Businesses are still using old processes to deal with new threats.
SOCIAL MEDIA RISK MANAGEMENT
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29 JUNE
08:30 – 11:30AM
Yesterday vs. today
Most business processes and structures were established before the advent of social media. Corporate comms would speak to the press. IT would make sure the website was up and running. Management would receive a trickle of reports from down the chain of command. It was all following agreed-upon processes and everyone minded their own turf.
When a social media crisis erupts today, this structure is completely incapable of handling the issue.
The problem of process
The biggest problem is that the old processes are too cumbersome to move at the speed a social media crisis requires.
The required seniority and social media experience is not available where the fire is burning, and taking the problem up the corporate food-chain takes days, if not weeks.
Meanwhile the social media crisis is unfolding in a communication vacuum, where trolls and haters are allowed to set the most absurd agenda.
Corporate turf wars
In all the large corporations where I have been called in to help with a social media crisis, the first thing that always struck me was that no one was cooperating across business silos. No one was going straight to the top saying: “the building’s on fire, please let us do something about it”.
Instead time was wasted sending emails back and forth, having teleconferences, finding out who to blame and who should fix it.
Even where fairly experienced social media teams were in place, they could not act independently while they first needed the approval of the business unit under attack.
It’s obvious, but new processes are needed, with new management structures to make sure actions can be taken as swiftly as possible. And IT must become a team player and stop being the ‘enemy within’.
Heineken does it right
Heineken UK’s Nigel Pollard (head of external comms) says to PR Week that “[h]aving all the comms functions under one team offers massive synergies and the ability to work together strategically.”
His colleague David Paterson (head of public affairs and corporate responsibility) supports the argument: “Firstly, we have a corporate affairs director who sits on the board and we are integrated into the business strategy. Secondly, we have a holistic approach. We don’t have to negotiate with the employee comms teams in HR or public affairs that report into legal.”
On the question of how Heineken UK deal with crisis management Pollard highlights the importance of moving swiftly and straight to the top:
“There is a very structured crisis management set-up and a way of reporting an incident through the business. […] We can very quickly get the attention of David Forde, our managing director. There is a huge degree of trust when we say something is an issue.”
How to make the change?
A corporate comms make-over can only happen if senior management understands the gravity of the issue. Its long-term consequences.
In a mediated reality, any corporation must be able to work like a news organisation. Heads of corporations need to start talking to their comms directors on a daily basis. A smart and nimble structure must be put in place.
Not doing so is tantamount to flying a jet without a navigation system. You get lost very quickly.
Want to find out more about social media risk management? Make sure you sign up to the DSMLF meeting on 29th June and join your peers for a lively debate on the matter.