Transcript
[00:00:09.150] - Imogen
Hello and welcome to Dear Comms, the podcast where we tackle your biggest corporate comms challenges. My name's Imogen and I'm Amanda.
[00:00:18.200] - Amanda
Together, we're going to give you some practical advice so that you can focus on the things that will really drive influence, engagement, and impact.
[00:00:26.780] - Imogen
Now, today's question, Amanda, is something I think everybody is going to empathize with. I'm always the last to know in a crisis. More often than not, I'm expected to come in and clean up the mess. How do I make sure I'm a core member of the crisis team? We know, we see how frustrating it is to always be the last to know. Amanda and I, and I think probably everyone listening, knows how frustrating it is to always be the last to know, to feel like you can add value, to feel like you can help and support your team, but you're just never part of that bigger plan. You're never there in the room when decisions are being made. And you're not alone. A state of the sector report said that 51% of communicators are consulted about change after it's been decided, and then, of course, tasked with creating a strategy or plan to communicate it, or more likely to clean up the mess after that change. We know that communications can add value, can solve problems, can act as counsel, guide, guardian, but it's very difficult to do that and to add value when you're not part of discussions to start with.
[00:01:44.490] - Amanda
Yeah, at the heart of this is not being part of the strategic decision-making. If you're not, then it's hard for communications to play catch-up. And look, we're dealing with reputation management. You should be a part of that overall crisis strategy. Maybe you've got a visibility problem. Is communications seen as reactive? A send stuff out department? You know, unlikely you'll be invited to early crisis discussions if you're always seen as reactive. Is it something about the way the company works? Do your leaders generally make decisions in a top-down way, a very formal way? Are they siloed? How often Does communications get into those senior leadership team meetings? And I ask that question genuinely. Sometimes there's still not a communication seat at that leadership table. Any, any of these might mean that information gets blocked at the top and not gets where it needs to get to. The other thing here, and let's be honest, is, is your personal reputation. Do you have the right relationships with the right people? Likely or not, some element of politics is going to play a part here. Clear, and do leadership really understand the value that you can offer?
[00:03:03.130] - Imogen
I think that idea of value is, is a really important one. And as communicators, we tend to be pretty rubbish at communicating about ourselves and the value that we can bring organizations. And I wonder whether it's because we concentrate on evidence and facts and figures that are valuable to us as communicators and not necessarily valuable to leaders and what they're looking for.
[00:03:29.480] - Amanda
You're talking about the language of the CFO, aren't you?
[00:03:33.560] - Imogen
I am. Very much like we always say things like presentations that work in the boardroom are not going to work with our employee base, it also works the other way around. Language and facts and figures that work for us as communicators aren't necessarily going to translate up to the leadership team. So, we need to Think about the language they speak, think about the things that they care about, and then highlight how comms can help shape those outcomes. So that's about protecting the reputation of the company. That's about, probably more importantly for your leadership, protecting the reputation of its people as well. So you need to come up with those facts, those figures, that show that you can make a difference. If we're not pushing the role that comms has in a crisis forward, if we are not making that case, then there is no one else who is going to do it for us.
[00:04:34.890] - Amanda
Yeah, you know, in crisis, two parts: the actions that you take and the communications you make to interested stakeholders. And both have to be aligned.
[00:04:44.540] - Imogen
Absolutely. And I think if you can make the case where comms has made a real difference in a crisis before and you are making a case that links to something the leadership cares about, then you're going to be much more likely to be called in at the right time. So, think about case studies or even do an analysis of a recent crisis. You know, what's happened? What could have happened differently? How could have comms mitigated or made a situation better?
[00:05:17.170] - Amanda
Yeah, and you know, what about If this was to happen to us, how would we have handled it? And then scenario plan what the actions would be.
[00:05:27.910] - Imogen
Yeah, sometimes you need to play the game, don't you, Amanda?
