QUOTE OF THE MONTH:  I don’t worry too much about pointing fingers at the past. I operate on the theory that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

– Warren Buffet
CEO Hathaway and Multi-billionaire

(EDITOR’S NOTE:  Yes, I know it is November…but circumstances conspired to make this edition a couple of days late.   I thought I would share with you some thoughts which I will be presenting at the upcoming Fall Meeting of CHWMEG, Inc. on November 11th in Orlando. CHWMEG, Inc. is a non-profit trade association comprised of manufacturing and other “industrial” companies interested in efficiently managing their wastes as part of their environmental stewardship programs. As part of their efforts to responsibly manage their members’ wastes, CHWMEG conducts independent reviews of commercial facilities that treat, store, dispose, recycle or transport waste. They also develop and deliver seminars and hold conferences and publish informational documents to further these goals.       While some of the lessons here refer mainly to manufacturing
facilities, most of the lessons drawn from this major fire at a waste transfer facility that occurred in Apex, NC in October of 2006 can apply to organizations of all kinds.)

Before an Incident

1.  Recognize how much better it is to PREVENT an incident than to RESPOND to one. (Spending money to upgrade your facilities and provide 24-hour coverage — operating personnel or security guards who can catch an emergency when it is still small and manageable– is preferable to harsh fines/penalties).

2.  Ensure your emergency plan is complete and reasonable.   Test it.  (An emergency plan that calls for employees to put out a fire with an extinguisher is NOT reasonable when there are no personnel on site from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.)

3.  Realize ALL of your actions - before, during, and after an incident - will be scrutinized under a microscope with 20/20 hindsight. Make sure your daily operating decisions are made with an eye toward safety, environmental protection, and neighborhood concerns.

4.  Do things that develop a level of trust within the community, especially with emergency responders.  Also reach out to local officials, media, and neighbors.

5.  Make sure neighbors know you are open to answering their questions.  Develop your sense of empathy for legitimate concerns of neighbors.  Recognize that their “core values” are prioritized:

a. Health of selves and families
b. Value of possessions and property
c. Environmental protection
d. Quality of life issues
e. Peace of mind
f. Economic security

Don’t try to remind them of how many people you employ or how much you pax in taxes when they are fearful of negative health effects.

6.  Identify and train a site manager/employee to be an initial spokesperson who can quickly deliver a “stand-by statement” until the official spokesperson arrives. Make sure you have some “stand-by statements” on the most likely types of incidents prepared and approved so you can fill in the blanks.

7.  If you deal with hazardous materials, establish, maintain and have readily available a current inventory of materials on site.  Putting firefighters and neighbors at risk because they do not know what is on site is not acceptable.

8.  Learn (through seminars, books, tapes) how to deal effectively with angry/upset/concerned people.

9.  Consider underwriting (or sharing in) the cost for a computerized telephone alert system to notify officials and neighbors if they need to take actions (because of you
or anything else that could go wrong in the community — lost child, escaped convict, water main break, etc.).

During an Incident

10. Remember the Chinese word for “crisis” is made up of two characters: “danger” and “turning point.”  Use this to keep things in perspective.  If you handle your crisis well, you can be seen by the public as being responsible and responsive so that they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you to continue running your organization.

11.  Be prepared to speak competently and confidently to the public - initially through the media– to provide accurate and helpful information.  PRACTICE AHEAD OF TIME - DON’T “WING IT.” You might want to consider hiring a crisis communications expert to put you and your management team through some realistic role-plays to make sure you are prepared.

12.  Make available a technical expert (preferably an objective third-party) who can speak knowledgeably about health effects of your materials.  This takes pre-planning to be effective.

After an Incident

13.  Expect lawyers to come out of the woodwork; know whom to call for legal advice - but avoid those who advise you to say “No comment!”

14.  Expect activist environmental groups to converge - national and ad hoc local; prepare to sit down and discuss issues with the latter.

15.  Work to mend fences with local officials (those who give you permits, inspect you, and have to answer residents’ questions about you).  Do what you can to make them look good, so you can get back to work.

16.   Expect stricter regulations to be instituted at local or state, if not federal, level.  Politicians must be seen to respond to issues of public safety.  Cooperation is expected - and required.

See again Point #1 - recognize it is better to PREVENT an incident than RESPOND to one.

So…if you are in the Orlando area on the evening of Nov. 10th or the afternoon of Nov. 12th, stop by and say “hello” and we can talk for a while about whatever crisis you are facing at the moment!

UNTIL NEXT MONTH…KEEP COOL!

Judy Hoffman
www.judyhoffman.com
1-800-848-3907 PIN 2145

JCH Enterprises, 116 Nelson Lane, Clayton, NC 27527, USA