Managing Issues Wins the Day
By Melissa Hodgson
In public relations, we like to manage the message and keep it positive. It’s a reason we prefer issues management to crisis planning. If we are proactive, connecting with audiences appropriately, we manage issues before crises ever form. That said, the unexpected can and does happen. When issues need containment or mitigation, solid crisis communication strategy is key.
The timeframe may be short, but the research still must be done, the plan laid, executed and evaluated for improvement next time. There is always a next time, even for the tightest-run ships and the most scrupulous organizations.
Business leaders must ask the difficult questions about what could go wrong. Natural, manmade, accidental, incidental, malicious and far-fetched possibilities should be brainstormed and vetted. The more prepared an organization is for “what if,” the more control its leaders exert over issues as they arise.
Natural crises are generally weather-related. Hurricanes are our most obvious here in south Louisiana, so it’s rare to find a local business without crisis plans for hurricanes. While those plans may not feel like an issues management handbook, they can be a model for how we approach manmade, accidental, incidental and far-fetched communication challenges.
The key to successful hurricane response is to prepare before the plan is needed. In issues management, we proactively work to develop trust, respect and affinity with our target audiences. Organizations that consistently deliver on the promises made in their mission statements and ad campaigns gain valuable trust with their audiences.
Consider these four steps when formulating your own issues management plans.
1. Determine the different communication needs, expectations and capacities for each audience.
Internal audiences are your brand ambassadors to all other audiences. Think about your employees, board members, contract vendors or other “family.” Envision for each audience how word-of-mouth interactions by these groups have granular effect on your broader external audiences. These internal audiences are seen by their family, friends and circles of influence as an inside track on your company. What they think of you in good times will help to sustain their trust in you when issues arise, and it will empower them to advocate for you when challenged.
2. Establish meaningful relationships with stakeholders.
External audiences that don’t have an established relationship with you see negative media coverage and take it at face value. They don’t have the existing emotional investment that would enable them to question the negative messaging. Proactively engaging your audience on a relationship level builds the bond that will extend you that courtesy. Your loyal audience sees the negativity and thinks of your established brand trust. That buys you enough time to explain what has been misunderstood or to deeply, sincerely apologize for wrongdoing and explain corrective action plans.
A restaurant accused of unsanitary conditions can debunk the story by sharing their facility and food, but how do you get people to come take a look? You need the public to have already established respect, trust and affinity for your restaurant before the accusations fly. If you’re the place they go for happy hour, parents’ night out, anniversaries or just regular family dinner you’ve earned the opportunity to explain yourself and be heard.
An ER accused of out-of-network billing can defuse misunderstandings, adjust bills and solve disputes downstream. But how many patients will hesitate to come next time? Being a consistent source of high-quality, affordable healthcare at the convenience of patients on a daily basis buys the hospital trust, respect and affinity before accusations arise. That enables time to resolve errors or adjustments without damaging the trust relationship with the patient.
A nursing home accused of neglect can invite families to come onsite, tour the facility and see their loved one in their daily environment. But the job is so much easier if that family already has trust that their loved one is well cared for, respect for the care decisions the team is making and true affinity for the individual caregivers and facility.
3. Craft messages that resonate.
In issues management, as in all strategic communication, we need to ensure our messaging resonates with each audience. What we have to say will vary based on the specific circumstances of the issue and each type of audience.
We use overarching, general communication strategy to build, nurture and grow the bond of trust we have with our audiences. How we address issues can erode that bond or strengthen it. We have to craft our messages to reinforce our relationship and to be truthful, even when it is uncomfortable, embarrassing or difficult.
Our behavior in the midst of issues management needs to be candid and frequent. Correct approaches include candor, empathy, openness (within legal or regulatory limitations) and contrition where it is honestly called for. We need to provide information in advance, and we need to speak in the plain language of a neighbor or family member.
Unlike routine campaigns, where the objectives are to grow or expand our reach, issues management requires objectives that maintain our reputation. Our objectives center on establishing our side without coming across as defensive, maintaining our credibility and (ideally) reducing prurient interest.
4. Evaluate the opportunity and adopt key learnings.
Learning from a crisis situation strengthens our ongoing issues management going forward. Evaluate every issue management experience to better plan and react to future instances. Much as we do with hurricane preparedness, we learn by doing. Along the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Katrina formed so much of what businesses already knew when Ida hit. Ida’s challenges are now shaping hurricane plans for this summer’s next inevitable storm.
In the same way, issues management is an ongoing experience, improved and expanded with each incident.