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by Tom Wahle

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

"It's time to update my dusty plan," said a company executive. "We learned the importance of meeting employees' emotional needs," offered another.

These were among the many lessons learned from the tragic events of September 11 cited by corporate executives, contingency planners and risk managers in

an informal survey conducted by Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.

The opportunity to survey representatives from both small businesses and large corporations came about when Ogilvy PR was invited to participate in an emergency management seminar sponsored by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA). 

At the seminar, I asked participants to write down what they viewed as the most important lessons learned from September 11. We also interviewed a number of our own clients about their experiences on September 11.

The findings from the NJBIA seminar and client interviews are summarized in these "Six Lessons Learned from September 11." In all, our survey reflects the insights and ideas of about 80 crisis managers and corporate executives from a range of industry sectors. 

Lesson #1 Get Ready...The Threat is Real

Companies in our survey identified the reality of the threat and the need to prepare as the primary lessons learned from September 11.  They said terrorism must be taken more seriously, that every business is vulnerable, and that companies need to act now to protect their operations and their people. 

"We learned we're not prepared for worst-case scenarios ... not as a family, a company, a state or a country."  (Manufacturer)

•Conduct a threat assessment.  Ask department heads, employees and even customers for their perspectives on threats to your business. Consider terrorism, natural disasters, fires, bomb threats, neighborhood emergencies, technology failures, security threats and reputation crises. Consider financial threats, investigations, employee morale and lawsuits.  For each threat, consider the likelihood of occurrence and the potential impact on the business. 

"We need to anticipate results beyond the realm of probability." (Manufacturer)

•Begin with employee safety.  The most important aspect of every business is the people.  Consider actions that can have an immediate impact on saving lives such as fire safety, evacuation planning, security and emergency information for employees and their families. 

"We had focused on fire and building disasters.  September 11 raised the bar in terms of the level of plan.  We need to cope with the unthinkable." (Shopping Mall)

• Develop a comprehensive crisis plan.  This one is obvious but the plan is a must.  Maximize resources by focusing on common consequences of disaster such as denied access to facilities, missing employees, disrupted supply lines and stressed communications systems.  For example, building redundant communications systems prepares you for all types of crises. 

"Emergency plans should be a living part of every business operation." (Consulting Engineer)

• Rethink locations for backup facilities.  Some companies in New York City discovered that their back-up facilities were too close to the main office—on September 11, neither location was accessible. One approach is to have one backup location in the area but not in the same neighborhood as the main office, and another backup location farther away.  Consider employees' ability to travel before picking a location that's too far.

• Decentralize resources.  Businesses can lose everything when resources are in one location. Identify suppliers for backup services. Maintain redundant media services. Have an off-site facility for data storage. E-mail important data to different computer networks.

• Test your plan.  Hold briefings at the unit or department level to familiarize executives with their responsibilities.  Tabletop exercises bring executives together in a conference room setting to talk through a crisis scenario from beginning to end.  Tabletops are an efficient way to identify problems before conducting more demanding training activities.

"We test the information technology section of our disaster recovery plan annually, but I'm troubled that we haven't tested managers' participation in the program." (Financial Services)

Lesson #2  Find a Way to Find Your Staff

On September 11, every company faced the same question: "Where are our people?"  Are you able to locate staff in an emergency?  Would you be able to determine who's in the office, who's off-site and who's on vacation?  Do you have access to executives' travel and hotel arrangements?  Are you able to communicate with off-duty employees and their families? 

"We learned how important it is to know where our people are and whether they can be involved in the crisis response." (Environmental Health Services Coordinator)

• Establish agreement with travel vendors.  Make sure your travel agent can efficiently keep track of traveling employees.  They should be able to quickly access names of employees on travel, itineraries, hotel phone numbers, cellular phone numbers and so on.  You may also need agreements with travel and hotel vendors to assist visiting employees who may be stranded in your city.

• Establish redundant communications systems for contacting employees.  Expect cellular telephone systems to be overloaded.  Consider broadcast voicemail, fax and e-mail systems that reach employees' homes and offices.  Consider pager and beeper systems, instant messaging, automated call-out systems and public address systems.

• Establish redundant communications systems for employees to reach you.  Set up a toll-free hotline for recorded messages.  Establish points-of-contact for employees to call such as your company's call center, a central operator or sister facility.  Know the procedures for posting information quickly on the company's Web site and intranet.

