Crisis communications for retailers – the boss of the Co-op on BBC Breakfast
The focus on many of our crisis communications courses for retailers is increasingly cyberattacks. During these crisis training workshops we’ll create realistic training scenarios based on a number of issues that retailers could face. These include accusations of greenwashing, unethical supply chain management plus bullying and sexism as well as situations such as a fire or a terrorist attack.
However, these days, it’s cyberattacks and data breaches that a growing number of our clients want to concentrate on when we provide them with crisis communications training courses.
Leading provider of crisis communications courses
The chief executive of the Co-op, Shirine Khoury-Haq, appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about the cyberattack that the company suffered in April. As the leading provider of crisis communications courses for retailers we’ve analysed her performance.
The first point is that Ms Khoury-Haq was willing to come on the programme and talk about it. The mistake that many retailers make when a crisis hits is that they feel they shouldn’t comment on what is going on. Obviously in the case of the Co-op there has been three months since the attack for the company to get back on its feet and for it to put the situation into perspective. But being open, transparent and proactive in your communications as soon as a crisis such as a cyberattack takes place is essential. In our crisis communications training for retailers we look at what retail groups can and should say at the earliest stages of a crisis.
Ms Khoury-Haq talked about “members,” which is obviously a key message for the Co-op, given its distinctive structure. However, we would recommend that she just explains what she means by this. Again, this would be another opportunity to put across a positive message about the organisation.
Crisis media training workshops for retailers
During the interview she spoke at the right pace and had the kind of energy and passion that comes across well in broadcast interviews, whatever the subject. We would say that she was right to talk immediately about the action that the Co-op took. In our crisis media training workshops for retailers, we stress the importance of talking about action and making it clear that you’re doing something to manage the situation. Organisations also have to stress the idea of care or concern for those affected by the incident – something that Ms Khoury-Haq did well.
“We shut down our system drastically,” she told BBC Breakfast presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent, adding that “the good news was that we were able to keep our front line operations – our stores and funeral homes – open.” Well done, we would say, for explaining what you mean to a general audience by the term “frontline operations.”
“How did it feel?” Jon Kay asked her. This might sound rather touchy feely and shallow given the seriousness of a data breach involving millions of customers but it’s actually a typical journalist’s question. As well as facts, figures, technology and the law, will be looking for something human. Little bits of picture painting and human stories will engage readers and stick in their minds. In our crisis media training courses for retailers, we always prepare CEOs and other senior spokespeople for this question. Answering it with just the right amount of human emotion is essential.
Gold command
Ms Khoury-Haq achieved this and then went straight back to the action that the organisation took. “We’d played out these scenarios,” she explained. “Gold command,” might not mean much to a BBC Breakfast audience but it sounded serious and authoritative. She did well to go on to reassure viewers that no financial data was lost.
There was also a reference to working with the authorities. This is something that we recommend in our crisis media training courses for retailers. It has the benefit of showing that you’re taking action. In addition, although we might not know or necessarily trust you, Research shows that audiences tend to believe that regulators and authorities have expertise and are doing their best when things go wrong.
Crisis Communications training courses
“How worried should our viewers be?” she was also asked. Again, this is a question with understandable human emotion at its heart and it’s focused very much on the audience. Ms Khoury-Haq came across as honest here. Some might be tempted to dodge the question or gloss over it, but she acknowledged that people will be worried. However, she then did something that we would recommend in our crisis communications training courses – she moved back onto the action that the organisation took.
“As soon as we knew what was taken, we informed our members and advised them about what they needed to do to protect their information as well,” she explained. Again, the questions contained that element of human emotion. It’s worth thinking about the audience here. There would be less emphasis on emotion if this interview had taken place on the Today programme, for instance, but BBC Breakfast has a strong emphasis on human stories.
“I’m devastated that information was taken,” Ms Khoury-Haq revealed. In our crisis communications training courses for retailers, we don’t only look at messaging. We help the participants to find the words and phrases that work for them so that they can put these messages across in a way that makes them look and feel authentic.
Human story
There followed a lovely little human story about, “the impact on our colleagues as they tried to contain all of this.” She added: “I’ll never forget the looks on their faces trying to fight off these criminals and protect our members’ data.” This little bit of picture painting both helped to make her sound human but also painted her colleagues in a good light and really drove home the message about action again.
Sitting alongside Ms Khoury-Haq was Fergus Hay, chief executive of The Hacking Games, a social impact business, which aims to help prevent cybercrime by channelling cyber talent into positive, ethical careers and away from hacking.
Positive, proactive campaign
From a corporate communications point of view, it was a clever idea to turn this incident from a purely defensive play into a positive, proactive campaign. It also demonstrates another communications strategy that we teach in our crisis communications courses for retailers. As is the case here, a few months after the incident has been successfully managed organisations can think about how to discuss it in broader, societal terms. Organisations can often use it as a genuine exercise in corporate social responsibility – but only if they handle it well. Again, retailers and other organisations often bring us into test message is here so that they will work well with the media I’m not look like a cynical marketing operation
Crisis communications for retailers
In the final part of the interview, Jon Kay asked Ms Khoury-Haq how Co-op customers could respond if they were worried about their data. She was right, we would say, to talk about the organisation keeping them informed and “protecting their data going forward.” It’s a small point but perhaps she could use the second person here. This sounds natural and conversational and would mean that she was talking directly to the audience.
Jon Kay’s suggestion that she took the situation personally shows how sincerely and authentically she came across. Sally Nugent asked whether she had ever considered stepping down. This is a classic journalist’s question for the leadership of an organisation that has suffered a crisis. It’s something that we role play in our crisis communications training for retailers.
Ms Khoury-Haq looked surprised (had she and her team not anticipated it?) but, again, she had a simple, natural sounding answer: “Who else was gonna do it? Why would you walk away when you should try and fix the issue. So here I am.”
Wondering how you would perform in a crisis?
This was a good performance. Now, you might be the CEO of a retail organisation and you’re wondering how you would perform in a crisis. Or you could be part of the in-house comms team that might be supporting the boss in such a situation. We also work closely with public relations companies who have retailers as clients. Either way, come and talk to us about our crisis communications training courses for retailers. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
