Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Porn problem creates crisis for video-sharing app

Twitter is pushing hard for its new Vine video-sharing app to become an integral part of the way people use its service, but in the midst of the hype it’s already experienced a significant setback.

Apple, which has an extremely close working relationship with the Big T, was initially happy to feature the app, which lets users share six-second video clips, in the popularity-boosting “Editor’s Choice” section of its App Store, but just this morning Vine was unceremoniously dropped from that list. The reason?

Well, an awful lot of people like to share porn on the Internet, and when you hand out an app that lets users record and post video anonymously, guess what they’re doing to do with it? While the tag #NSFW was already quite popular on Vine, the final straw came when someone at Vine accidentally set a pornographic video to “featured” this morning, displaying it in the feeds of all users. Shortly after, the app disappeared from the “Editor’s Choice” section, although it remains in the App Store.

Similar programs, including photo-sharing app 500px and video app Viddy, have been axed from the App Store entirely because of their pornographic potential, which is against Apple’s dev guidelines, specifically the section stating apps “that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic” are not allowed in the Store.

Now Twitter and Apple are in a difficult position. Does Apple risk damaging its strong relationship with Twitter by removing Vine from the app store (assuming there are no pre-existing agreements between the two regarding the app, and we’ll freely admit that is a HUGE assumption) or does it lose face and credibility with other developers by allowing Vine to remain when it’s dropped others that provided virtually the same service?

Already Vine has taken one step to keep its spot, blocking the hashtag #porn from being used, but as we all know the denizens of the ‘net are far too clever to make that an obstacle for long.

New details in the story are still emerging as we publish this post, but we’re looking forward to watching the crisis management moves these two giants of the modern tech world make over the coming days.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Legal actions against an entirely different company create crisis management scenario for vendor

You don’t always have to do something wrong to land in crisis, just ask nutrition supplement vendor Herbalife, whose shares dropped a worrying 11% as a result of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s actions against a completely different organization.

Here’s the story, from a Financial Times article by Dan McCrum:

Shares in Herbalife began falling during the morning when investors learnt the Federal Trade Commission was to hold a news conference later in the day to reveal action against a pyramid scheme which at that stage it did not name. They rebounded when it emerged that the commission was targeting Fortune High Tech Marketing, a Kentucky direct seller which is unconnected with Herbalife. Later shares began to fall again.

Herbalife does operate by selling to a network of individuals who then re-sell product to friends, relatives, etc., which makes it easily associated with pyramid schemes, and in fact the company has some vocal detractors who claim that’s exactly what it is.

This is a great example of a known risk. Much as companies that drill for oil can expect to face troubles related to spills, or doctors can anticipate the possibility of a malpractice suit, Herbalife should be well-prepared to cope with the possibility of being confused for, or even prosecuted as, a pyramid scheme.

Known risks are actually some of the easiest to prepare for in terms of crisis management. You often have the luxury of examining similar situations in the past, and can evaluate what worked and what didn’t for others. Of course, many known risks have potentially volatile outcomes, and as such the stakes are high, so take your advantage and work it!

Put the most solid plans possible into place, practice them thoroughly, and you can leave your mind free to focus on business at hand knowing you’ve done all you can to prepare for the possibility of trouble.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Vulnerability audits key to finding the right direction with crisis management planning

So, you’ve seen one nasty case study too many and you’re finally ready to get proactive with your crisis management.

You’ve got pen and paper (well, probably more like laptop or tablet) in hand and are ready to crank out that awesome, airtight crisis management plan, but wait, how exactly do you make it as awesome and airtight as possible?

It all starts with a vulnerability audit. Here, in a quote from Employee Business News, Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein explains how you get started:

Conduct a vulnerability audit

Look objectively at all the things within the entire organization that might make it more vulnerable to a crisis in general or to a specific crisis, advises Bernstein. Look for red flags in every functional area because a crisis can occur anywhere. A vulnerability audit could, for example, uncover that a website is unable to handle a sudden surge in traffic that typically accompanies a crisis.

From where the cleaning crew leaves their soap buckets to security procedures for transferring proprietary data, you’ll find vulnerabilities in many more places than you might expect.

