Crisis Communication

September 11th turned many executives attention to crisis planning and management. Even now, almost a year after the terrorist attack on the United States, both US and non-US companies are reviewing old disaster plans or trying to put together new ones. The stakes are higher now and employees' expectations have risen. In the wake of the 9/11 disaster, crisis preparedness has become a top-of-mind concern for companies – and more specifically, the human side of recovery.

But many oil and gas companies still may be missing the point. The global media draw attention to the terrorist alerts and the security measures that have been taken post-9/11, but few crises a manager will face are on this scale. Most oil companies have emergency plans that they test yearly. And while terrorism is a real threat, a company's crisis preparedness plan most likely addresses the situations that pose the most rational threats, and taking care of the human side is more than just having an employee assistance program and sending people to the hospital. Companies need to focus on crisis preparedness as a whole guarding their most important asset-their people.

Where Do You Start?
Start with what you know. A manager should take a hard look at what crises, both large and small, have affected his/ her business over the past 10 years. History is a solid predictor of the future, so as you begin to analyze risks, you must address what has already happened. Certain risks are unique to certain industries. Oil and gas companies have to look at what incidents occur in the oil and gas industry as a whole: oil spills, industrial accidents, pipeline problems, etc. Then, take into consideration what can happen to any company at any time – natural disaster, workplace violence, and, of course, terrorism.

After considering what could happen, look at what you already have in place to respond to these incidents. Again, start with what you know. What plans already exist? Likely, you have some kind of plan in place, but does that plan address how to deal with your employees? Who, internally, would be involved on a crisis management team to help your people? Has the team been trained and tested in addressing the myriad complex people-related issues?

Learning to Play the "What If?" Game
A very effective way to discover what needs your attention and what needs improvement in your organization is to play the "What If?" game. For example, a large division of an oil company may have a number of employee who regularly work in a dangerous region, where a kidnap and ransom crisis is a real threat. In the "What If?" game, brainstorm the reactions of different constituents. The following is how the different players involved might react.

Constituent Questions/Concerns

Kidnapped Employee – What is the best way for me to survive? What should I do? What should I not do?
Employee's Family – Needs accurate, timely information. Want to know that the company is doing everything in its power to safeguard employee and get him back.
The Company – Doesn't want family to go to the media. Doesn't want family to get involved with kidnappers. Doesn't want anything to happen that might drive up the price or compromise employee's safety.
The Kidnappers – Want ransom as quickly as possible.
Other Oil Companies – Will kidnapping spread to us? Why were we not targeted? Could we be next?
Media – Wants facts quickly. Wants interview with hostage when released.

The "What If?" technique is equally valuable in addressing the content issues of the crisis. Kerr-McGee Corp., the global oil, gas, and chemical company, was widely recognized for outstanding crisis response and recovery after the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in the United States. Kerr-McGee had multiple windows blown out of its building and hundreds of employees deeply affected. It addressed the human side of the crisis first. Kerr-McGee management quickly implemented a Humanitarian Assistance Program that they had developed with Crisis Management International to meet the needs of their workers after the incident.

A structured and sophisticated approach to the human side of crisis is new and unique to most organizations. A strong humanitarian response is often missing, even at those businesses that have effective physical recovery plans. What is needed, as Kerr-McGee successfully proved, is a well-developed management system that tends to employee and people issues after horrific incidents. Management needs to be prepared to effectively help the "walking wounded" who may be experiencing the traumatic stress, grief, blame and sinking morale that can disrupt a workforce.

Past approaches to crisis preparedness and response have tended to only skim the surface of humanitarian response. The bombing at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the more recent September 11th terrorist attacks sparked a change in the "foreseeability horizon."

We now know that no region is immune from incidents that can have huge traumatic impact on people. This may be especially true for employees of oil and gas companies who often work in dangerous places. No longer can companies afford to adopt an attitude of "it won't happen here," or "it can't happen to us."

Is it Really Worth it? On September 12th, many companies concluded that no cost was too great to be adequately prepared for a catastrophic event. However, as the months roll on and the economy remains unsteady, companies are back to putting off the expenditures of getting crisis plans in place and teams prepared. But it is important to look at the economic impact of something occurs and your company or staff is not prepared. Preparedness is not a luxury – it is essential. "Any time the employees perceive that these is a sincere effort on the behalf of management to make the work environment safer, and any time there is a sincere effort on behalf of management to act compassionately to those that suffer harm, there is very much an increase in morale and a subsequent increase in productivity and an acceleration of a return to work, " said Tom Knight, Director of Safety and Emergency Preparedness for Kerr-McGee.

Further expanding the necessity of crisis preparedness to overall corporate worth, Oxford University and the Sedgewick group released a study analyzing the impact of catastrophes on shareholder value. The study found that companies that responded well to crisis experienced recovery, while those companies that did not respond effectively experienced further decline. There was a 22% difference in stock price for the recoverers versus the nonrecoverers. As the Oxford study states, "Although all catastrophes have an initial negative impact, paradoxically they offer an opportunity to management to demonstrate their talent in dealing with difficult circumstances."

The fact is that there are myriad incidents that could greatly affect employees, and how managers deal with them in the key to success or failure. You must take all types of crises into account when you are reviewing or creating your crisis management plan and establishing your crisis management team. The old mantra of "it can't happen here" has been solidly replaced with "it can happen anywhere." Once you understand and accept that, your crisis preparedness can begin.

Bruce Blythe is a clinical psychologist and CEO of Crisis Management Intl. Inc, a worldwide network of former FBI agents and mental health professionals. He has worked with hundreds of companies in oil and gas and other industries on crisis response and recovery issues, preparing companies for potential crises and helping businesses and executives recover from disasters.

by Bruce T. Blythe