Module 7 – Stakeholder/Partner Communication

Module 7 – Stakeholder/Partner Communication Deborah Grigsby Smith State of Colorado Director of External Communications Homeland Security

Bird flu hits Florida…

Stakeholders and partners • Stakeholders have a special connection to you and your involvement in the emergency (Can be internal, external) • Interested in how the incident will impact them • Partners have a working relationship with you and collaborate in an official capacity • Are interested in fulfilling their role in the incident and staying informed

About stakeholders • Not all stakeholders are created equal… • Some love you • Effort to reinforce that “love” • Some hate you • Identify and prepare to respond appropriately • Some ride the fence • Chance to increase support/criticism • Some may even “swap sides” mid-course • Can stem from existing stakeholder controversies

Employees Families Retirees Board members Clients/customers Community leaders Elected officials Unions Labor organizations Legal advocates Competitors Media General public Other businesses Nat’l/local/tribal counterparts Students Volunteers Donors Stakeholders

Trust and mistrust • Stakeholders judge the response to an issue based on trust • Trust is based on consistent behavior; is the natural consequence of promises fulfilled • Mistrust is an outgrowth of the perception promised broken, values violated • How does your organization fulfill trust?

Consequences of mistrust • Recommendations are ignored; lives and property at risk • Resources wasted • Policies circumvented; loss of control • Opportunists prey on the “trust gap” • Hard to accomplish your mission

Why jump though hoops? • Ensure you get information from the people you need • They represent a variety of points of view • Also gives you a chance to share your point of view as well (prevent misunderstandings) • Improve your organizational performance • Also can serve as a force multiplier for your mission, cause, or program

The five big “boo-boos” • Inadequate accessibility • Not returning phone calls, missing appts. • Lack of understandability • Jargon, acronyms, ambiguous, too technical • Lack of energy in response • No sense of urgency • Timeliness (too little, too late) • Perceptions of arrogance • Stakeholders not valued

When stakeholders are upset • Four elements are crucial • Speed of your response • Avoid creating more problems during crisis resolution • Accept responsibility • Acknowledge the emotional context

When harm has occurred • Stop doing whatever is causing the harm • Apologize—if appropriate and when it can do the most good • Seek feedback, make it better • Try not to do it again • Nothing happens until you communicate that it is happening

Conspicuously bad mistakes • Deny the problem exists • Shoot the messenger • Silence • Respond with evasions and half truths • Selectively tell the story • Over-tell the story • “I” perspective • Point fingers

So how do I deal with all this? • Start with a crisis communication plan • Do as much in advance as possible • Fact sheets, stock photos, press release templates, stakeholder surveys, key messages, draft statements, media training • Develop PIO partners within your stakeholder communities…and share information • Participate in major exercises, plan your own

Be forthcoming with info • Try to be two steps ahead • Anticipate their concerns and questions • Be ready with well-crafted answers • Coordinate your messages with others • Consistent messages across the board • Your stakeholder may be someone else’s as well • Never let them see you sweat • Keep confusion and power struggles out of the limelight

Assess stakeholder reaction • Define: • Your advocates • Your adversaries • Your ambivalents • Estimate/prognosticate: • Who is likely to be involved & what they want • Estimate necessary level of management involvement and plan for it • Focus on key stakeholders’ reactions

Methods to communicate • Designated Web page for partners and stakeholders • Calls from management/leadership • Periodic updates • Reciprocity with newsletters

Develop partnerships • Do this BEFORE the crisis • Create a partner contact list • Draft a plan for partner communication during a crisis (e-mail alerts, twice daily faxes, etc.) • Collaboration on press releases if appropriate • Be cautious, this can foster an increase in the risk of leaks. • Negotiate the same for your organization • Clearly know each partner organization’s leader/authority/approval process.

Continued… • Build stakeholder/media contact lists well in advance • Local, national, regional • Newspaper, television, radio, magazines • Consider subscribing to a news “push” service • www.prnewswire.com • Update them monthly • Good job for interns, volunteers • Break it up into sections per week

Community relations • Community leader/institutions valuable partners during a crisis • Help gain support, distribute information, counter rumors • They are familiar, trusted, and often influential • Reach out to them BEFORE a crisis • Develop fast and reliable channels of communication • Understand their role, and make sure they understand yours

Building consensus in a crisis • Don’t try to do it all yourself • Don’t let the media do it for you • Consider engaging a neutral third-party to speak on behalf of all involved (mediator, counselor) • Focus on commonalities • Acknowledge different views • Assure stakeholders effort to find consensus

Convening a citizens’ forum • Can help expedite resolution to issues • Can also fan the flames • Professional facilitator/arbitrator may be needed • Must include all elements of community, not just those that make the biggest noise • Empower the group to act independently • Make sure you can clearly articulate your decision and why it was selected over others

Engage in quality listening • Asking questions will help show you care • Listen actively • Take notes (two people take notes) • Listen for intent (feeling) • Listen for content (facts) • Who is speaking? • Qualified to give expert opinion? • Any underlying motives or connections? • Prejudices that will compromise objectivity?

Dealing with an angry public • Crisis situations often yield imperfect decisions that have to be made in minutes • Complicated by instantaneous ubiquity of press/cell phones/leaks • Understand anger is a defensive response • When people have been hurt, when they feel threatened by risks, when they believe fundamental beliefs/rights are being eroded

More on angry public • Anger can intensify when people feel powerless • Important to engage them, treat them with respect no matter what their views are • But be careful as anger can also be a tool to manipulate • Don’t lecture, make it easy for the audience to discover the answer themselves • If they figure it out, you don’t have to “sell” them • Ask the right questions, leave the “breadcrumbs”

Let them sell themselves • Questions to help stakeholder persuade themselves • Open ended questions • Then ask questions to uncover their explicit needs and desires • One they “purge” it’s easier to demonstrate your ideas

De-escalating conflict • Always seek common principles upon which to base common dialogue • Remain open to reason • Strive for fairness, especially where either real or perceived inequality has occurred • Work to get input from all stakeholders • Open up as much information as possible (sans criminal or other protected info)

De-escalating conflict • Try to get as many “yeses” as you can. Get them early in the meeting. • Reframe accusations • “Your proposal is totally unrealistic…” • (Are you saying you don’t understand how my proposal can respect citizens rights and stop the spread of disease?)

Wrap-up • Stakeholders are crucial part of your organization (before, during and after) • Timely, tailored and consistently accurate information builds trust • Identify all stakeholders, their anticipated reactions to likely crisis events • Pre-plan communications • Network and develop new partners BEFORE crisis events

Wrap-up • Don’t try to handle everything on your own. • Listen to your stakeholders, don’t pass judgment (immediately) • Know when to bring in a professional facilitator/mediator/neutral third party • Don’t lecture; let stakeholders discover the answer themselves

Wrap-up • Seek common principles • Be open to other ideas (but don’t waffle) • Rack up the “yeses” as early and as often as possible • Take care of yourself and your staff during times of crisis (sleep, food, mental breaks)

Module 7 – Stakeholder/Partner Communication