Crisis Management

What is a crisis?  In general?  For an organisation?  For government or bureaucracy?  For a private company?  In healthcare?  In drug safety?

Topics  The nature of crisis  Crisis management model  Planning  Risk assessment  Risk management  Crisis communications  Risk Communications

Key features of a Crisis  Low probability  High impact  Uncertain/ambiguous causes and effects  Differential perceptions

High level threats:  Safety  Health  Environment  National security

Specific threats to organisation:  Operational viability  Reputation  Credibility  Financial stability  Legal action

Consequential effects:  Uncertainty/ambiguity  Urgency of response  Strategic effects of decisions

Common features of a crisis:  The situation materialises unexpectedly  Decisions are required urgently  Time is short  Specific threats are identified  Urgent demands for information are received  There is sense of loss of control  Pressures build over time  Routine business become increasingly difficult  Demands are made to identify someone to blame  Outsiders take an unaccustomed interest  Reputation suffers  Communications are increasingly difficult to manage

Purpose of crisis management:  Prevention  Survival  Successful outcomes

Successful outcomes:  Positive balance of success/failure

- Perpetrator was never identified - Future attempts cannot therefore be precluded - Swift reactions reinforced Company reputation for integrity - Stakeholders reported high degree of trust - Product did not suffer in long term TYLENOL TAMPERING - Long term costs were transferred to public - Delays in implementing clean-up leading to loss of wildlife. - Image management failed to fully recover the Company’s reputation in wider community - Financial losses were bearable - Costs relating to clean-up were less than pre-emptive costs - Image management recovered the Company’s reputation in business community EXXON VALDEZ Failure outcomesSuccess outcomesIncident

Three criteria of success:  Has organisational capacity been restored?  Have losses been minimised?  Have lessons been learned?

Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback

Existing conditions:  Open bow doors / poor safety culture  Smoker / poor cleaning standards Culture or environment

Intrinsic crisis:  Total situation as seen by neutral observer with all the facts  As seen by all individuals from particular viewpoints Perceived crisis:

Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback

Immature crisis response: Instant and irrational (denial/shock/panic)

Mature crisis management:  Grasp of intrinsic crisis  Implementation of plans and procedures

Mature crisis management:  Technical intelligence  Emotional intelligence

Review and feedback:  Assessing success and failure  Feeding learning into future planning

Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback

Management objective:  Ad hoc emergency reaction? OR  Building management capacity to handle unforeseen events?

Planning for Crisis Management

Integration of learning Crisis Management Implementation Authorisation Procedures Technical Intelligence Crisis Management Planning Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback Crisis- prepared culture Emotional Intelligence

Gathering intelligence:  Who?  What?  When?  How?

Who for Government?  Ministers  Officials  Political parties  Sponsors  Voters  International allies  The public in general  Tax-payers  Consumer and lobby groups  Lawyers  The media  ?

Who for medicine and drug safety?  Manufacturers  Regulators  Politicians  Employees  Health professionals  Pharmacists  Academics  The public  Patients  Consumer and lobby groups  Lawyers  The media  ?

The first goal of crisis management is prevention

Intelligence:  Continuous scanning (networks/media/p public opinion, etc)  Outward focus  Collaboration  Positive relationships

Assess risks

Risk assessment is:  Identification  define and describe  Estimation  likelihood and consequences  Evaluation  acceptability of risk

AcceptableHigh chance that public and media criticism will arise Recall of a defective batch of medication may lower consumer confidence and take-up rate UnacceptableMedium chance leading to severe health problems or death Medication in question could be mistaken for sweets by young children EvaluationEstimation I dentification

Priority actions to sensitively withdraw product whilst reassuring honestly and openly AcceptableHigh chance that public and media criticism will arise Recall of a defective batch of medication may lower consumer confidence and take-up rate Product needs to be re-designed to prevent the possibility UnacceptableMedium chance leading to severe health problems or death Medication in question could be mistaken for sweets by young children PlanningEvaluationEstimationIdentification

Risk management is:  Planning  Resourcing  Monitoring  Controlling

Crisis Planning:  Assess risks  Produce plans  Define roles and responsibilities  Appoint crisis management team  Draw up communication plan  Produce contact and organisation chart  Promote crisis-ready culture  Publish plans and conduct training  Test, review and practise

Crisis Communications

Communication plan: Core elements are:  Identifying audiences (Who?)  How communication is to take place (How?)  What messages are to be communicated (What?) The core process is:  Active, two-way communication

Who matters and how will they be contacted?  Ministers  Officials  Political parties  Sponsors  Voters  International allies  Tax-payers  Manufacturers  Politicians  Health professionals  Pharmacists  Academics  Patients  Shareholders  Stock-market  Regulators  Senior executives  Experts  Employees  The public  Customers  Consumer and lobby groups  Lawyers  The media  ?

