The picture above is the view from the conference room where my two-day PR workshop is today. The material has been quite interesting, to say the least. I have been thinking a lot about how my previous employer has handled crises from a public relations perspective. They have do so poorly to state it mildly.
Basically, their approach was reactive rather than pro-active. They wait for a crisis to happen (such as a racist or homophobic incident), and then immediately set about to muffle the situation so that it does not reach the outside world. The head of PR believes that the job involves pumping out press release after meaningless press release. Anything controversial is avoided in the effort to maintain a false positive image of the organisation.
What they fail to realise is that effective PR does not equal positive information. Effective PR involves being honest about the situation and opening up a dialogue with both the institution’s community and those that the community tries to reach.
This institution’s attempts to open dialogue are abysmal at best. I attended one meeting a few years ago in which the leader quoted religious scripture about why he believed a certain way. I guess that is that.
It is little wonder that this institution has such an unhealthy environment and the problems that it does. I have a lot to learn about communications measurement as I navigate this new experience of going into the industry again down here, but here are some possible solutions based on what I have learned so far:
–Don’t *tell* your audience what the institution believes and supports. Instead, when a crisis happens, hire a professional PR consultant or crisis manager (NOT your PR person who knows almost nothing about the field other than writing press releases).
–In consultation with your professional team, decide on how you will learn more about what happened and why. Hold focus groups with a broad swath of your community (and not just people in charge) to get a sense of what happened and why.
–At the same time, develop an action plan to understand what outsiders people about your organisation and why. Take the information back to the community and have an open meeting in which results are shared with the entire community. Discuss why people believe as they do and discuss possible ways to address their perceptions.
–As an organisation, discuss how the organisation’s failure to keep in step with the times and current controversies around issues may be addressed. Rather than saying “this is what we believe,” discuss how we can begin to reflect on how we can change. If we are not willing to change, then you need to accept that these problems/incidents will continue to happen.
–Don’t try to minimise or ignore crises as they go into the outside community. Rather, this institution must develop a pro-active action plan that steps ahead of crises. Don’t be reactive, but pro-active. To this end, in consultation with your professionals, discuss how you will engage with the media and community in more positive ways.
–Take the lead on developing discussion about issues. For example, this institution could host a conference that addresses changing beliefs about homosexuality in religious traditions. Put together and host a conference on racism in types of institutions. Develop action plans out of both of these options about how you and others can deal with these situations.
–Don’t forget about your own experts. You have a department filled with experts on the academic research. You may not have an actual PR person who is highly trained in the research, but you have rhetoricians, those who study organisational culture/behaviour, experts on advertising, media analyses experts, experts on research methodology. You need to be consulting all of these people.
When I reflect on these possible solutions, which by the way come from the top of my head, it demonstrates how poorly this institution has performed in dealing with incidents and issues. It’s no wonder that it cannot retain some of its most talented young workers.
The great news is that this place can be a catalyst for change and a role model for others. Wouldn’t be it great if this institution could stand as an example of how to turn-around a negative situation? People are leaving organised religion in droves, and it’s little wonder why.
As one person mentioned in our seminar this week, the ship has already sailed. Institutions like this one can either jump on, or be seen as hopelessly out of touch and ignorant.
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