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HUMAN RESOURCES MEDIA hrmon Iine.com.au APRIt 2015

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ACCI CEO KATE CARNELL SPEAKS OUT ' I

IHISIS? l\|O DHAl[/lABad news can damage a business internalty and externally. Atthough not on the frontline,

HR managers who understand effective media strategy can help staff deal with the fatlout.

BYSUSAN MULDOWNEY

S(/HEN N{ALAYSIAN AIRLINES FLIGHT N{H370, carrying

239 passengers and crew, went missing en route from Kuala

Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March last year, the traged,v was

compounded by the official response. As the rvorld tuned in toreports of the search for the missing plane, they were also r'vitness

to a !'ase olt how nor to manage a crists.

If a company is judged rrlore on horv it handles the bad times than

the good, a clear strateg,v for effective media engagement is essential.

In the case of Mala.vsian Airlines, the strategy appeared uncertain.

"The,v broke nearly everv rule," sa.vs Anthony lvlcClelland ofpublic relations consultanc,v AMC Media. "The-v lost credibilit,v

within 48 hours of the plane going missing. They had multrple

spokespeople often sa,ving contradictor.u- things. They handled

the key stakeholders - the relatives of the missing - atrociously. It

"YOU CAN USE SOCIAT MEDIA IO SPREAD

THE WORD BUT ALSO AS A FEEDBACK LOOP TO

INFLUENCE THE RESPONSE."

GRAEME 1{EWTON, CRISIS MAI{AGEMEl{T IEADER, DELOITTE

seemed like they had no fcrisisl plan at all."Disaster is always a hot media topic. And when a crisis hits the

rvorkplace, it can make front-page news. It could be the result

of a financial crash, computer security breach, poorly managed

redundancy or workplace fatality. rX/hile HR professionals mav not

be the conduit for media engagement during a disaster, there is great

value in understanding effective media strategies.

A proactive response is one of the first rules of crisis

communication. "You need to engage with the media," sa1's Graeme

Neu.ton, crisis management leader rvith Deloitte. "A vacuum will be

filled and ir's irnportant that someone else doesn't fi1l it. You need

to make a statement, even if it's a holding statement that says you're

gathering more information."Nervton adds that social media can be a valuable part of proactive

communication. "You can use social media to spread the word but

also as a ieedback loop to influence the response. It can be a source

to pick up sentiment, i.vhich can be used to issue statements to try topur thingt rr er5e. he say..

The 6rst 48 hours of a crisis are critical for an organisation

to communicate a response to stakeholders. "There needs to

be a process in place where quick decisions can be made," says

-\IcCIelLan. "A crisis is not a time to have lots of committee

meetings to tr)- to seek a consensus - you need a leader u'ho is

empos.ered to make decisions and take control."\{cClellan adds that the leader will generall.v become the

spokesperson for rnedia engagement. "They need to be articulate,

honest, credible and medi:r trained. There's a need to speak in

simple and digestible language. One o{ the problems I run into is

trf ing to 'de-jargon' people in a business. If I hear the expression

'going forrvard' one more time I'm going to scream."

In times of drama, honest communication is both a moral it

36 HR hrmontine.com.au

FEATURE: MEDIA STRATEGY

obligation and a business imperative. "I deal r'vith the

media in the same rva.v that I'd want to deal rvith internal

communications, and the fundamental things are to

be transparent and open," sa.vs Paul Beglel', AHRI'snational manaEJer of gor.ernment and media relations.

"It's not a court of lar,n but concealing material facts

r'vould be a ver,v negative thing to do."

"People in mv job n,ho tr1'to cover up are dorng

the opposite of u,hat the1, should do because it r'vill be

counter productive, almost certainlv," adds Begley. "Ifthe n-redia can find an angle on the cover-up, then the

cover-up becomes the stor,v."

The same level of transparencl' should be applied

to internal communications. So hou, can HR ensure

employees are kept informed u,hen a crisis hits?

"Staff, in a general sense, are the first stakeholder

group that needs to be told r'vhat's going on," says Simon

Mossman, director of communications and media

training firm lvlossman N{edia.

"Even though you might not know r'vhat a crisis

or issue looks like or rvhen it n-ray strike, there's huge

value in planning for the u,orst and horv it rvill be

communicated," sa,vs Mossman.

One u.ay to do that is to be an active consumer ofneu,s. "Even if an HR person doesn't think there's

something in the media for them to worry about, it stillpays for them to be across it."

Effective internal communication when a business

"YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE

STAFF HAVE THE INFORMATION

TO RESPOND WHEIHER IO CUSIOMERS

OR AI A BARBECUE"CHRISTII{E PARKER, WESTPAC GROUP EXECUTIVE, HRAI{D

CORPORATE ATFAIRS

crisis is making headlines can help sustain loyaltnproductivitv and even retention, sa,vs Christrne Parker,'!(estpac group execr-1tive, HR and corporate affairs.

"It's important that,vou have aligned and engaged

emplol,ees lr.ho are advocates for 1,ou. You can't just do

fthe internal communication] as a one-off.

"l don't see HR in isolation from hor.r, ).ou run,vollrbroader communications, erternal and internal."

Parker sa.vs business challenges must be

communicated to employees and follorved up rvithspecific tools. These mig;ht include question-and-answer

documents, customer information for distribution,leadership sessions to help people comrnunicate the crrsrs

to their teams and lvorksl-rops.

"You need to make sure they have the skills and

information required to respond, u,hether that's

to customers or at a bzrrbecue," sa1's Parker. Thismeans giving emplovees tl-re information they

need to confidentll,articulate the facts and the

company's position on the matter. "lt's part of the

overall integrated strategy around customer care,

multibranding and sustainabilit.u*."

McClellan says companies have a responsibility tocommunicate erternall.v and internally during a crisis.

"lfa media release is being sent out, send it to staffsothe,v knou. rvhat you're saying. The advantage rs having

a constant message. You need to tell everyone the same

thing otherrvise you create confusion." ($

MEDIATBAINING IIPSby former ABC newscasterRichard liorecroft(pictured).

HR professionats may

not be targets for media

approaches but if you're

the focus of media

attention, it pays to get your

organisation's point across

with minimatnerves.

.BE PREPARED

"Think about whatyou might be asked soquestions are not a surprise.

Prepare the most importantthings you want to say."

.BE SELF AIiIARE

"Devetop an understanding

ofyour body language.

These are etements ofourprofessionaI tootkit thatneed to be improved, lust[ike a golf swing. lt takes

practice. People can lookat themsetves on video and

get constructive feedback."

.DISCOVERYOURVOICE

"We atl have a wide range

of naturalvoices. We need

to access the appropriate

voice forthe rightcircumstance. Bring a suite

of communication skilts toan interview."

Richard Morecroft is

the MCatthisyeafsAHRlNationaI Convention .

HR hrmontine.com.au

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