Hearts & Minds: How comms can navigate the Christmas party season

We are into party season and as predictable as the articles about the price of turkeys and sprouts, we’re seeing splashes about festivities that have gone horribly wrong. There was one about a Buckingham Palace bash for staff that carried on over the road at a bar where things got out of hand; and a football club that had to abandon one of its parties after drugs paraphernalia was found in the toilets.

One piece of bad, often drunken, behaviour, can cause harm to the corporate image. Responsible employers know this. But don’t go over the top. A law firm this year accompanied its invitation with a warning. Beneath a message exhorting guests to eat, drink and be merry was a note in only slightly smaller type advising that inappropriate conduct would not be tolerated. Someone who attended said for some reason the evening never quite got going.

If it does go wrong, what then? Don’t attempt to hide and deny. What occurred was on your watch, under your corporate name. This is not the moment to insist it was an unauthorised event and come across as pernickety. They were your folks out on the town, together. In general, a fulsome apology and a willingness to pay for any damage caused, together with a promise to deal with the offending workers, will suffice.

Your embarrassment will be savoured but it will be fleeting. The public can be forgiving, and this is an instance they’re able to relate to, where many have been. Should, God forbid, the police have been involved and charges are likely, the problem is of a different magnitude. Here, it is best to say little, beyond expressing regret that the action of one or a few individuals, whatever it is, spoilt what was a celebratory occasion, you’re cooperating with the authorities and you expect the legal process to take its course. By keeping it to a tight-lipped minimum your anger should be obvious.

One suggestion to head off trouble: find a famous picture of five young men in black tie heading out, intent on having a good time; and post it on notice boards. They were a group of financial traders who called themselves the ‘Flaming Ferraris’ after their favourite cocktail. That snap of excess, coming during a period of hardship elsewhere, and the resulting coverage, ruined them. The memory still sends a chill down many a City spine.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.