Typically we ask organizations to make their own list before we arrive, and while a thoughtful organization may have noted 10-15 vulnerabilities, they are always shocked when we find pages worth of trouble waiting to happen.

You can’t prevent every single crisis, but you can greatly reduce the chances of encountering one, as well as the impact of any you don’t avoid. Start your planning off with a vulnerability audit and you’ll be headed in the right direction.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

New strain of virus ups importance of specific crisis prevention planning

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that a new strain of the disease norovirus, known for causing “nausea, forceful vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain” has crossed over to the U.S. from Australia.

According to the CDC, the new strain of norovirus accounted for 58% of reported cases of the virus last month. Frequently called “stomach flu” or confused with food poisoning, norovirus is a nasty disease that frequently takes those affected out of commission for one to three days and, as with most diseases, is particularly hard on children and the elderly.

CDC stats show 1 in 15 Americans will catch some type of norovirus each year, and the virus causes over 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths per year in the U.S. alone.

Norovirus presents the most significant risk to organizations such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, daycare centers, schools, hotels and cruise ships because it spreads so quickly from person to person. What can you do to protect your business, employees and customers?

Spot the symptoms

Norovirus has many of the same symptoms as the flu, another virus that is commonly ignored until half the workplace is out sick and you’re working with a skeleton crew. Teach employees how to recognize symptoms early, and that it’s better to stay home than risk infecting the rest of the workplace. It costs very little to put things like remote-office programs in place to help minimize any lost productivity.

The CDC’s Norovirus homepage has plenty of helpful information to share as well.

Stop the spread

Remind employees that it’s critical to not only the health of customers or clients, but also their own, that they religiously follow proper procedure regarding regular hand washing, cleaning of produce, cooking of meat, and the disinfecting and washing of any even potentially contaminated surfaces, including laundry.

You can’t count on your employees to be diligent about this on their own either, if it takes instituting log books or random inspections then don’t hesitate to do so. There may be some grumbling, but it won’t be as loud as the one coming from their stomachs if they catch a case of norovirus!

Be prepared to talk

If, despite your best efforts, a norovirus infection sweeps your office, ship, school, etc, people are going to want answers. Be prepared to explain not only exactly what happened – from how the virus got a foothold to how many people were infected or hospitalized – but also what you were doing to prevent the situation in advance and what your plans are to minimize its changes of happening in the future.

The real danger for your organization in this type of crisis is in the chance of appearing incompetent, uncaring or unprepared – all pitfalls that are easily avoided. If you put real time and effort into planning, train everyone to handle their roles properly and remember to sprinkle a heavy dose of compassion through your communications with stakeholders and statements to the media, then you will be well equipped to weather a norovirus crisis.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Lack of training and compassion shows in airline’s weak crisis management

When Dave Schneider was asked by Delta to check his baggage, including a $10,000 Gibson ES-335 guitar, he went along with it because, well, how else is a traveling musician supposed to get around?

Upon arriving at his destination, Schneider was devastated to see his guitar severely damaged, and even more upset when Delta personnel offered him a measly $1,000 for repairs. While Delta officials hemmed and hawed about handing over a proper settlement, Gibson guitars swooped in to boost its own reputation on the back of Delta’s failure. Here’s a quote, from a Ragan.com article by Matt Wilson:

Gibson guitars, on the other hand, scored a PR coup by inserting itself into the story. Though it had nothing to do with the incident, it stepped in and offered repairs on the old guitar as well as a brand new one.

 

“Gibson reaching out to me, that’s the cherry on top of the best musical nightmare ever,” Schneider told Yahoo news.

Delta’s failure to react properly is even more jarring in light of the fact that another major airline had a recent, and extremely public, experience with the same issue. In this quote, from the same Ragan article, Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein explains:

Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management says airlines ought to be acutely aware of problems that could arise from damaging musical instruments after musician Dave Carroll’s song “United Breaks Guitars” went viral in 2009. The YouTube video for that song is approaching 13 million views.

 

“All airlines should know how to respond quickly and compassionately to such an incident,” he says. “But apparently Delta didn’t.”