"We need to be able to communicate without e-mail, voice mail, telephone and faxes." (Professional Services Organization)

Lesson #3 Take Evacuation Seriously

Better evacuation planning and enforcement were the primary lessons learned from September 11 identified in our survey.  We all tend to be complacent when the fire alarms sounds, but waiting to evacuate can prove fatal.

• Develop an evacuation plan.  Evacuation needs to be achievable and procedures should be communicated in a meaningful manner.  Have clearly defined assembly areas, and procedures for accounting for employees, contractors and visitors.  Remember to identify any special needs employees may have.

• Strictly enforce evacuation policies.  Hold employees and especially senior executives accountable for complying with procedures. 

• Play it safe.  Survey participants emphasized the need to take evacuation seriously.  Comments included:  "Don't be so quick to give the all clear to return to the building,"  "When the fire alarm sounds, do not wait, go directly to the exit door" and "Stay in assembly areas until the area is clear." 

"Don't be afraid to err on the side of safety — don't be afraid to evacuate."  (Consulting Engineering Company)

• Conduct evacuation drills.  Require employees to physically go to the designated assembly area.

Lesson #4  Never Stop Communicating

Communications are always critical.  Make sure employees and families know what's going on, how the company is responding and how events are affecting them.

"You need to be decisive, act quickly and in the best interest of employees."  (Automobile Company)

• Communicate across the company as soon as you can. 

"It's critical to communicate with staff and the community about what the organization is doing.  Use a central command center as a hub for incoming and outgoing communications."  (Healthcare Company)

• Have your CEO or president make a statement.  Major crises require a voice from the top.  You don't need to say a lot, but you need to show that you care and that you are taking action.  Acknowledge the problem, show empathy and state when more definitive information will be available. 

"The Internet is a good way to show leadership and pull people together internally." (Energy Company)

Lesson #5  Be Responsive to Employees' Concerns and Emotions

Companies we surveyed often cited the emotional impact of September 11 and their heightened sense of responsibility to employees.  Try to deal with employees from where they are emotionally for their well-being and the good of the company.

"We learned the importance of meeting the emotional needs of employees.  Our facility wasn't directly threatened on September 11, but there was much fear of the unknown and concern for loved ones."  (Manufacturer)

• Provide forums that encourage employee interaction.  Following September 11, many companies organized informal gatherings such as brown bag lunches to give employees a chance to talk and share stories.

"Grief counseling during and after an event is extremely important to the business continuity and recovery process." (Healthcare Company)

• Ask for employee feedback.  Ask them what information they need.  Ask for advice on how to handle emotional issues.  Be sensitive to their expectations on how the company should respond.

"I learned that every crisis has victims and we need to be human in how we respond to them." (Oil Refinery)

• Help employees prepare for disaster.  Recognize that their first concern will be their own families.  They won't be emotionally ready to help the company until they know family members are safe.

• Provide employees a way to help.  Empower them to work together to solve problems.  Involve them in decision-making about corporate donations.  Allow ideas to come from the bottom up.  While writing a corporate check to the community is always welcome, some question whether it should be company or employee-driven.  Recognize that employee-generated activities help the employees and the community. 

"We were ready to provide a real disaster service.  That really helped our employees direct their energies and emotions." (National Trade Association)

Lesson #6  Determine How Your Company Can Help the Community

Companies are extremely generous in disasters.  Unfortunately, a lot of potential support is never realized because of the logistical issues involved.  Disaster relief organizations ask companies not to show up at the disaster scene with truckloads of supplies because they don't have the resources to organize and distribute the material.  Resources should be specifically requested by a disaster response organization or arranged for in advance. 

• Establish relationships with emergency services, the fire service and state police.  Know the services they provide.  Know how to communicate with them in a disaster. 

• Identify disaster resources before disaster occurs.  Talk to emergency management and disaster relief organizations about the best use of your products, services and human resources in a disaster.  It is important to do this now while there is sufficient time to work through any logistical issues. 

"You can't just show up with your product and expect to help.  You need the right contacts.  You need to be extremely organized.  Make sure that someone will be at the receiving end to accept your products." (National Trade Association)

• Consider public relations.  You don't want to be perceived as taking advantage of a crisis situation to advance your company's name.  Involve the communications team in all aspects of crisis response. One of Ogilvy PR's clients that actively assisted in the September 11 response turned down opportunities for media coverage.  Others found ways to provide assistance or support that would be perceived as valuable but not self-serving—holding a company meeting in New York, for example.

"Move quickly if you're going to help.  Otherwise it looks like 'me too-ism'." (Energy Company)