CAUBO Pandemic Planning: Communications Best Practices

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CAUBOPandemic Planning Communications Best
Practices

• Jane Shapiro
• Fleishman-Hillard Canada Inc.
• March 23, 2007

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Pandemic A Natural Disaster/Crisis

• An immediate threat to
• Safety of people
• Normal business operations
• Corporate reputation
• System-wide impact on people
• Requires rapid, coordinated response

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Pandemic On a University Campus

• Key responsibility/communication focus safety of
  people
• Staff
• Students
• Community
• Media attention will depend on success/failure of
  efforts
• AND success of communications

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Pandemic On a University Campus

• Stakeholders expect you to be prepared
• Responsible for thousands of students
• Major institution in the community
• Logistics of helping kids get home or caring for
  them if they cant
• Media focus if you fail

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Risk to Reputation

• The reputation of a thousand years may be
  deterred by the conduct of one hour.
• Japanese Proverb

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Risk to Reputation

• A lie can go half way around the world while the
  truth is still putting its shoes on.
• Mark Twain

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How to Manage a Pandemic

• Anticipation plan and players
• Preparation practice and teamwork
• Coordination public health will lead
• Action words and deeds

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Anticipate In-House Counsel Research

• What crisis preparedness components do you have?
• Communications plans 3/4
• Business continuity plans Half
• Which external support services do you engage in
  a crisis?
• Legal experts 2/3
• Public relations experts 2/3

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Anticipate In-House Counsel Research

• How frequently do you updates plans?
• Dont know Almost half
• Never/5 years or more 1/4
• Once/year or more 1/4
• How frequently do you conduct simulations?
• No crisis team/Never practice A half
• More than once a year 1/4

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Not Best Practices

• Unfamiliar plan wont be used
• Outdated plan wont work
• Untested team wont pull together
• Ability to respond quickly will be impeded

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Implications in a Pandemic

• Rumours will be rampant
• Internet will be primary resource
• Competing experts will confuse the facts
• Situation wont wait for you
• Control will be lost
• Safety compromised
• Reputation jeopardized

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Implications in a Pandemic Understanding the
Media

• There will be stories
• Quick to define heroes and villains
• New media more important than old
• Stories posted before facts confirmed
• Hard to manage defensively
• Resist impulse to know all
• Speed, timeliness and action are critical

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Best Practices - Anticipate Crisis Manuals are
Action Plans

• Not theoretical
• Designed for swift response
• Timelines who does what, when
• Identify crisis team decision-makers
• Keep the team small, quick
• Establish decision protocols and process

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Best Practices - Anticipate Adapt Plan for
Pandemic

• Ensure Executive commitment
• Plan for redundancy absenteeism
• Add team members medical, security, HR,
  operations
• Define specific roles and responsibilities
• Establish relationships with authorities
• Synchronize with operational plans

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Best Practices - Anticipate Plan Components

• Define and research issues
• Develop scenarios by phase
• Identify internal and external spokespeople
• Media train everyone
• Draft messages, statements, QAs

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Best Practices - Anticipate Key Messages

• Description what happened? whats happening now?
• Impact how serious is it?
• Action what are we doing about?
• Concern for those affected.

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Best Practices AnticipateUse Your Website

• Prepare pandemic dark site
• Develop FAQs by phase for posting
• Promote availability in lead-up
• Begin communicating once risk is clear
• Create CEO bog critical tool for connecting with
  students and families

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Best Practices AnticipateMonitor Blogs

• Identify sites
• Reporters read them, write them, use content in
  stories
• Word of mouth is valued
• Respond in the same news cycle
• If you blog, be transparent

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Best Practices - PrepareIdentify Spokespeople

• From your organization
• President
• VP Admin
• VP Security

• Third parties
• Public Health Officer(s)
• Police
• Mayor
• Health Minister
• Premier

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Best Practices - Practice Simulations

• Exercises test the team
• Execute in real time
• Invite partners to participate
• Evaluate to identify weaknesses and improve
  performance

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Best Practices - Action As the Pandemic Proceeds

• Use the manual
• Gather the facts
• Environmental scan
• Refine key messages / documents
• Operationalize links with affected parties
• Monitor continuously

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Best Practices - Action As the Pandemic Proceeds

• Communicate separately with employees and
  external stakeholders
• Within opening hours
• Communicate what you know
• Dont speculate about what you dont
• Update messages/communicate regularly

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Best Practices - Action As the Pandemic Proceeds

• Consider scheduled conference calls to provide
  updates
• Ensures consistent spokespeople and messages
• Manages media expectations
• Provides regular flow of information
• Frees up time to deal with the situation

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Best Practices - Action As the Pandemic Proceeds

• Assess ongoing need for scheduled
  conference calls
• They may fuel the situation
• Adjust as situation evolves

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Best Practices Post-Mortem

• Evaluate as you go pandemic will occur in waves
• Learn from the experience
• Update manual
• Formal review by team as soon as crisis concludes

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Pandemic Checklist

• Communicate quickly
• Use the Internet
• Anticipate circumstances
• Work from a plan with consistent messages
• Engage the team
• Use one point of contact

• Take control of your communications
• Tell the truth be sure of facts
• Deal with the bad news yourself and at once, if
  possible
• Remember all audiences
• Coordinate with authorities

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Best Practices Conclusion

• Impossible to predict when a pandemic will occur,
  but you can take leadership in preparing
• When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to
  jabber.
• Winston Churchill