After weeks of back and forth Delta did cough up for the guitar and offered Schneider two free passes, but how eager is he to hop back on a flight with the company that just gifted him with a month-long headache?

Learning from the mistakes of others in your field is perhaps THE premiere way to bolster your own crisis management ability with no negative consequences. Immediately after the United incident in 2009 all major airlines should have been installing flexible policies and training front-line employees to cope with damage done to high-dollar items that are damaged in-flight. By failing to do so, Delta comes off as uncaring and irresponsible, not traits that we’d like in any organization tasked with carrying us 30,000 feet in the air.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Dangerous glitches create nasty crisis management scenario for plane manufacturer

Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 has been billed as the marquee aircraft for passenger lines the world over, but a recent string of scary electrical errors has led authorities in many countries, including Europe, Japan and India, along with our FAA, to ground the planes.

Crisis communications at work

To its credit, Boeing’s crisis management has been strong thus far. In a statement, CEO Jim McNerney expressed his intention to be a part of solving the problems alongside the FAA:

“Boeing is committed to supporting the FAA and finding answers as quickly as possible. The company is working around the clock with its customers and the various regulatory and investigative authorities. We will make available the entire resources of The Boeing Company to assist.”

McNerney also reiterated his faith in the Dreamliner, and offered assurances regarding the craft’s return to service:

“We are confident the 787 is safe and we stand behind its overall integrity. We will be taking every necessary step in the coming days to assure our customers and the traveling public of the 787’s safety and to return the airplanes to service.”

He even included a frequently overlooked aspect of crisis communications in his statement – a dose of compassion for the affected airlines and their passengers:

“Boeing deeply regrets the impact that recent events have had on the operating schedules of our customers and the inconvenience to them and their passengers.”

Others in the company are speaking out in support as well. Chief engineer Mike Sinnett told reporters that he flies on Dreamliners all the time, and is 100% confident the plane is safe.

As far as communications, Boeing is doing well. However, despite claims that they will stand behind the company, its customer base may already be shrinking. Only 24 hours after stating it would not change its existing order of 15 Dreamliners, Qantas airlines has dropped its order down to 14. Not yet an extremely worrying issue on its own, but Boeing execs have to be praying that this isn’t the crack in the dam.

The weeks ahead

There will be endless questions asked of Boeing over the course of the FAA investigation, estimated to take several weeks at best. In order to avoid the introduction of damaging rumor and innuendo the company will have to maintain a strong presence, sharing as much information as possible with its anxious customers, the traveling public and the media that serves them both.

Stock up on coffee and call in the reinforcements, Boeing PR, the next month could be rough.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Trading emergency supplies for Facebook likes leaves online store’s reputation battered

We’ve seen many examples of organizations reaching out to help those affected by natural disasters via social media. After all, it’s a win-win situation – people get some assistance or much-needed donations and the organizations who lend a hand grab some great positive publicity that helps boost their reputations.

The Tasmanian brush fires that left many people homeless earlier this month looked to be another such opportunity, but instead of acting as good Samaritans, the folks at Australian shopping site SellitOnline.com.au decided to make their offer dependent on how many Facebook “Likes” they could gather.

Here’s the message that was posted on SellitOnline’s Facebook page:

“What we need you do do is get everyone of your friends to join sellitonline Facebook page and the more people we get will determine how many generators we donate.”

Really? People’s homes have burned to the ground, thousands of residents are stranded and you will only donate generators if you get enough Likes?! Callous, uncaring, and a few less printable words immediately come to mind, and it took just minutes for Facebook users to start ripping into SellitOnline and the post was wiped from the Facebook page shortly after.

Aussie media news site Mumbrella sought comment from a SellitOnline spokesperson about the incident, and instead of taking the opportunity to recoup a little reputation with a proper apology they simply stated:

“We apologise if anyone was offended. We will be making a donation anyway.”

Saying that you’re sorry if people were offended is not at all the same thing as saying that you’re sorry for BEING offensive. Even in the wake of a public outpouring of anger towards its actions, SellitOnline continued to behave in an uncaring and insincere manner.