[00:05:31.530] - Amanda
Well, we don't like saying it, but you have to build relationships with your key decision makers in peacetime. There's no point in trying to push the door open if they don't understand the value that you can bring. You know, when the battle starts, you want to be part of the team, you want to be there in the room. So, when, you know, issues, risks are being discussed within an organization, because very rarely these days do things go bang and then suddenly you're in crisis mode, things generally brew, or somebody knows something within an organization, make sure that you're on the invite list where, where those issues are being talked about.
[00:06:10.930] - Imogen
I think it's about embedding yourself in the planning process, isn't it? It's making sure that you're seen as that wise counsel, that trusted advisor from the very start, and not just part of the cleanup crew for when it all goes wrong.
[00:06:25.680] - Amanda
Yeah, I hate to say it, but we could learn something from the lawyers here a little bit. And that's really kind of a bit weird for me to say, because you can see with some crisis where more lawyers have been involved than comms people. But they offer up advice, and if you do X, this is likely to be Y as an outcome. And I think we can learn from that, really, in terms of putting forward options and approaches.
[00:06:51.950] - Imogen
I think that's right. We often see in the news the things when they go really wrong, because that's what sells newspapers. And we rarely see it when it goes really right. And when it's clear that comms have been in the room, when it's clear that comms have offered up recommendations, suggestions, mitigation plans. Marriott is a really good example of how comms and business and strategy can work hand in hand. When COVID hit, the CEO was very vocal externally and internally that the company was going to focus on people over profit. So they really leaned into their values as an organization. The CEO waived his salary for the year. The leadership team took 50% pay cuts, all to reduce the number of layoffs that they would have to make as an organization. They also then gave around $10 million worth of free hotel rooms to first responders, so your nurses, your doctors, your firefighters.
[00:07:55.750] - Amanda
You can bet comms was in the room when those decisions were being made.
[00:08:00.420] - Imogen
Absolutely no doubt in my mind, because it goes back to that lawyer example you were talking about. If you do this, then this is the likely outcome.
[00:08:10.700] - Amanda
Yeah.
[00:08:11.160] - Imogen
Comms would have said, if you take your salary, and then lay off 10,000 people, not only is your reputation in the gutter, but the organization's reputation is going to suffer as well. Those kinds of decisions are not made just by the leadership team. That is a comms decision coming in there. That is a comms voice of reason coming in to make that decision. And it's about getting leadership to think a little broader, getting them to understand what things look like to other people.
[00:08:46.980] - Amanda
The optics, yeah.
[00:08:48.350] - Imogen
That's where comms can make such a difference. I think we all need to step back and we need to realize that if you're not in the room at the moment, that's not going to change quickly.
[00:09:01.870] - Amanda
No, it takes time.
[00:09:02.910] - Imogen
It's going to take you time to get there. So, there are a couple of things that you can do to start that process. So firstly, dig out your crisis planning document and with a really critical eye, have a look at it. What's missing? What needs work? Where does comms sit? Even if you're not part of the core team yet, that doesn't stop you from being proactive. It doesn't stop you from offering advice, offering options for potential challenges coming down the road.
[00:09:33.870] - Amanda
And you've got to persevere. You've got to persist. Be annoying. Challenge, you'll start to feel like a broken record, but eventually they're going to realize that you're worth listening to. And in comms, we always want to be in the room where it happens, right?
[00:09:47.410] - Imogen
Yes, partly because we're very curious people, partly because we love to know what's going on and want to make a difference.
[00:09:53.910] - Amanda
Inherently nosy.
[00:09:55.760] - Imogen
Absolutely. We need to be there and we need to get people to understand the value that we can bring them. Well, that's another question answered, Amanda. If you have any burning questions you'd like us to tackle, send it through to us in the usual ways. As we are now a bona fide podcast with 2 episodes, it's time for me to say, you know, if you've enjoyed this, give us 5 stars wherever you listen to your podcasts. But until next time, take care.
[00:10:28.110] - Amanda
See you soon.
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