Issues Management: From Community Relations to Crisis Communications

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Issues ManagementFrom Community Relations to
Crisis Communications

• Roy W. Reid, APR
• Consensus Communications
• Karen Breakell, APR
• Progress Energy

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Nature of Change
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Course Objectives

• Fine tune planning and implementation strategies
  and tactics through issues management strategy
• Outline programmatic steps to better align
  operational and communication objectives for
  success
• Provide more strategic and proactive framework
  for developing and managing corporate
  communications functions
• Review case study of the application

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Agenda

• Introductions
• Profile the Issues Management Approach
• Outline the Process and Implementation
• Case study of Progress Energy
• Evaluation Through Storms
• Conclusions

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The Marketplace

• The world has changed
• Corporate scrutiny
• More active and sophisticated customers and
  communities
• More activist groups, watch dogs, etc
• Competitive issues
• The increasing intersection of business and
  public policypolitics and corporate agendas
• The business world is looking more like a
  battlefield The Art of War
• Employee pressures
• Media cycles
• Internet issues

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Issues Management

• Traditionally Issues Management is
• a campaign to manage communication efforts to
  affect behavior/influence for a
• specific issue that may be threatening the
  organization
• Issues Management SHOULD BE
• the proactive view of identifying possible issues
  aligned with
• operational objectives/actions from internal or
  external actions and
• planning communication/relationship efforts
  accordingly

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Benefits of the concept Work Under Fire

• By incorporating an issues management
  perspective and template to planning, the
  organization can
• better assess its situation and condition, before
  decisions are made
• plan for and implement effective community
  relations,
• more effectively communicate with key
  decision-makers and influencers, and
• prepare and deal with crisis situations.

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Keys to Success

• Develop the plan from the INSIDE/OUT
  operationally driven
• Recruit and raise a champion/sponsor in the
  executive ranks
• Understand the operational objectives and
  priorities
• Educate management regarding the balance of
  relationships
• Solid research
• Develop an effective follow-up mechanism
• Plan the work and work the planEXECUTION

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Issues Management Models

• RPIE
• Research
• Planning
• Implementation
• Evaluation

• Issues Management Campaign
• Research
• Schedule
• Special Groups
• Grass Roots
• Earned Media
• Paid Media
• Budget

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Setting the Stage

• The physics law of the marketplace tells us
  that for every action we take, somebody reacts.
• Good or bad, someone will react to what we do in
  the marketplace, and it is incumbent on us to
  foresee the potential issues resulting from those
  reactions.

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Anecdotes

• You can do everything right and still be wrong!
• Operations and relationships can often be out of
  line.

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How do we foresee?

• STEP ONE (internal)
• Understandresearchask what are all of the
  planned operational initiatives for the coming
  year?
• What are some standard actions we may take this
  year
• What potential issues may carry over from this
  year?
• Where are we vulnerable to attack?
• What is our condition in the communities we serve
  or impact with these decisions?

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How do we foresee?

• STEP TWO (external)
• Develop a database of foreseeable external
  issues
• Elections
• Weather dates (Hurricane Season)
• Community milestones
• Annual events
• Special considerations

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Issues Management Planning

• Issues Summit
• Identification of potential issues and
  prioritization of communication needs for the
  coming year. A comprehensive look and assessment
  of the good, bad and potentially ugly issues
  facing the organization.
• Community Relations Plan
• Programs that address the organizations Spheres
  of Influence through specific outreach,
  philanthropy, or communication.

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Issues Management Planning

• Key Stakeholder Outreach
• Very targeted one-on-one relationship building
  programs with key influencers within the Spheres
  of Influence.
• Issues Management Program
• Organized campaign to address a specific issue
  that rises above the acceptable market intensity.

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Issues Management Planning

• Crisis Communications
• Program that addresses an issue posing an
  imminent threat to the organization.

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The Issues Summit

• Pre-Event Actions
• Recruit C-level Champion
• Work with champion to sell up and across
• Survey operational leadership on ALL upcoming
  actions, plans and emerging internal concerns
• Develop external research database of issues
  and issues drivers in the marketplace
• Create pre-event package for participants
• Organize breakout sessions with operation and
  relationship participation
• Develop an event evaluation survey

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The Issues Summit

• Event Agenda
• Present key issues and opportunities for the
  coming year
• Put the operational people together in a room for
  analysis, discussion, debate, arguments, etc.
• Cross pollinate the discussions by function and
  geographyoperations and relationships
• Get first step commitments from participants
• Review specific issues and steps to manage or
  avoid

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Issues Summit

• Event Objectives
• Demonstrate the connection between issues and
  operationsbetween community relations
  (relationship management / reputation) and
  results
• Get feedback to determine how to move forward
  with the ongoing effort how will momentum carry
  forward
• Prioritize efforts to incorporate in
  Communications Plans
• Set follow-up dates and accountabilities

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Objectives

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Contact

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Community Relations

• Understand the Spheres of Influence in the
  community and their weighted strength
• Clusters help to show the collective impacts
• Plug in based on internal/external impacts on the
  organization
• Matching priorities
• Integrate the operational feedback and group work
  from the Issues Summit to the community relations
  plan
• Educate and speak the language

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Community Relations
Spheres of Influence
Education
Local / State Government
Local Hospitals
Employees
The Hospital
Managed Care
Neighborhoods
Physicians
Faith Service
Business Associations
Major Community Partnerships
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Community Relations

