Rudimentary details a k a information integrity.

What puts off journalist friends most, when you churn out information on behalf of a client, in the form of a press kit or a media release is this – factual errors. 

Might sound so rudimentary, but as a matter of fact such errors creep in while we battle with deadlines, or with over-enthusiasm to send out the release so that we help the journo meet the deadline?

It’s the journalist’s responsibility to check the facts in any story – that said, if you are representing a client, you are the custodian of the facts mentioned in any media information that disseminates from your end.

Factual errors are not the big ones like the client concealing the facts or misrepresenting reality, in a crisis situation. Simple errors like getting the name of the person/product spelt wrong, getting the timeline of events wrong, or just spelling the CEO’s surname wrong – such errors come easily to the notice of the consumer – the reader of the viewer of the news, when and if it finally gets there.

And if it does, at stake is the credibility of the journalist, the media house, and your own client. In most cases, such mistakes creep in, in minor details which we tend to take for granted.

As a PR pro, make sure that the eye for detail is in play, every time, with every client. When you claim to manage reputation of clients, the least expected from you is to ensure information integrity.

CRISIS..... How does your organization stay prepared?

None of us want a crisis to strike us or our organization… but that is an ideal scenario! Many time, a crisis strikes out of the blue, making the core management team of the organization run for cover! Not just that – when a crisis hits, there is chaos all over, that adding to the already vitiated organization eco-system.

The organization eco-system includes all the stakeholders – the organization and its product and services, the market place, the positioning vis a vis competition, the employee, the financial institutions that have invested in the company, the stock market, and every single public shareholder…. The list is partial, and will depend on the size and scale of the organization.

While the occurrence of the crisis per se, cannot be predicted, the response to such a situation can be planned in advance – and this is what we call a war-room for crisis management. This war-room (primarily comprising of your internal communications pro’s) is ever prepared, and swings into action when there is a crisis - if at all there is one.

This war room will/must have people drawn from the top leadership of the organization (sales, marketing, finance, HR and so on) who will work in tandem with   the core communications professionals and will caliberate the response for any crisis.

The crisis team (the war-room) will be well prepared with all the facts pertaining to the product, service, people, infrastructure, the dynamics of the various markets it which they are present, the relevant information of the prime-competitors etc.

Apart from the communications teams which is well trained to interact and speak appropriately to the media, key resources in the organization are identified time and again (once a year minimum), and they are imparted with the communication finesse in handling all kinds of media queries, when the situation warrants. 

A mechanism is put in place is such a way that once any event (crisis) occurs, all the key stake holders in the war-room are connected seamlessly and appraised of the events, the facts, the implications, and the consequences plus the actions that will e taken y the organization in the aftermath of such a situation. This fact brief to the core team – irrespective of where and when  the crisis occurs -  must all be done in 30 to 60 minutes. And post that the team hits the road in tackling the PR front with ease.

While it is the responsibility of the leadership of the organization to calibrate the response to any crisis, the ability to get the message across, in the best way, to all the internal and external stake holders is the key winner in the long term.

That happens seamlessly only if there is a war-room mechanism in place at your organization. With media staying connected 24/7/365, carrying out their social responsibility of disseminating information as it occurs, it is only a crisis war room that can save the day for your organization.

Not just that, your war room will actually impact your long terms interests in a positive way!

So, does your organization have a communication war-room?!

Crisis in Communication? The Koodankulam impasse - PRhq thoughts!

Koodamkulam is now the epicentre of brewing trouble, with the protests by the local populace snowballing into a mass movement. While what and who is propelling and catalysing this people aggression is a complex question, its by now clear that the government as well as the plant authorities have completely bungled in foreseeing such a situation in the aftermath of Fukushima - which has probably brought in a change in perception.

We all did see some nuke experts and political observers ask "why now and why after 20000 Crores down the drain" (that includes me too), may be Fukushima and the way nuke energy is perceived by the common man post that is the answer. But that is besides the point in a scenario where a considerable population is up in the arms against the project.

For now, there is no easy way out as the use of force and such strategies will only boomerang on the establishment. The mess on the ground in the vicinity of Koodamkulam is clearly the fruit of a non-effective communication/public relations by all the stakeholders. 

The way forward could be a multi-pronged strategy which might take a few months, but that is much better than trying to by force start the operations and continue to earn the wrath of the population who have also contributed by giving away the land and to some extent livelihood for the sake of the plant.

1. Communications commitee - The PM has in his own style formed a high power committee which will study the safety aspects and submit a report. This is so flawed in the way its communicated - if all the experts and the plant authorities are already saying that this is one of the safest plants, then the common man will only get more scared as to why a commitee is being formed this late. Instead, the central government must form a communication committee that will go to the site and its vicinity and take on the job of assuaging the fears of the villagers, who percieve a danger in the plant becoming operational. 
2. Isolate the non-stake holders - There is news that the agitation is fuelled by some outsiders with some religious leanings. The central and state governments must use all their might in identifying these forces, and forcing them out of ground-zero. A classic example is the Anti-Sterlite plant movement in the very same place. For years, there were a series of agitations (almost round the year) for reasons that were more valid than the present one. Yet, those agitations, even when blessed and fuelled by the regional politicians, not for a day affected the operations of the Sterlite plant. If a private organisation can do that, it only is possible to isolate all the non-concerned actors at Koodamkulam. What is needed is the conviction to address the genuine concerns, and get all the fringe elements out of the game.
3. Form a villagers commitee - It might appear that its too late in the day for such an exercise. In reality, it may not be. The authorities should go ahead and use all kind of media to reach out to the villagers and tell them that the government/plant authorities are willing to address every single concern/fear that may be in the mind of every villager, who thinks he or she may be affected. This must be a sustained exercise, with no timelines, and the intent must be to understand what exactly are the percieved fears that loom large in the minds of the people in that area. Those which are well founded must be answered with facts, and those ill founded and planted by miscreants can be quashed to the dustbin.
4. Unleash a PR campaign - Other than some national english dailies in which we have seen people like Dr M R Srinivasan publishing their views on the heightened safety aspects, there is hardly any space for the pro-plant views in any media - be in in at the village and regional level, national, regional and local print, television, and any other media that might help in reaching people on the ground. Seminars and lectures in the national news channels where the nuke intelligentia rant there views will not make a shred of difference to the agitation/agitating people. It is precisely the absence of such a people targeted communication campaign that is enabling the fringe elements, be it religious or otherwise to fuel the agitation. If the fringe can manage a perception that there is a massive opposition to the plant, it is very surprising to see that the authorities cannot plan a turnaround in that perception.
5. Re-visit the proximity effect of the plant - This is a bit of technical stuff. The whole concern seems to be centred around 'what if there is a tsunami or a massive quake, and how does the radiation affect us?'. And the answer to this by experts seem to be that this region is not prone to a tsunami. This is a funny logic no one will buy, even if backed by tonnes of geological facts. The point is - no one said the S Indian coast will be battered by a tsumani which took away entire villages when it happened. Such arguments do not hold water to the common man. The way is to critically state facts, and in case some villages continue to have objections, the only option is to see if they can be re-settled, with means of livelihood in tact.

A combination of all these above will make sure that a space is created for a people centric dialog, which would lead to a solution to Koodamkulam. The above can be complemented by a flurry of social development initiatives that would lift the standards of living of these villagers.

In case such a sustained and planned campaign by the authorities is not put in place, the solution will not emerge. That will be to the advantage of the fringe elements who hold forte now, stalling the project that could solve the looming power crisis in the country.

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Strategic crisis communication - an live-wire case - thoughts by the PRhq team.