Assuming SellitOnline wishes to stay in business, the company badly needs some lessons in social media, crisis management, and something else that is too easily forgotten in the business world – compassion for fellow human beings. The site may survive this mistake, although its reputation has been battered and beaten, but another slip-up of this magnitude could send shoppers away for good.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Impact of flu bigger than most realize

Flu season is upon us, and it’s an ugly one this year. According to the latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7.3% of U.S. deaths last week were a result of the flu, slightly above the official epidemic threshold.

What does this mean to your organization? You’ve probably already noticed an increased number of call outs, and you can definitely expect to see more. In fact, according to Flu.gov’s Business Planning page:

Each flu season, nearly 111 million workdays are lost due to the flu. That equals approximately $7 billion per year in sick days and lost productivity. Through education and planning, you can help protect your employees from the seasonal flu.

With this flu season already shaping up to be more dangerous than most, what can you do to protect your employees and customers while keeping your organization afloat?

Inform: We’ve already blogged about the CDC’s excellent information-centric approach to crisis management, and the educational resources gathered at that organization’s flu page is a virtual treasure trove for anyone looking to protect their workforce from disease.

Prepare: Flu season comes around the same time every year, and if you wait until your office is half empty you’re going to have a bad time of it. Prepare remote access (easier than ever thanks to broadband connections) where possible and plan ahead to have reinforcements in case you need them. Don’t expect to be able to pull a load of temps from an agency at the last minute either, talk to a few services beforehand and you can have them essentially “on call” when your office is hit with a wave of the flu.

Internal issues aren’t your only concern, however. Your suppliers or contractors are likely to be experiencing flu-related interruptions of their own, and there’s no guarantee that they will be able to keep up their responsibilities 100%. Just as with the temps, speak with a few alternate sources early and set up a “just in case” plan with them.

Don’t forget the customers: Whether your serve the public or offer B2B services, your customer’s needs are liable to change during flu season. You might experience a surge in home delivery requests, or perhaps a sudden rise in the number of phone calls and emails your customer service department has to handle as people avoid leaving the house. You know your customers, and you should be able to sit down and brainstorm as to what their wants and needs will be. Of course, if you haven’t already been tracking data for trends throughout the year, now would be a great time to start. The better you’re able to meet the needs of your customers, the more positive reputation you’ll grab, not to mention the return business.

The flu is the perfect example of a crisis that you simply can’t prevent. Think ahead, plan ahead, and follow through. Leave enough flexibility to roll with whatever punches may come your way, but if you truly put time and effort into covering all your bases, you should make it through the season unscathed.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Editor’s note: The following case study was submitted to us by Crisis Manager reader Antoni lee, managing director of Australian communications firm Rhetorica. As Mr. Lee told us, “While the incidents themselves may now seem minor to some, the reputation and business damage is ongoing and significant.”

Orica Takes Medicine the Hard Way:A Case Study in Poor Crisis Communication Management

Plant Discharges Cancer-Causing Chemical, Fails To Warn Public

At 6.30PM on August 8 2011, a loud bang came from Orica’s ammonia plant at Kooragang Island (NSW). Over the road, Karl Hitchcock’s kitchen shook.

One of Mr Hitchcock’s contractor buddies ran in saying, “Don’t go outside. It’s raining acid.”

The next day, Mr Hitchcock noticed yellow spotting on parts of the boat parked in his front yard, and when he went over the road to work, he found a green film covering some of the plant equipment.

A kilogram of chromium-six had sprayed into the atmosphere, with some 60 grams of it falling locally onto the surrounding suburb of Stockton.

Neither the company nor the state government communicated with local residents until three days after the leak.

Panic and Speculation Fills the Information Vacuum

In the absence of official information, locals and the media were left to speculate — and to “freak out.”

In their distress, people naturally wondered: What had gone wrong? Had there been a leak? Was it toxic? Had it been contained? Was it safe to go outside…to work…to school? And frustratingly, Why hadn’t authorities or the company given locals any information about what was going on?

Immediate and intense media scrutiny filled the information vacuum. The narrative inevitably became about the evil chemical corporation versus “victims” in the local community.

NGO representatives and self-proclaimed experts readily fed hungry media stories about company practices, its history of breaches, chemical dangers, safety oversights and failures — and the need for better, stronger regulation.

