Even the Best Crisis Response Might Not Avoid Bad PR
A story from New York City illustrates the sad fact that even good crisis response can have difficult consequences. The reporter starts with the bombshell fact that the health department “received a complaint” about staff abuse of children at a Bright Horizons childcare center. You have to read down to the 7thparagraph to learn that it was Bright Horizons itself that made the first report. [Full disclosure: I provide legal services in Georgia to Bright Horizons from time to time, but all I know about this incident is what I have read in news reports.]
This and other news articles indicate that Bright Horizons did exactly what it should have done when the allegations came to light. The center immediately fired the employees and reported the allegations to investigators. Yet, the organization gets no credit in these articles for the steps that it took, and perhaps no credit in the community grapevine. Unfortunately, that reaction is all too common and the most your organization can do in such situations is brace for the public relations fallout.
It’s an unavoidable truth of human nature that people would rather concentrate on scandal than positive facts. The news media tends to feed that prejudice, and most reporters would rather talk about lurid facts than prosaic remedies. The allegations in this case certainly are terrible, and it’s no surprise that news reports describe them. The fact that the childcare center took proactive steps is much less interesting to both reporters and readers.
But a second lesson from this incident is that the backlash could have been worse. If the center had not fired or suspended the teachers and had not reported the allegations, then parents, investigators, and news media would have accused the organization of a coverup. The only way an organization can have any hope of getting through this is to be as transparent as possible from the very beginning.
Of course, you always have to balance competing principles of confidentiality, and your lawyer undoubtedly will be concerned about potential legal liability. But we advise our clients, as we write in our book, that your goals in responding to allegations or injuries are much broader than simply avoiding legal liability. You also must care for youth in care, their families, and your employees. Meeting that larger mission when confronted with a crisis requires that you be transparent and accept responsibility early.
As this incident shows, doing the right thing will not necessarily earn you any credit with authorities or your client. However, you still need to take these steps. Not only are these steps the right thing to do, but it’s the only way you can avoid more profound negative consequences.
