Given a scenario by the instructor for a fictitious company. Develop an internal crisis communication guide to help you with what you will say to your employees and what information you will give them to help them continue to do their work (e.g. what will they tell customers/clients) (approximately 3-4 pages) that contains: (1) How, and how often you will communicate with your employees, e.g. email, phone call, meeting, video, personal one-on-one or group presentation and what you will allow them to say. (2) Key messages (three) and Talking Points – they can use and a guide to what you want them to say to the public or customers about the crisis (3) Questions and Answers (5 of what you believe your employees would ask of the 20 worst and your answers to them – remember that these answers could be part of what the public hears be very careful about tone and humor) Scenario: Handys Place Sports Bar Chain Background: In the fast-paced sports bar industry, Handys Place has successfully filled a niche within the local community for the past 10 years. The 5 fun locations all include a full bar service, highly-rated burger and barbeque items on the menu, and the best service in town. With 35 full-time and 50 part-time employees throughout the chain, the bars are well-staffed but there is a lot of overtime for the employees. Wages are kept down to a minimum and most employees rely on tips to make ends meet. Advertising is done through commercials and ads run in the newspaper social media is not used very much. Financially, the bars must each clear approximately $35,000 a week in sales to make their payroll and expenses. This equates to approximately 1,600 customers a week. The bars are currently making this threshold but are not doing any better. The bars themselves are in fair repair no plans are in the works to upgrade anything. You (the owner) spend most of your time hiring new employees since your employee turnover is very high. What you are known for: Good food and inexpensive drinks Party atmosphere and scantily dressed waitresses are expected High turnover of employees you dont treat your employees special or pay them much Rely on drink specials and local clubs to bring in the crowds Rowdy customers and rock bands frequent your bars Dont use social media for the bars for advertising Write Crisis Communication Guide and Internal Communication Situation: You start hearing complaints from a few of your bar managers that there are customers fondling the waitresses. When you ask the managers if they did anything about the complaints, you were told no this always happens, we need the customers and the tips are bigger if we dont react to the complaints. You agree that you dont want your party bars to turn into snooty bars because of a few whinny waitresses. You send an email (and post it in the back of each bar) that says If a customer gets out of hand, just smile and take it, youll get a bigger tip and maybe even a date out of the deal! You sign this note so everyone can see how you support your customers. In one of your bars that evening, the waitresses all walk out. The manager closes the kitchen and sends the kitchen staff out to serve customers. This doesnt go over very well and there are many Facebook posts about the bar problems. You complement the manager on his solution and keep things going as before. You fire the waitresses that walked out and hire some more with the promise of higher salaries. By Friday, all 5 bars (including the new hires) have walked off the job. The Saturday newspaper has a big article about your bars and the walk out. There are accusations of sexual harassment, owners encouragement of customer behavior, and also accusations of assault against employees by both customers and management listed in the articles. Social media has condemned your bars as #Metoo dens of distain. You pull into your office to find a man who serves you with a court order to close all of your businesses and appear in court. You are charged with facilitating assault and battery on your employees. There are also reporters hovering around your bars and no customers are even close to your doorsteps. You go to court with your high-paid lawyer friend and manage to get the lawsuit dropped..you decide to cancel food service from your bars and just have the bartenders serve drinks only because you do not have any waitresses anymorethis decision was made 15 days ago and now your kitchen staff has left you for better pay/work.you didnt fire the kitchen staff but you cant really pay them anything either..you find out from your managers that in 3 of the bars, the kitchen staff broke/ruined a lot of the kitchen equipment because they were upset that you didnt offer to pay them and let them work despite the problems..and there are still problems..the social media campaign against your bars has meant that only the drinking crowd come in now.no food service has reduced your income levels drastically you are barely breaking even (and losing money at one bar location).you are considering your options when a really bad car accident happens right in front of one of your bars the three deaths were caused by a drunk driver who had just walked out of your bar.Show more
