www.foodtechnology.co.nz 17
Take
responsibility
reputation
organisations still don’t put their money where their
mouths are. Most have a crisis plan, but only about
half of them test and rehearse it. That’s particularly
concerning, given that only 40% feel confident they
could manage a crisis event on social media. If the
mantra is, tell the truth, tell it all, tell it fast – then how
does an organisation survive the onslaught on its reputation
in the new digital environment where winning
hearts is as important as winning heads? Successful
organisations need to act in ways that resonate with
their audiences’ values – not just in response to a
crisis, but as part of business as usual.
One thing that MPI did well was accurately assess
the concerns of parents and put in place a strategy to
address them. It understood that if you want people
to trust you, then worrying about panic is the wrong
place to start. People only panic when they don’t
have enough information, so be up-front – tell people
what you don’t know and what you are doing to find
out. Trust people with risk and uncertainty, and help
them take control of what they can by telling them
how to manage their own risks. Remember too,
managing risk is not just about science. Recognise
that there is an emotional and intuitive part as well.
Your decisions may be based on statistics and facts,
but communicate and behave in a way that respects
people’s fears and feelings, and never dismiss or
belittle their concerns as irrelevant or ill informed.
Above all, good risk communication involves a twoway
dialogue – the key is listening and giving those
affected a meaningful voice.
Many crises are not acts of God – they can be caused
by someone with ‘an axe to grind’, a company’s
incompetence or inattention, idiocy or the failure to
spot the obvious. As such, most are predictable and
manageable. Contingencies can be put in place and
rehearsed, but this is where most organisations fail.
Spiro Anastasiou is a partner in SenateSHJ – a
communications consultancy specialising in risk
and reputation. In previous roles he helped lead
the Ministry of Health’s communication during
the swine flu pandemic and was seconded to the
All of Government’s response to the Christchurch
Earthquake.
Crisis plan
Brand
Protection Strategy
Prompt
Response
Contingency
Follow up
action
Honesty and
transparency
Test by rehearsal
ASAP AFTER LEARNING ABOUT
PROBLEM:
• Stop distribution and sale of food
• Advise local food enforcement
agencies as well as FSANZ
• Decide how you are going to
communicate publicly
• Advise customers of recall.
2-4 HOURS AFTER LEARNING
ABOUT PROBLEM:
• Confirm your issue in writing
• Fill out a food recall report,
including details about the
product, the problem, where it
was manufactured etc
• Provide FSANZ with a distribution
list of all customers and their
details
• Provide a draft recall notice
• Organise a media person to
handle enquiries, and develop a
Q&A sheet
• Set up a hotline for queries, and
rehearse answers
• Put communication contacts on
your website
24 HOURS AFTER LEARNING
ABOUT PROBLEM:
• Confirm arrangements for
retrieving recalled product
• Tell food enforcement agencies
how you are going to dispose of
the product
• Place ads in the press
• Place a notice at point-of-sale,
such as supermarkets and dairies
• Post social media notices.
POST RECALL:
• Keep records
• Send interim and final reports to
FSANZ after two weeks and four
weeks.
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