This past February marked the 25th anniversary of the Tylenol murders.  In 1982, someone in Chicago tampered with Tylenol bottles, adding cyanide capsules and killing seven people in the area. During this crisis, Johnson & Johnson demonstrated remarkable control of the situation. The company could have distanced itself from the incident but it didn’t. The executives were honest with the public throughout the crisis. They made customer safety the first priority by removing Tylenol from shelves nationwide and reengineering the product bottle in a move that revolutionized how over the counter medications are packaged.  They even offered a $100,000 reward in an effort to catch the killer who remains as yet unidentified. This incident could have irreparably damaged J&J and the Tylenol brand, but instead the company emerged stronger as it proved through action that customer safety and human life was paramount to the organization.

Also this past February, a McDonald’s employee was denied his claim to workers comp after more than $300,000 in medical expenses.  The preceding August, at an Arkansas McDonald’s, a male customer was hitting a woman.  Nigel Haskett, a McDonald’s employee, proceeded to break up the altercation and forced the man outside.  The man returned and shot the employee multiple times. McDonalds’ insurance company said, "We've denied this claim in its entirety. It's our opinion that Mr. Haskett's injuries did not arise out of or within the course of his employment."  At this point, neither the insurance company nor McDonald’s are willing to provide any compensation to Nigel Haskett as a consequence of his brave actions while working on the job. 

Instead of treating Haskett like the hero the community has made him out to be, McDonald’s is avoiding the situation altogether, hiding behind a legal cloak.  If McDonald’s would have simply paid for Nigel’s medical bills, despite the insurance company’s denial, the company would have emerged as a heroic organization, one that genuinely cares for its employees.  Instead, the opposite view has spread throughout the internet, tainted the company’s image, and damaged McDonalds’ perception with potential employees and customers who now refuse to support an organization that mistreats or ignores the needs of its employees. What a missed opportunity to stand for something besides burgers and fries.

Every crisis, though never hoped for, is an opportunity to showcase what the company and its people are made of. The danger lies in not being prepared and not seeing things clearly. Ideally, a company will think about the worst things that could happen to the organization and then create a plan for dealing with it.  This “Crisis Communications Plan” is then available if it is ever needed, when clear thinking and time to react may be a shrinking commodity. Often in a crisis, bringing in an outside team with more objectivity and trained expertise may be the best approach. If a crisis hits close to home for employees, they can become the biggest hindrance to the recovery. And relying solely on business partners to handle the situation, or passing the blame over to them, is foolhardy and can easily backfire.  

There are a lot of factors in play when it comes to crisis management, and under the circumstances, it may be difficult to avoid all negative publicity. However, if you remember a few key points, you can weather almost any storm:

·         DON’T avoid the situation; address it head on and be the first to tell your story.

·         DON’T assume that the existing internal team will handle the situation well. Ultimately, the CEO will be the only person that people will believe has enough clout to address the problem.

·         DO plan ahead for the worst case scenario; you’ll know what they are based on the industry you are in. The worst situations almost always deal with loss of life or property or threats on health or well being.

·         DO bring an external team in if necessary so the internal team can focus on the rest of the business at hand.

·         DON’T try to use the opportunity to garner accolades or promote your company. Stay focused on addressing the problem completely and thoroughly. Nothing else matters.

·         DO take positive, correcting action – be innovative, bold and determined. Ignoring a bad situation will not make it go away, it will only make people angry.

Tags: communication | marketing tactics | Public Relations | PR | crisis management | Marketing