Trucking operators usually have to learn the hard way about managing an emergency incident. Speakers at the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association conference tried to bring those in attendance up to speed on the subject.
There is no doubt that running a trucking operation is a dangerous business. Sending large moving vehicles at masses up to and over 90 tonnes on public roads, through towns and cities, and into workplaces is inherently, and literally, an accident waiting to happen.
No matter how safety smart the operation and the vehicle is, no matter how well the truck driver has been trained, there are myriad actions or incidents which can lead to an accident, and sometimes to a catastrophe.
The larger corporate operators can have a department in the organisation whose duty is to handle major problems and manage the way the issues around an incident need to be framed. For the smaller operator, there is no such luxury. Incidents can come out of the blue and the management will have little experience in handling the bad media attention which may follow, if the incident is particularly severe.
Controlling the Narrative
After spending more than 30 years as a journalist working for Channel Nine, Channel 10 and Channel Seven’s Current Affair, Leisa Goddard founded and is now Managing Director of Adoni Media. No longer chasing wrong-doers down the street to get an answer, she now provides PR services, reviews training and crisis communication support. Insurance supplier NTI, as part of their policies, is now automatically covering policy holders with crisis communication support, in conjunction with Adoni.
Operators may well have that worst possible day where there is an incident, some form of accident, and find their reputation is at risk. They may have media knocking on the door, or worse still a journalist like Leisa chasing them down the street. Adoni now try to work in the backroom behind the scenes helping operators manage that worst of all possible days.
Looking at that scenario, a crisis communications professional advising operators and their respective governing bodies will try and help get some positive information out there. This often seems to get lost when an incident gets picked up and and pushed through the media or to the broader community through social media.
“A lot of it is about transparency, and transparency helps build trust,” said Leisa. “I’m a huge advocate of that. When we’re dealing with a crisis. I don’t believe you should be a ‘no comment’, put your hand up and refuse to answer calls. I think the very worst thing you could do in a crisis is have the media report that you weren’t available for comment or said no comment. Too many people think that no comment is the answer.
“Looking at your social media, if something does go bad, then you really have to monitor it closely. You might be thinking you’re clever and trying to dodge the media, but what is happening on your social media profile is effectively quotes that the media will use.
“The very first place that we go to is social media. We go there, and it sounds awful, but if it’s a fatality, this is the first place the media will go to find the photograph. It may not necessarily be the company’s page, it might be the driver’s page. One of our first jobs is to alert the companies and the associations, or the drivers families, to look at what’s on social media.
“Comments online which people may think is a humorous post or talks about alcohol, it may be a comment on something related to road safety that may be a bit off-point. These sorts of comments can get used.”
One of the first places any operator should go is to triage their social media. The flip side of that is it can be used to educate, to promote the brand, act as a showcase of the great drivers that have been working in the industry for years, or decades, doing great things on the road, because it’s all about building the positive brand. If something bad does happen, this data is already there, in the bank, something which is proof of what a responsible safe company they are.
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