CorpComms Magazine

Edward Walsh, managing director, APCO Worldwide

There is an old saying about how, when asked the way to Dublin, an Irishman replies, Well, I wouldn't start from here.

And, indeed, the best approach to an apology is not to start from where one is necessary!

Northern Ireland's water crisis was caused not by human agency but the weather. The real disaster, however, was the impression of chaos and incompetence in the face of natural calamity. Public utilities ought to be more aware than anyone of the likelihood of increases in extreme weather events resulting from global climate change and plan appropriately. In the case of Northern Ireland Water, it is difficult to avoid concluding that any planning was simply inadequate and that they simply treated the issue as an engineering problem to the exclusion of their customers, the public at large, media and politicians.

In these circumstances, managers cannot apologise enough but all apologies will make things worse, as contrition is correctly taken for weakness, unless coupled with an effective and visible drive to tackle the root cause of the problem.

NI Water should have moved to a war room bringing together their key executives with their communications team, with strategy meetings at the start and end of each day, allowing the management to really take charge and be seen to do so. They should also have been willing to incorporate the politicians who have ultimate responsibility for the service.

This internal organisational set-up should have been matched with an approach to public information that conveyed openness, including regular on-camera media briefings coupled with maximum use of the Internet.

Bringing in the politicians in a positive way ought to have been a priority. Politics is a zero sum game and so it is unrealistic to expect that politicians would ignore the opportunity to pass blame; clearly, however, there was little or no degree of real trust between the politicians and NI Water.

Andrew Fairburn, director, Regester Larkin

The crisis is still ongoing. The situation is far from clear and no end date is in sight. The engineers don't yet have a plan for resolving things. But yet the media, the public and politicians are demanding answers. What can you possibly say?

Such a situation is far from unusual in a crisis, yet chief executives and those advising them can successfully communicate as long as they remember a few basic principles. First, they need a licence to be heard. If people are angry or think that the company doesn't 'get it', they are unlikely to listen. Here is where showing a human face - speaking to camera, demonstrating an understanding of things from the public's perspective, perhaps saying sorry - can be so powerful.

But saying sorry is not enough. Companies need to balance showing a human face with a demonstration of confidence. It does not need to have all the answers, but it does need a plan for how it is going to get the right answers. If you cannot immediately say exactly how you are going to resolve the situation, then you at least need to be able to communicate the action you will be taking to get to a place from which it can be resolved.

And finally, you need to look to the future. You need to be talking about how lessons will be learned and how things will change.

Underlying these basic principles is the need to maintain trust - the ultimate currency for any business - and to manage expectations. Always play with a straight bat and seek to avoid the temptation to unrealistically talk down a situation. The Chilean mine disaster showed that the disciplined management of expectations can be critical in protecting reputations.

But all this is almost impossible to achieve without planning and rehearsal. The key question any business executive should be asking is: just how well prepared are we?

Neil Daugherty, director, Blue Rubicon

Just before Christmas, the big thaw followed the big freeze, hundreds of pipes burst and Northern Ireland's water network collapsed. About 40,000 homes served by Northern Ireland Water spent their 12 days of Christmas without water. But the problems are more deep seated than the region's water pipes - systemic under investment, compounded by direct government ownership of NI Water and the lack of either rates, or metering, for water. As the taps ran dry, NI Water's customer contact channels were inundated and failed. The result? NI Water's chief executive Laurence MacKenzie resigned, and an external review of NI Water was commissioned by Stormont.

Putting aside the particular local politics and ownership issues, what are the lessons for communicators? Communication was in as short supply as water: NI Water's board admitted customer communications were 'inadequate and unacceptable'.

They were slow to respond to events, fuelling the story in a slow news week. The news cycle was shortened by national news reporters, like 5Live's Stephen Nolan, being on the ground, and as NI Water's website and call centre fell over, customers vented their concerns on phone-ins and Twitter (a channel where NI Water is silent).

While the media were 'always on', NI Water's bosses were invisible. Compare this with Virgin's response to the Cumbria train crash in 2007- Richard Branson quitting his ski holiday to be seen managing the crisis on the ground. The wash-up?

Stormont needs to convince locals that the £3 billion needed to fix the region's water infrastructure is a price worth paying. NI Water's new management must demonstrate action and investment in pipes, meters and reservoirs, showing customers where this money will go to prevent future crises. They must act on customer service and communications, staffing up call centres, responding to customers on their terms, where and when they want (Twitter, Facebook or text). And, finally, on education.

Water is not free. If customers see this through meters, they will waste less. Cleansing NI Water's reputation will be a slow road from perdition. It should fix its business quietly, while giving customers a transparent view of the many small steps it takes.

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