From a few years ago, but the principles still apply

It is our responsibility as public relations practitioners to anticipate crises, and to recommend actions to prevent them from happening, or minimize their impact.

This came home to me last night and this morning riding on the Toronto subway. The idiots who manage the system have failed to install public address systems that are not garbled, do not echo and scratch and scramble messages.

Last night part of the system was shut down at one station I was at, with no trains carrying off passengers on the platform, but more trains arriving with new trains arriving and disgorging passengers. This meant huge crowds at the top of escalators, blocking the flow of people being carried by motors into space already filled by humans. Yet no one had the brains to put into place some sort of elevator shut off when platforms get full. My elbows and some rude words cleared space for the trainload of people coming up on the escalator I was on, but I have no idea what happened when another trainload arrived. I just left the subway and red the paper and drank coffee until the trains became running hours later.

This morning the train I was on stopped at the Ossington station, but the doors did not open for a while. The fifteen second pause seemed like forever in a week where we are all thinking the worst thoughts, yet neither the driver nor the conductor knew enough to reassure the passengers, using the mediocre public address system.

Go look around your company? What needs to be changed, adjusted, fixed if suddenly your office had to be evacuated? Does your PA system work? Who knows how to turn it on, anyway? 

A collection of earlier articles is below

Think about saying rash things in a crisis. Looking back a month, how many of the statements by world leaders have they backpedaled on, and how many are they following through with just because they want to save face? Federal staff checking luggage? Curbside baggage? War on all terrorists (Any Yanks in Ireland? Well, no, not exactly....) 

Anyway, leaving politics aside and forgetting your nationalities, just think about speaking too quickly. There may be lessons there for you.

New on Saturday, September 29

Several things to think about over the weekend...

WHAT HAVE YOUR EXECUTIVES SAID?
As the impact of September 11 spreads around the world, have you gathered together the important comments made to your stakeholders by your various executives? Communication designed to build confidence and to prompt people to take actions to the benefit of your organization have never been more important, yet I'm funding empty platitudes more common than messages that prompt positive actions. 

In your organization, can you make a list at whichever of these levels fits within your structure? 

CEO to executive management
Board to CEO
CEO to Board
Division general manager to plant managers
Marketing and Sales vice-president to sales reps
Executives as appropriate to biggest customers and prospects. It could be as simple as a letter or a fax explaining how you were coping with increased inspections of your trucks and drivers; how you were adding security to your shipping and receiving areas.

Who has gathered together your production employees? Have you clearly posted the new travel rules and regulations for your organization? Has the boss actually flown to your various locations, in order to show there's no need to be frightened? (there isn't, you know?) 

If you're an American organization, what have you told your off-shore employees, customers and suppliers? I'm of the belief that many companies have not even thought of communicating with foreigners.

If you are not American, have you communicated with your agents, representatives, customerrs, etc. in the United States?

And have you gathered all the comments into one document, and circulated it as sort of a "state of the organization": message?

For some serious insights on crisis communications, go to www.towhey.com , the web site of my friend Mark Towhey. 

Here's what I offered National Post
A columnist from National Post called today, asking what I'd advise executives in the airline and travel sector. Here's what I sent to him.

If I was working in the travel industry today (I used to be responsible for the Jamaica Tourist Board public relations in Canada, but that was several decades ago), here are several of the communications concepts I would at least put up for discussion with senior management at airlines, tour companies, destination tourist and convention boards, and similar organizations.

 

Assuming governments make it harder to travel by making security more complicated -- I'm not sure the plans I've heard actually would have prevented Tuesday's events -- I'd put non-fearful but explanatory information in ads, about time needed at airports, how to pack, what is allowed in carry-on bags, etc. There are two points to these ads. It speeds up the lines if everyone knows the rules, but more importantly, it tells the readers/travelers that the airline or other advertiser is on top of security, and knows what it is doing.

 

But make sure the ads do not sound fearful. No "For Your Safety!" headlines.

 

The airlines and airports do need to rethink how lines are managed, and how speed up clearance. Color-coded boarding pass envelopes, staff monitoring lines to make sure people waiting for a plane that leaves in half an hour are not stuck behind people waiting for planes leaving in two hours, and simply adding more staff, albeit at a price that harms shareholders and passengers alike, are necessities.

 

Check-in clerks, line-monitors, and other airline staff interacting with passengers need to look and act professionally. If they are going to be required to ask silly and unnecessary questions, along with a few goods ones like "has your luggage been unattended since you arrived at the airport" they need to look at passengers, not at their computer screens.

 

Managers need to start managing. When I met my daughter on her return from singing in Europe last summer, the idiots at the airport couldn't even put up late flight information properly. Management this bad needs to be fired if travelers are going to have any confidence in travel in any form.

 

The actual airport security personnel probably need to be largely replaced. In my experience, and there may be lots of exceptions that I haven't met, I think I'm getting my safety looked after by an indifferent minimum wage school drop-out who is bored and inattentive. Revamping work schedules, rotations, testing, language proficiency standards and overall sprucing up of the security people would go a long way to building confidence.

 

Overall, there's one strategy and two tactics I'd be pushing.

 

The strategy is to not to give in to the terrorists. Don't punish travelers by making them guilty until they prove their innocence, don't make their trips miserable, and always appear confident that all will be safe.

 

And the first tactic is to apply the human and physical resources to speed up any terrorist-inspired slowdowns, so the end result is travelers move as quickly and easily as they do now. OR even more quickly. If they don't, we'll all be driving, not flying, on trips under about 600 - 700 kilometres.

 

The second tactic is to rework advertising, sales promotion and public relations materials to reflect the huge magnitude of safe travel. Words like " 50,000 guests a week -- enjoying the delights of IslaTranquilla" go a long way toward helping the nervous put things into perspective.