LESSONS LEARNED #11

PREPARING FOR WAR

By James E. Lukaszewski, APR, Fellow PRSA
and
Brian Hollstein, CPP

As Published in PBI Media LLC's PR News, October 15, 2001

Copyright © 2001, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved.

President Bush has declared war on terrorists. Thousands of reserve troops are being called to active duty. This means it's time for your company to sort out its policies and procedures involving employees called for military service. Here are some of the most urgent organizational elements to put in place now to avoid or manage adverse visibility later:

1. The Corporate Military Action Response Team (C-MART): This special group of individuals should work as an incident response organization when employees are activated for military service. This group has three basic duties:
   • Identify those called up for military service and make arrangements to contact and stay in contact with their families.
   • Monitor the call-up situation and keep senior management informed with respect to the impact on the organization.
   • Be prepared to respond, react, and mobilize appropriate corporate resources to assist the Military Council in the event a response/explanation is required due to unplanned visibility.

2. Security, Human Resources, and Public Affairs (the Military Council): These staff functions coordinate with each other in planning for and responding to visibility caused by employee military activity, a result of this very unusual "war."
   • Security monitors where employees are serving and asset exposure. National security issues may intrude in certain aspects of this process.
   • Human Resources manages the people aspects of these situations - benefits, personnel policies, etc. An Employee Assistance Program may be part of your Human Resources function and current policies on trauma response should be reviewed in light of the impact on co-workers and the community should an employee be killed, wounded, disabled, captured by opposition forces, involved in an accident or incident, or become missing in action (MIA).
   • Public Affairs/Media Relations manages visibility including media calls, and calls from family and friends. In most companies such calls are forwarded initially to the Public Affairs function because it is on the front line for external interests, and keeps everyone informed of key events and issues.

3. Standby Statements: Put in place brief, positive statement formats to use in the event that your company's employees are hurt, killed, or captured in combat or in military accidents. The media won't be satisfied with talking to just any spokesperson; they're going to want to hear from the boss, especially when the first casualties, or extremely serious casualties, occur.

4. Internal Briefing Operations: For the duration of the military action and any subsequent follow-up activity that involves your employee-reservists, a reasonably frequent schedule of management briefing sessions should be held by the C-MART and the Military Council to:
   • Help management stay abreast of personnel changes and policies.
   • Offer assistance to families and arrange for constant contact.
   • Monitor how other companies are responding.
   • Learn from and watch how the news media are covering military stories to include these patterns in your preparation process.

Doing Business in a Threatened Environment

Your Security department will take a very active coordinating role to provide protection for personnel and facilities inside and outside the country. Domestic security precautions will increase greatly if you are a defense contractor or a potential target of terrorists. Here's what Security will be doing and the questions they'll be answering:

• Physical Security: A complete review of all physical security programs. Do your plans for protection of facilities and people reflect the reality of possible attack? If you have not done surveys of all critical facilities, now is the time to do so. Recommendations for upgrading security should receive priority funding and move up on the "to do" list.
• Backup Systems: Hopping around the world on business trips will be severely constrained in the short term. Companies will have to make use of currently available computer/communication facilities to avoid travel-related concerns and problems. Are you prepared for the increased use of video conferencing and the Internet?
• Secure Communications and Business Information: Communications will be monitored for any reference to the conflict, anti-government statements, or potential intelligence activities. You should also consider the possibility of communications disruptions. How will company operations continue?

While you're doing your preparations, it makes sense to brush up on the laws, rules, and regulations that apply to employers of reserve troops.

Sidebar: Concerns for Multinational Companies

• War Zone Activity: Identify facilities in or near the war zone. Are they critical? Can they be protected feasibly? If not, what alternatives exist?
• Employees Abroad: Assume that they will be come targets because an American company employs them.
• Expatriates and Their Families: Move them from war zones, especially if they are citizens of belligerent countries.
• Foreign Governments Under Siege: They may expropriate assets (physical and financial) in-country. Reduce your exposure.
• Foreign Nationals at the Helm: Overseas employees may take advantage of the situation to forward their own agendas, using your assets and company name.
• Insurance Coverage: Reassess and determine the level and nature of protection. Many policies have war and terrorism exclusion provisions.

Brian Hollstein, CPP, co-authored this column with James E. Lukaszewski, APR, Fellow PRSA. Hollstein is the former head of Corporate Security for Xerox Corporation. He spent 10 years in the FBI. Lukaszewski is chairman of The Lukaszewski Group Inc., a consultancy specializing in crisis communication management. He has recently authored, in collaboration with the PRSA, a three-volume crisis management strategy series, available through http://www.PRandMarketing.com. Reach Jim at jel@e911.com or 914/681-0000. Reach Brian at bholls7749@aol.com. Copyright © 2001, James E. Lukaszewski. All rights reserved.