• Major Community Partnerships
• Partner of Choice
• Neighborhoods
• Neighbor of Choice
• Local Government
• Citizen of Choice
• Business and Associations
• Provider of Choice
• Schools
• Partner of Choice
• Faith and Service Community
• Colleague of Choice
• Corporate Community Relations The Principle of
  the Neighbor of Choice, Edmund M. Burke

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Key Stakeholders

• Build sustainable and ongoing relationships with
  key community stakeholders, groups and
  organizations through management and employee
  engagement with said leaders and community groups
• Institute and improve systems that coordinate
  strategic intent of our community relationship
  tactics anticipate and respond to community
  expectation and address key influencers
  concerns and issues -- creating LEVERAGE
• Focus the community support programs and package
  them to
• build relationships,
• respond to community concerns
• position our programs in the media through
  partnerships
• strengthen quality of life

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Key StakeholdersInteraction
Employees
Customers
Shareholders
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Key StakeholdersCommunity Influence
General Community
Key Community Groups
Top 200
Direction of Influence Power
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Issues Management - Specifics

• Assign teams for emerging and defined issues in
  the mix
• Connect operational leadership with the issue
• Assign a team leader
• Assign relationship management
• Community Relations and Corporate Community
  resource managers
• Develop schedule
• Set milestones

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Issues Management

• Create ongoing meetings for review and revision
  of the plan
• Quarterly Issues Review with Geographic/Functional
  Teams
• Monthly review with point people for Community
  Relations and Corporate Communications
• Regular updates for Company leadership

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Crisis Communication

• Education
• Training
• Media training
• Follow-up

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Progress Energy

• Case Study

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Company Needs

• Strengthen the corporate message and tell people
  the new company story effectively
• Align internal system issues with communications
• Establish stronger community relationships
• Develop communication plan for Florida

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Develop a Plan

• Comprehensive communications plan
• Formal research
• Secondary research
• Set priorities
• Find a new approach to develop and
  implementIssues Summit

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Issues Summit Objectives

• Recruit champion to promote issues program
• Launch program with statewide Issues Summit event
• Secure 40 of the 120 managers for participation
• Create follow-up and maintenance program
• Integrate the Issues program into the community
  relations and communications programs

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Steps to Launch the Issues Summit

• RPIE
• Research
• Planning
• Implementation
• Evaluation

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Issues Summit Research

• Internal
• Survey company leadership statewide
• Operational actions
• New initiatives
• Local issues and concerns
• Key audiences to address
• Employee focus groups
• Employee survey

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Issues Summit Research

• External
• Political issues
• Environmental issues
• Special interest groups
• Media agendas

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Issues Summit Planning/Vision

• These tools are only effective if they are
  managed from the inside of our company before
  moving outside to key constituents.
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Contacts

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Planning

• Goals
• Develop a proactive process
• Set the stage for collaboration
• Identify issues by topic
• Raise level of awareness of key issues
• Deliverables
• Industry overview
• Issues by region
• Plan for regional summit
• Identification of future issues
• Network of contacts
• The process is as important as the end result.

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Florida-Issue identification

• Understand industry trends
• Monitor changing environments
• Own decision-making
• Personal impact on corporate reputation

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Implementation

• Agenda
• Case study
• Statewide overview
• Two working sessions
• Packet includes
• Contact list
• Topical overview
• Issues assessment tool
• Feedback form

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Implementation

• Management Challenges
• Make friends before you need them
• Action plans are needed on complex issues
• Consistency across the state is key
• Everyone takes ownership
• Dont forget the surprise issues
• On-going collaboration yields success

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Evaluation

• Output Metrics
• 85 participants
• Goal was 40
• Cluster teams established for top five issues
• Timelines set for developing plans
• Projects identified to develop outcome
  measurements
• Media training set for identified spokespersons
• Participant feedback positive for the event and
  follow-up

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Outcome Evaluation

• Charley
• Frances
• Ivan
• Jeanne

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Hurricane Tracks
Charley 8/14/04
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Working the Plan

• Build on the Regional and Functional teams
  established at the Issues Summit
• Establish communication protocols
• Enact the Issues Management Plan
• Research
• Special Groups
• Grassroots
• Earned Media
• Paid Media
• Scheduling
• Centralize Corporate communications Ops center to
  the storm
• Address key audience issues and assign duties

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Working the Plan

• Create connectivity with operations based on the
  needs
• Coordinate schedules for calls and updates
• Four daily updates
• Executive updates
• Two calls a day
• Target communications accordingly
• Establish lessons learned reports daily
• Understand audience expectations
• We had to be nimble and fluid

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Special groups

• Employees
• The Emergency Operations Centers
• Orange County
• Marion/Citrus
• Seminole
• Lake Wales

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Special Groups

• Evolving issues
• Estimated Time of Restoration (ETRs)
• Equity and conspiracy issues
• Customer expectations differed for each storm
• Operational improvement

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Earned Media

• Proactive and open communication
• The Orlando Sentinel
• Radio
• Local Television
• Prep
• Managing Expectations
• Continued Follow-up

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Issues Management

• Work from the Operational Level
• Develop an Issues Summit
• Integrate Issues Summit and output findings and
  results into Corporate Communications/Community
  Relations plans
• Create system to evaluate and revise the plans