Case Study: Managing a crisis from the inside out

A scandal about to be made public, almost 1,000 employees, and no internal communication expertise.

HMC was engaged by an organisation with an issue brewing - they had done all the right things in managing the processes involved, but now the media had a hold of the story before the organisation was ready to talk. Time was ticking to inform their employees before they found out through the media first…

The challenge

Though a large organisation, they had no internal crisis communication expertise. Like many organisations, they had built a very capable external communication team, but had largely self-managed their internal comms (with mixed results). So, they needed help in determining the best communication strategy for their people to help manage the issue, maintain morale, and ensure employees were still their greatest advocates.

The solution

We embedded ourselves in the communication team and began to meet with internal stakeholders immediately. After asking many, many questions and acquainting ourselves fully with the issue, key players, and the internal channels available, we quickly developed a plan in line with our crisis communication process, and wrote all the relevant materials.

Stakeholders had varying views on how and when to communicate to staff, particularly as the publication of the story in the media was uncertain, and legal issues were still being played out.

When stakeholders started to waiver, all we had to do was ask: “If you put yourself in the shoes of a staff member, would you rather hear SOMETHING from the CEO now, or find out through a news article tomorrow?” The answer - a resounding ‘something now’!

The outcome

By taking a ‘people first’ approach to the crises, we were able to build confidence in the CEO’s management of the issue, reduce the risk of rumours and misinformation circulating, and ensure team members felt well informed. We then had the space to be able to think ahead to the next phase of communication required, with less of a sense of urgency.