Among the reports were claims that Orica had also leaked arsenic, ammonium nitrate, sulphuric acid and mercury vapour in a series of breaches at plants across the state.

The Wash-up is Never Clean or Easy

Google readily locates the harmful effects of chromium-six: skin allergies, nasal septum perforation, lung cancer, asthma symptoms, thick rashes, scarring and crusty skin sores.

Thankfully, no-one (that we know of) was physically harmed as a result of the Kooragang Island accidents. What did happen? While Orica survived and is performing strongly in several areas, it has suffered financially and its reputation is damaged:

1. Local resident pressure and global media coverage embarrassed and forced the State’s newly elected Premier, Barry O’Farrell, to apologise to the public and to commit to an overhaul of state environmental law.
2. Initial Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Department of Health reports damned the company.
3. In the face of publicly perceived arrogance and incompetence, Orica shut its Kooragang Island plant for several months. The Premier threatened the company with loss of license to operate.
4. The short term hit to company revenue was $90 million.
5. In the wake of heavy criticism, Orica’s Australian chief, Graeme Liebelt, left the company six months earlier than planned.
6. A subsequent NSW upper house committee enquiry strongly criticised the Minister for Environment, Robyn Parker, as well as Orica, for the “unacceptable delay” in notifying the public and for causing “unnecessary community distress”.
7. The company was fined some $9 million.
8. Class legal action is pending.
9. Orica is spending (at least) tens of thousands of dollars trying to heal the lack of trust it now has with local communities.
10. Resulting legislative changes require companies to report faster and impose heavier fines for breaches. The EPA has more power.

The Hard Lessons Everyone Already Knows

After a crisis, everyone has an opinion about what beleaguered companies did wrong and what they ought to have done. Judgments always cover not only the crisis incident, but how the company responded (or not).

Karl Hitchcock again: “People eat their vegetables out of their gardens. And this stuff would have went all over them. I think they handled it very poorly. The communication is what really got me.”

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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by Antoni Lee, Managing Director, Rhetorica

Don’t ignore this valuable “human resource”

We frequently speak about the importance of your crisis management team working in close connection with other departments for a reason – it works. While crisis management covers a broad spectrum of responsibilities and is often managed by outside contractors, those in specific departments have not only focused their expertise, but also are intimately familiar with how to get things done within their organization.

It’s common to discuss tools to help you in handling external issues in crisis, but for the internal issues that inevitable arise look no further than the HR department for a pool of assistance. Here, a quote from a KBPJ.com artible by Dan Weedin explains exactly why:

• When a crisis occurs, there is instantly fear and uncertainty. The human resources expert(s) in your business should be a calming and reassuring influence. Even if the honest answer to many questions is “I don’t know,” at least there is a communications leader within the organization. Many times, the boss is busy putting out the fire. Someone needs to be available for the employees.
  

 

• If the emergency results in notifying family members, the HR department is the best “voice.” Because they are not dealing with the crisis directly, they can be a much more capable sounding board and empathetic communicator.
  

 

• Human Resources knows the laws and regulations that could come into play with shutdowns, terminations, re-assignments, and other employee-related moves.
  

 

• The Human Resources director has a direct line to the morale of the employees during and after the crisis. Most crises don’t just end quickly. The lingering effects can include uncertainty, fear, drama, lack of production, anger and depression. As the boss, you may be in the middle of dealing with your own feelings, stress, and responsibility, and need someone to be a leader for your team.

An inside source that knows the lay of the land and has files on all of the human resources you have at your disposal sounds like a key crisis management component to us.

How can you best prepare your HR department to handle its role when it comes to a crisis? Pretty much the same way you would any other group: assign crisis roles, create crisis plans that address the potential issues, as well as a few meant to blanket large areas of unpredictable ones, and then practice, practice, practice. If you have an in-house crisis management team, all the better! Set up a nice lunch and have everyone get chummy, then bring them back and get to work on those plans.

If you don’t, then (and you’d better believe we’re speaking from experience here) your contractors will be pleasantly surprised to hear they have a trained and prepared HR team ready to assist when they hit the scene, and that assistance will make it that much easier for them to jump into the situation and get to work.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]