Developing a Personal Crisis Preparedness Plan Debra L

Developing a Personal Crisis Preparedness Plan Debra L. Bethard-Caplick, MBA, APR, Bobbi J. Simmons, APR, & Marlene Neill, Ph. D. , APR

Your Personal Career Crisis Preparedness Plan 1) 2) 3) 4) Understand the risks of pledging the PRSA Code of Ethics How to choose a job opportunity with the future in mind What can go wrong when you adhere to the PRSA Code of Ethics How and why to have your own personal plan for career crisis

What can go wrong when you’re doing right: Our stories Bobbi Simmons Debra Bethard-Caplick Marlene Neill

Who deserves your loyalty? • Loyal to a colleague … or honesty? • Loyal to the public interest … or the client? My Story: Bobbi Simmons • To the client … or the news media? • To my employer … or my client?

The consequences of speaking up • You win an award for issues/crisis management brilliance • You lose the job or the account • Your reputation is enhanced – or compromised

Dealing with the challenge before the fact • • Discover whether a prospective employer, employee or client has an ethical focus or disposition When you agree to work together, make the code part of your understanding and your work record Prepare yourself and your family early in your career for potential loss Build your personal brand as an ethical practitioner who is cool under fire – both within the company and the profession

Dealing with the challenge before the fact • • • Insurance and legal ramifications: know your options and rights Always be preparing for your next job move and be ready Build a strong network Find an ethical mentor Practice ethical problem-solving both personally and across your organization Use Ethics Month as a springboard for action: ethical workouts, ethical fire drills

In the daily course of business • • Include ethical failure along with fire, cyber threats and other challenges as part of your issues/crisis preparedness plan Always be scanning the horizon Schedule and execute practice drills Stay current and educated on the subject of ethics in general and within your industry

When the unexpected suddenly happens • • • The police show up and escort a key leader out of the building Someone in the organization makes a serious mistake False rumors destroy the president/CEO/owner’s reputation

When Political Infighting and PR Collide My Story: Debra Bethard-Caplick

Episode I: Adults Behaving Badly • • Transition from long term leader to first time leader Opposing board factions and egos Major misstep by in-house lobbyist in response to a crisis Leader and all direct reports hired by this leader pushed out

Episode II: “Mean Girls” in Action • • Transition from long term leader to first time leader Opposing board factions and egos Interviewed on Tuesday Hired on Thursday Started on Monday One boss fired on Friday, the other in less than two weeks Let the games begin!

What Else Can Happen? My Stories: Marlene Neill

What else can happen • Public relations professional was asked to prevent a story about his divorce from appearing the newspaper. • I told him the only person that could do anything about this is you, if you call the publisher yourself. I am powerless to do anything about it… [I] got a call that night at 9: 30 and was asked where it was going to be in the paper. How am I supposed to know where it’s going to be in the paper? I had managed to get it off of page one of business and got it buried inside, so I made a call and found out and he called me back at 10: 20, and said I want you to go up to that paper and make sure that’s not in there. I said, “I can’t do that. ” And he said, “maybe I can get somebody that can do the job better than you. ” And I don’t work at that company more. – Male with 21 years of experience in public relations My Story: Marlene Neill

What else can happen • Public relations professional was asked to distribute false information in a news release • “I gave her [the VP of marketing] four different choices. You know let’s reword the press release, let’s leave out the information that she perceived was damaging, although, I didn’t perceive it that way, but anyway, a number of choices…my final option to her was let’s take my name off of this one and put your name on it and that was met with a red face and I think what she said was, ‘Are you refusing to do the job for which we hired you. ’ And I said, ‘I wouldn’t say that I’m refusing to do the job for which you hired me because I believe the job for which you hired me, you hired me knowing I was an APR, that’s the job. ’…with no good resolution for me in view, I tendered my resignation, which was more than accepted. Because they just wanted people to tow the line and do what they told them to do. ” – Female with 10 years of experience in public relations

What else can happen • Public relations professional reported ethics concern to hotline • “I noticed that there were some conflicts of interest happening within the C-Suite and I reported it to the business ethics program and I reported it to the legal department, and nothing happened, except that I was reassigned to somebody else and basically sidelined. And as a senior practitioner, they brought in somebody who was 20 years my junior and basically started to assign my work to her. And they didn’t fire me, but they completely put me in a closet. And I watched as my duties eroded and was so frustrated because I thought this is so wrong. And people throughout the company realized what was going on and felt this is so wrong, but nothing was happening. ” – Female PRSA Fellow

How to Live Through a Career Crisis • Look for ways to cut expenses • When I returned to graduate school, we sold our house and rented a duplex • Started buying more generic household items • Carpooled when possible

How to Live Through a Career Crisis • If you lose your job • • Immediately deploy your action plan Deal with trauma, shock and depression Choices in the gap What you should/can say/do … or not

How to choose a job opportunity • Look for employers featured on lists of Best Places to Work • Talk with employees who work there to get a sense of the culture • High turnover rates can be a warning sign • As a PRSA Fellow cautioned: “Guess what, the lead attorney shared my views and assured me he wasn’t going to let any funky stuff go on. But he was there all of three weeks. ”

Managing relationships • Reach out to colleagues in your professional network for references and job referrals • Attend networking events • “What’s been beneficial to me, especially if I have a question about something, I’ve got a network of peers that are accredited, and that I respect, and they subscribe to the same beliefs and values as I do. And if I need a little help on something, and they can …talk you through it, ‘cause, you’re not out there by yourself. ” (Neill and Drumwright, 2012)

Who Are You? As a Person and as a Professional?

Goal Setting for Your Career • • • Identify what you want for your career Set short, medium, and long-term career goals Don’t assume anything is out of order Review your goals periodically and adjust them as new opportunities arise Always be aware of your environment

Personal Your Crisis Plan in Action: • Think of it as your own personal crisis PR plan • Know the company culture • What is and is not acceptable • Does the company’s ethics match yours? • What-if scenarios

10 Steps of Personal Crisis Communications Planning 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Anticipate a career crisis happening Monitor the situation Build a master resume Maintain your social media presence Identify your personal crisis team Plan what you will say to different scenarios Practice answering questions about the situation Know your personal career stakeholders Keep your network fresh, inside and out Keep your personal finances in readiness for an emergency

Crisis Planning in Action: Preparing in Advance • Think! • Identify influencers in other areas of the company • Pay attention to what’s going on in the company • Understand the impact on you and your responsibilities

When it Happens to You: Ethical Decision-making in Action • Preparing to make ethical choices Ethics vs. Principles vs. Values • There’s nothing wrong with taking time to think • External considerations – beyond “just” ethics • Have an “exit strategy”

Questions? Contact: dcaplick@ameritech. net 773 -779 -7884 bsimmons@arlingtonroe. com 317 -554 -8585 Marlene_Neill@baylor. edu 254 -710 -6322

Resources 1. Effective Crisis Communication, Lead Author, Robert R. Ulmer, Dean, University of Nevada Las Vegas Greenspun College of Urban Affairs 2. Giving Voice to Values, Mary Gentile: http: //www. darden. virginia. edu/ibis/initiatives/giving -voice-to-values/ 3. Neill, M. S. & Barnes, A. (2018). Public Relations Ethics: Senior PR Pros Tell Us How to Speak Up and Keep Your Job, New York: Business Expert Press. 4. Are Millennials Equipped to be Ethical PR Leaders? https: //prsay. prsa. org/2017/03/01/are -millennials-equipped-to-be-ethical-pr-leaders/ 5. PRSay Ethics: https: //prsay. prsa. org/category/pr-ethics/ AND … We strongly recommend that you obtain your APR.