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Crisis Communications for Rural Electric Cooperative Boards and Directors

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By Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC

Click image to watch video

Click image to watch video

Rural electric cooperatives are facing a crisis. Distrust of co-op boards and directors is increasing. Negative news stories and protests across the country are on the rise.

Will this affect you? Should you be concerned?

You may be doing everything perfectly, legally, and ethically – but you could still face a crisis caused by distrust and guilt by association. Your members may question board members at public events or at the co-op’s annual meeting. Angry members may launch a negative Facebook campaign and they may sow the seeds of doubt with your local media, who will then launch an investigation.

What should you do?

Watch this video to learn more about the 5 Steps to Effective Crisis Communications.

You can also learn more about best practices in public relations and crisis communications by using this link to get access to a special 5-part video series on the 5 Steps to Effective Crisis Communications.

To see what other cooperatives are experiencing, use the links below. Accusations involve allegations of excessive per diem and compensation as outlined on your co-op’s Form 990 that you submit to the IRS. Regulators and protesters are asserting that directors are “spending too much money attending conferences in fancy hotels while eating steak dinners.” This may not actually be true for you and your board of directors, but that will not stop inquiries and protests. CEOs & general managers are losing their jobs. Board members and directors are being voted out.

I spent 15 years as a television reporter and reported on electric cooperatives. For the past 20 years I’ve worked with electric cooperatives across America helping them communicate more effectively and navigate difficult situations. I’d be honored to help you as well.

For immediate help, phone me at 985-624-9976 or send an email to Gerard@BraudCommunications.com

Problems at a Cooperative in Georgia

https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Members-protest-Grady-EMC-489803831.html

https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/Grady-EMC-president-and-CEO-resigns-490804991.html

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2064746816871622&id=1080800375266276&__tn__=K-R

Accusations by the Louisiana Public Service Commission

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_8cb89832-bc26-11e8-94f5-bb915b06722b.html

Bold steps taken by one Louisiana Cooperative

https://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/local/2018/09/21/claiborne-electric-makes-changes-after-campbell-questions-costs/1381988002/

Problems in Oklahoma

Video being shown to various community groups at community meetings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q6FTR1fYXQ

Article from Oklahoma where wrongdoing was involved

https://newsok.com/article/5557107/former-regent-sentenced-in-corporate-fraud-

Problems in South Carolina

https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article216222990.html

Potential problems in Alabama

http://www.alcse.org/

This group has made posts on Twitter and Facebook about Joe Wheeler’s board pay and the replacement of a deceased board member with his wife.

An example of an opposition group called “We Own It.”

https://weown.it/content/founder-message

Crisis communications and media training expert Gerard Braud, CSP, Fellow IEC is based in New Orleans. Organizations on five continents have relied on him to write their crisis communications plans and to train their spokespeople. He is the author of “Don’t Talk to the Media Until…”

More crisis communications articles:

3 Lessons the Melania Trump Coat Can Teach All Public Relations People

The Biggest Lie in Crisis Communications

4 Steps Every Company Needs to Take in Order to Avoid the Default Spokesperson

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Cold Facts About High Bills: Crisis Communications Tips for Angry Customers

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electric cooperative high bills gerard braudBy Gerard Braud –

Today’s crisis communications tip looks at what happens when angry customers take to Facebook to complain about your company. Complaints on your Facebook page or complaints on a Facebook group page built for and by the complainers is creating public relations problems for companies.

All of us can learn from this perfect crisis communication lesson — It can be found at every utility company, where customers who are angry about their high winter bills and are venting their frustration and anger on Facebook.

Many utility companies do exactly what they should not do: They do nothing.

The men and women in leadership positions at both investor owned electric companies and rural electric cooperative companies have spent decades practicing the art of hope, as in, “I hope this just goes away.”

Hope is not a crisis communications strategy, especially in the age of social media.

