality assurance = able to select the most competent crisis management team EGO CENTRIC EXAMPLE: CRISIS RESPONSE STRATEGIES DENIAL DIMINISHMENT REBUILDING ↳TYPE: Challenges (unwarranted) Rumour ↳TYPE: Rumour Accident/Victim crises (no history) Attacking the Accuser The CM confronts the person or group that claims that a crisis exists. Excusing The CM tries to minimize the organisation’s responsibility. ↳TYPE: Accident crises (history) Human-error product harm/ accidents Organizational misdeeds Preventable Denial The CM states that no crisis exists and the response may include explaining why Justification The CM tries to minimize the perceived damage associated with the crisis. Compensation The organisation provides money or other gifts to the victims. Apology The CM publicly states that the organisation takes full responsibility and asks forgiveness (click here) Scapegoating Some other person or group outside the organisation is blamed for crisis. Reinforcement BOLSTERING POSTURE Reminding The organisation tells stakeholders about its past good work Praising The organisation praises stakeholders. Compensation The organisation explains how it also is a victim of the crisis. Natural disaster, Rumour, Workplace violence, Malevolence Build positive connection between organisation & stakeholders + Do not forget, credibility & prior reputation of a company are components of crisis response. HOW A GOOD MANAGER REACTS TO A CRISIS PROVIDE PERSPECTIVE ! & BE EMPATHIC Take a moment to figure what is going on – impose order on a chaotic situation Act promptly, not hurriedly – provide direction in a timely fashion Manage expectations – don’t alarm people but don’t be afraid to speak to the magnitude of the situation Demonstrate control – you don’t control the disaster but can control the response Be flexible – be able to adapt rapidly CRISIS TYPES (1) Natural disaster When an organisation is damaged as a result of the weather or “acts of God” such as earthquakes, tornados, floods, hurricanes, and bad storms. Workplace violence When an employee or former employee commits violence against other employees on organisational grounds. Rumours When false or misleading information is purposefully circulated about an organisation or its products in order to harm the organisation. Malevolence Challenges When some outside actor or opponent employs extreme tactics to attack the organisation, such as product tampering, kidnapping, terrorism, or computer hacking. When the organisation is confronted by discontented stakeholders with claims that it is operating in an inappropriate manner. CRISIS TYPES (2) Technical-error When the technology utilized or supplied by the organisation fails and causes an industrial accident. Technical-error product harm When the technology utilized or supplied by the organisation fails and results in a defect or potentially harmful product. Human-error product harm When human error results in a defect or potentially harmful product. Human-error accidents When human error results in an accident. Organizational misdeeds When management takes actions it knows may place stakeholders at risk or knowingly violates the law. accidents