Dear Consumer Group You will understand that managing the nation’s drugs is a complex business. From time to time there are scares or crises which cause much concern to everyone. We are keen to discuss the handling of such events, and to plan jointly with you and others how we might best communicate with you in such circumstances. We’d like to establish one-to-one contact between a member of your team and ours…

Message Options [What?] 1)Full apology 2)Corrective action 3)Ingratiation 4)Justification 5)Excuse 6)Denial 7)Attack the attacker

What does the world want to see?  Acceptance of responsibility  Willingness to take positive steps

Message Options: 1)Full apology 2)Corrective action 3)Ingratiation 4)Justification 5)Excuse 6)Denial 7)Attack the attacker

Critical activities:  Initial response  Lines to take

Initial response: Tell the truth as it is known  Facts beyond question  Actions being taken  Acknowledgement of emotions/psychological needs

Lines to take:  Essential responses planned  Each new authorised response is logged  Database  Book  Wallchart  Message board

QuestionIs there a specific risk to aged patients from the medicine in question ? Is the medicine known by any other trade names? Source / DateRegional Health Authority secretary by phone 1/2/02 Feature editor Daily News by phone 2/2/02 Line to takePatients over 65 and of frail health are considered to be high risk Action to trace other trade marks is urgently proceeding Source / DateProfessor Chang letter dated 2/2/02 Crisis team leader document dated 1/2/02

Media demands [How?]  Accuracy and simplicity  Statistics which are explained  Context of information  Comments from highest authority  Some controversial elements  Both sides of the issue  Speed, speed and speed

The ideal spokesperson:  Polite and patient  Well-informed and authoritative  Accurate and reliable  Articulate  Available  Trustworthy  Evidently committed to the process

Continuing public information and education  ‘No drug is 100% safe’  Many drugs have potential side-effects and adverse effects  Complexity of benefit-harm / effectiveness-risk  Rational use of drugs

Elements increasing media interest:  Dramatic emotional impact e.g. thalidomide and children  Large numbers affected  Unexpected links e.g. MMR vaccine and autism  Polarised opinions  Conflict e.g. health professionals vs. pharmaceutical companies, or between professionals  Geography e.g. proximity to own country, hospital etc  Emotive pigeonholes e.g. ‘miracle drug’, ‘poison’  Links to celebrities

XXWeb Site XMobile Offices XEnquiry Desks XX s XXConferences XNews Releases XXInterviews XHotlines XXTelephone AccessTransmission Primary PurposeMethods

Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback

Integration of learning Crisis Management Implementation Authorisation Procedures Technical Intelligence Crisis Management Planning Crisis Management Model Antecedent conditions Intrinsic crisisPerceived crisis Immature crisis response Mature crisis management Review and Feedback Crisis- prepared culture Emotional Intelligence

Communicating Risk

Communication of risk  Very poor public grasp of risk and risk statistics  Confusion between relative/absolute/reference/ attributable risk  Variable perception/tolerance of different kinds of risk  Fantasy of a ‘safe drug’

Perception of risk Factors increasing intolerance:  Involuntary - e.g. exposure to pollution rather than voluntary, such as smoking or playing dangerous sports  Unfairly distributed - some benefit whilst other suffer  Inescapable - cannot be avoided by one’s personal actions  Unfamiliar - arising from a novel source  Man-made - from other than natural sources continued…

Perception of risk Factors increasing intolerance:  Hidden/irreversible - e.g. effects damaging but concealed for years  Affects posterity - threatens children, births or future generations  Particularly dreadful - e.g. distressing symptoms or social rejection  Victims identifiable - e.g. a particular blood type or social group  Scientifically obscure - new or rare  Contradicted - argued by responsible sources

Problematic issues in drug safety:  Adverse effects  Risk as a concept in medicine  Benefit-harm  Effectiveness-risk  Public health versus profit  Access to medicines continued...

Problematic issues in drug safety:  Individual patient variation and susceptibility  Polypharmacy  Relationship of allopathic and traditional medicines  Resistance  Diagnostic errors  Prescribing errors  Compliance issues

Risk Factors for Government Officials  Political expediency  Culture of secrecy  Accountability  Bureaucracy and inertia  Hierarchy  Process versus performance  Complexity  Workload  Corruption

Summary Topics covered:  The nature of crisis  Crisis management model  Planning  Risk assessment  Risk management  Crisis communications  Learning from experience

and good luck! (though luck has nothing to do with good crisis management!)