However, engaging with these angry customers on Facebook can be problematic because social media is filled with traps.

Trap 1: If you comment on a post that is either positive or negative, it can lead to an exponentially high number of negative responses.

Trap 2: If you comment on any Facebook posts, it sends it to the top on everyone’s news feed.

What do you do?

Solution One: Fix the problem and/or make the anger and hostility go away. The reality is there will never be a refund for electricity used. And chances are, the customer has forgotten that their bill was likely this high during the coldest month of the year 12 months ago and just as high during the hottest month of the year six months ago. But they would rather blame their electric winter storm cleoncompany than to take personal responsibility.

The solution is to manage the expectations of the customer by eliminating the peaks and valleys in their bill by offering an option to have what many companies call bill averaging or bill levelization. It means the customer will see nearly the same amount on their bill every month. Often, it will reduce this month’s $400 bill to an easier to pay $250 bill, which makes the customer happier.

Solution Two: Take the discussion offline. In many cases, the best way to handle an angry customer is to have customer service pick up the phone and call them directly. Customer service is able to demonstrate the type of soothing, personal concern that would be lost on a Facebook post.

Make the Crisis Go Away

The problem with the, “I hope it goes away” philosophy is that the problem will go away within the next two months as spring arrives and many customers use little, if any heating or air conditioning. But the problem will return during the hottest month of the year, then go away, then return next winter.

If you have a solution that can make the crisis go away once an for all, then by all means do it.

Rural Electric Cooperative Communications: The Times Are Changing

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electric co-op movie gerard braud

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Consider this: Just a few years ago rural electric cooperatives were not under pressure to communicate rapidly with the media, members or employees. Today, you have less than one hour to control the flow of accurate information.

There are three major reasons why this is changing and four things you can do to adjust to these changes. If you are not adjusting to these changes, you will be in big trouble.

To learn about the three major changes and four ways to adjust, read on…

To communicate effectively at a 2014 level, you need these four things:

1) Your co-op must have the most extensive crisis communications plan ever written.

2) Your crisis communications plan must have a library of at least 100 pre-written news releases.

3) Your CEO/manager, operations director, customer service director, and public relations director must agree to all train at least once a year for media interviews.

4) Your co-op must conduct a crisis communications drill at least once a year to test your crisis communications plan, your pre-written news releases, and the media interview skills of your spokespeople.

Why is this suddenly so critical in 2014? Here are the three reasons:

#1 Urban Sprawl

Time was, when city media seldom reported on rural electric co-op issues. Today, as cities like Houston, Atlanta, and others have turned pastures and forests into neighborhoods, the media aggressively covers stories in these areas. New residents in new houses represent a young, emerging audience with disposable income that appeals to advertisers, especially for television news. Those same new residents are likely to be the quickest to call a television news investigative reporter and they will be the first to comment online about a negative news report.

#2 The Rural Weekly Paper is Online

Time was, when rural news was only reported by the local weekly newspaper. Today, the internet has allowed the weekly paper to publish online 24/7. No longer can you take days to respond to a co-op controversy. The weekly paper may still print just one day a week, but they need an interview, facts and quotes from you just as fast as the big city media.

#3 Social Media

An angry member can quickly escalate any issue to the crisis level. They can escalate an issue into an online controversy and a mainstream media controversy. While many co-op managers and board members continue to wrangle with, question, and oppose a social media presence, members are creating their own anti-cooperative Facebook pages. Your extensive crisis communications plan must have a social media strategy.

Conclusion

Co-op communications is changing rapidly. If you, like so many cooperative communicators, find yourself with too many other tasks and too few people or hours in the day, please call me. I have fast, easy and affordable solutions to your communication challenges, including a world class crisis communications plan that can be customized in just two days.

Click here to LISTEN to what other cooperative communicators have to say about this fast, cost effective way to implement a crisis communications plan customized for your cooperative. You can also call me at 985-624-9976 to learn more.