Hearts & Minds: What to do when condemned by the data

This was not a happy Easter for one major airport. Official data showed it was the worst for flight delays. Let us not dwell on the operator or the country. It could be any company anywhere. What is important is how you deal with the PR.

Don’t even think of challenging the study. It is objective and applies to all your competitors. The numbers don’t lie. You’re bottom. Do not shout at the referee.

Saying ‘no comment’ is not an option either. That looks cheap and mealy-mouthed. So, you’re a firm that likes to advertise and promote itself but when the going gets heavy, you prefer to remain silent. Your stakeholders deserve better.

The reality, however, is that you should really keep whatever you do say to a minimum. The mistake companies often make in these situations is to say too much. The more you go on, the less impact it has. Worse, it starts to seem as though you are wriggling, that you are casting the blame elsewhere. The excuses may be valid and they may add up, but a list, really? Save it for the internals and one-to-ones with key stakeholders and the annual review, possibly for a detailed press interview, but only then. As a reaction to a news story, it is wrong. Remember, too, something that corporates and their CEOs frequently forget: make it too long and the media will cut the quote. There they are, providing chapter and verse, and there is the news editor pressing the ‘delete’ key.

What companies like to do as well is to cling to something good. It’s natural, we all do it in our daily lives. ‘Yes, I know I did that but I also did this – and it’s brilliant.’ So, you accompany the bad stuff with good – providing your own set of statistics to highlight that things are not so terrible, that in fact, you’re quite smart. Most of your customers are satisfied, or this outlet scored awfully but overall, the branches are doing swimmingly and profits are purring. No, no and, no. The focus is on this finding, now. That is what the headline will scream and that is what you must deal with. Do not head into the Ds of diversion, deflection, distraction – they are off-limits. 

Keep it short and natural. You are disappointed and you are working hard at making improvements. Anything else is superfluous.

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.