There is a growing industry of “prize-riggers” (my term) who band together to manipulate the results of online contests, giveaways and sweepstakes.

In this blog post on PRSAY, the official blog of The Public Relations Society of America, I categorize different types of prize-riggers and offer tips for PR pros to consider.

Go [...]]]>

There is a growing industry of “prize-riggers” (my term) who band together to manipulate the results of online contests, giveaways and sweepstakes.

In this blog post on PRSAY, the official blog of The Public Relations Society of America, I categorize different types of prize-riggers and offer tips for PR pros to consider.

Go to the link and check it out.  And if you have comments, you can share them there or below.

As unions embrace technology, so [...]]]> There was an interesting post in The New York Times today about labor unions’ use of social media to better inform members on negotiations, solicit ideas and also to rebut rumors.  To be sure, unions are also using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other digital connections to build momentum for organizing attempts as well.

As unions embrace technology, so must employers.  Here are several initial thoughts to consider:

Better monitoring.  As unions conduct more digitial dialogue , the ability for companies to monitor those discussions becomes easier.  Comprehensive online monitoring systems will probably be a better indicator of a union’s demands than the “watercooler talk” checks of the past.  This should eliminate some surprises if there is a rift with the union.

More accountability?  Employees who are considering collective representation may not be aware that union campaign promises are considered to be unenforceable “pre-election propaganda” by most courts.  Which means that unions can make many promises in order to unionize a workforce, but they don’t have to honor any of those promises once successful.  (Companies cannot play by the same rules.)  Since campaign promises — and negotiation particulars – are  migrating from leaflets to digital networks there will remain an ongoing, searchable digital record of those promises.  This means that the union rank-and-file can seek greater accountability of union leadership and employers can begin to better highlight when / if there are descrepancies.

More opportunity.  Whether a workforce is unionized or not, employers will have an advantage if they are able to collect, analzye and take actions based on direct employee feedback through social media.  These companies will likely enjoy a healthier relationship with unionized employees (perhaps heading into a negotiation/contract period), or avoid unionization altogether if that is the goal. 

 Thoughts?  Share them below, please.

Here are excerpts from each key:

Honesty:  Let everyone on your team know that your integrity is the most valuable commodity you have in a crisis and [...]]]> Fellow blogger and crisis manager, Bill Salvin, recently posted on three keys for crisis communications in the digital age.  The keys he shares are honesty, speed and images.

Here are excerpts from each key:

Honesty:  Let everyone on your team know that your integrity is the most valuable commodity you have in a crisis and it must not be compromised.

Speed:  The dynamics of a crisis can change based on external events. Once identified, empower your team to make the tactical decisions required to communicate events as they unfold.

Images:  People believe what they see over what they hear. You can have great talking points and a great spokesperson destroyed because the words are out of sync with the images coming from the scene.

As his post suggests, I (and other Ketchum colleagues) also believe in three keys:  credibility, focus and imagination.  We typically talk of these keys as the necessary mindset characteristics to manage a crisis effectively.

There’s nice symmetry in comparing the two sets of three keys.  Honesty and credibility are essentially the same.  To respond with speed, you need a capability (plan, team, system, approach) with high focus.   And providing images is one of the subsets of our points about applying imagination to your communications, in order to creatively cut through the clutter of a crisis and get your message across.

Check the comments section of Bill’s post – I also like his take on “truth” vs. “honesty.”

Key callout:

Donnelly argues that the employee audience is a crucial one that, in an ideal world, should be addressed first or at least simultaneously to the initial release of public information. He [...]]]> Former colleague and current Examiner.com columnist, Phil Mann, recently interviewed me for his article, “The importance of workplace communications during a crisis.” 

Key callout:

Donnelly argues that the employee audience is a crucial one that, in an ideal world, should be addressed first or at least simultaneously to the initial release of public information. He believes this is even more essential given the immediate access to information today via social media.

He continues that companies generally err when they believe they can entirely suppress employees’ social media use during a crisis, in part because of the difficulty in actually enforcing those edicts. Better, Donnelly believes, to arm employees with the best information, including how the event in question affects the employee population directly. In that context, he adds, it’s fine to discourage related Tweets or Facebook posts, but at the least those employees choosing to disregard that guideline are better armed with useful information.

As I shared with Phil during the interview, simultaneous internal and external communications during a crisis is becoming the norm because of access to “information anywhere” and social media adoption.  Thus, communications are no longer easily defined as internal or external…and yet, all communications become eternal because they live on through search engines, blogs, tweets, posts, etc.

As an aside, it’s a little ironic that Phil contacted me for perspectives on internal communications in a crisis.  Phil was the first person to warn me that 9/11 was happening because his wife heard the first plane’s impact.  I turned on my TV a few minutes before any news outlet began to cover the live event.  On that morning in New York City, we mostly focused our crisis management talents on workplace communications at Ketchum (client calls would not come until that afternoon).  I’ll never forget and will always appreciate Phil’s early alert on that day.

Back to the topic — what are your thoughts?  Is it possible to do simultaneous internal and external communications during a crisis?  Or would you prioritize internal first (and is that possible)?  Share thoughts below, please.

My stock answer: “I don’t have all the answers, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll make a good [...]]]> Recently, I guest lectured at UNC Charlotte, where the students continue to ask great questions, including:  “At what point in your career do you know you’re a crisis management expert?  When you know that your counsel is right?”

My stock answer: “I don’t have all the answers, but I’m pretty confident that I’ll make a good case for my counsel and that I’ll ask all the right questions.  That’s why I can say I’m an expert.”

Allow me to expand on that:

I don’t think any experienced crisis counselor can suggest they have all the answers to every situation.  There are too many judgment calls that need to be made, based only on information that is available at any given time.  The best of the best can be fairly confident that they’re providing the best possible counsel.  That doesn’t mean the counsel is always right.

From my experience, there are plenty of times when a client will only partially embrace my counsel…and in most of those cases, things have turned out okay.  There are also some cases when my counsel is completely ignored…and some (less, but some) of those situations have had decent results, too.  There aren’t silver bullets here.

I do think it takes a fair amount of expertise to persuade a client toward your point-of-view, however.  If a client is being hesitant or recalcitrant, I’ll often paint pictures of the consequences with and without the recommended actions.  Sometimes, it takes a bit of Socratic-method style questioning and logic to help build agreement and consensus around your POV. 

An “expert” will also be open to fresh ideas.  Candidly,I don’t always agree with my two most-senior colleagues of the Ketchum Issues & Crisis Management Specialty Team.  And that’s okay.  When we debate amongst ourselves, it usually results in stronger, more holistic counsel for our clients.   

Finally, you do have to be comfortable and confident in knowing the right questions to ask when providing support for a crisis situation.  Judging from the quality of questions I get out of the UNC Charlotte students…they’re off to a great start!

Do you have anything to add or any questions on “expert” crisis counseling?  Please share, below.