[By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications] Wow. One minute, you’re a global company with a brand so esteemed it almost glows. The next, you’re the centerpiece of a social-media pile-on, raked over the coals by wits and late-night TV wannabes. All because a partner with 20 years of service takes his eye off the ball and […]
From The Wall Street Journal & Deloitte: Engaging employees can have a significant impact on an organization’s ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to an incident. Nonetheless, nearly one-third (29.8%) of respondents in a recent poll of more than 3,900 professionals believe that employees may be the most overlooked stakeholder when their organization is […]
From our colleague, Richard Levick: Yahoo!’s announcement late last year that it had been victimized by not one but two separate data breaches was the Gettysburg of corporate cyber attacks – the biggest battle yet waged. The first attack, which occurred in 2014, impacted more than 500 million Yahoo! user accounts, while the second assault, […]
From The Wall Street Journal Risk & Compliance Journal and Deloitte: At what point does business-as-usual turn into a corporate crisis? It’s not always clear, and executives might treat the first signs of a crisis—not realizing the magnitude—with complacency. Confounded by stress responses and human behavioral factors, an organization can lose precious time if executives […]
[By Stephanie York, J.D., Hennes Communications] Companies and other organizations limit liability by insuring most, if not all, of their assets: buildings, furniture, vehicles, the health of employees, the health of visitors and more. And while some insurance policies now offer “crisis communications coverage,” allowing the insured to engage the services of a specialized firm like […]
[By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications] How fast is social media at reporting on events – including events that your organization might consider a crisis? Faster than you. Consider a situation involving a school in Westfield, N.Y., that we stumbled upon. Here’s the first paragraph of a story from the Westfield Republican: “Parents need to realize that […]
Zach Schonbrun writes: H&R Block’s new advertising campaign is one of the more ambitious in the company’s 62-year history. It hired the actor Jon Hamm for his first on-camera spokesman role, a significant coup. And the company ditched its “Refund Season” slogan in favor of a more aggressive pitch: “Get your taxes won.” The ads […]
From The National Association of Corporate Directors and The Wall Street Journal: As a host of threats continue to mount against organizations, more boards are weighing a broader, more proactive approach to crisis management. This is a positive development: in doing so, these boards are opening the door to adding significant value and stability to the organizations they oversee. Boards are uniquely […]
[By Bruce Hennes, Managing Partner, Hennes Communications, and Keynote Speaker, American Public Power Association Legal & Regulatory Conference, 2016] It’s not just terrorist attacks, explosions, active shooters, and environmental disasters. More often than not, it’s going to be sexual misconduct, data theft, unfair labor practices, OSHA complaints, mergers & acquisitions, layoffs, accusations, or employee fraud […]
Why are organizations punished in the Court of Public Opinion for violating ethical principles when they have not broken any law? Dr. Peter Sandman, a preeminent risk communications expert, says when an issue sparks outrage (and we see plenty of organizations pilloried in social media by outraged trolls every day), society becomes desperate to blame […]