In my last post, I discussed the forms that activist attacks on organisations can take. This post is focused on the next stage – what you can do if you find yourself the victim of an attack.
New Activism and the Corporate Response discussed the wide range of response options open to organisations but others have emerged since it was published. From media coverage, it seems that attacks are becoming more frequent and the range of organisations affected wider. For instance, the charity sector, for a while at least, seemed immune but that is no longer the case. All types of organisations are under scrutiny and are liable to highly disruptive, costly and time-consuming action.
WHAT FORMS CAN A RESPONSE TAKE?
Monitoring – it is critical that you start by knowing what is going on. Too often attacks come as a surprise but if an organisation was paying attention, for instance to what was happening on social media, then they could have taken pre-emptive steps. This is certainly good risk management but it is really about data and intelligence. Organisations such as Sigwatch help provide the intelligence needed for informed decisions.
Take pre-emptive action – once you have the information at your fingertips it is then possible to see if any action is required. If it is, then take it before being challenged. There could be a cost but consider the cost of being the subject of an attack. This pre-emptive action should also include a full risk analysis of operations looking at regulations, government policies, etc. and also includes auditing your supply chain, those that you sponsor or your receive sponsorship from. It is also possible that you are a secondary target but nevertheless action is in your gift.
Do they have a point? Instead of simply taking the opposite point of view it needs to be considered whether the activists have made a valid point or criticism and then react. Greenpeace initially got it wrong when attacking BP over Brent Spar but organisations can often be too frightened to respond forcefully. It could though be that your actions cannot be easily justified.
Remove the risk (as far as possible) – for some industries and sectors that is simply not possible but others activist attacks often arise because of a failure of delivery. Your CSR policy may talk about how well your treat workers across the world or source ethical but then make sure you do and keep vigilant on such matters.
Motivate stakeholders – an activist attack is more likely to be successful if no-one is prepared to stand up for you, including your own people. If activists are motivating people then so should you. It is a truism that opponents are more motivated than supporters but that does not provide an excuse not to try to motivate your friends and allies, internally and externally.
Work with the media – many assume that the sympathy will sit with the weight of numbers or sympathy that an activist group can bring. However, the media do not like being used and, as in the above, if the information is flawed then the media could be your best friend. Many activist organisations to have their own reputations to worry about and if they launch ill-informed campaigns then they risk their good standing, membership, and donations / income. You can take the fight to the group and, if the circumstances are right, feel unafraid to highlight inconsistencies or failings they have.
Social media – as in any campaign, you cannot pull up the drawbridge on social media. It is a valuable communication and engagement channel and actually offers the chance of getting messages out that media channels may not have time for. There is no filter so as opponents can use social media, so can you.
Get the law involved – there is sometimes a reluctance to get the Police of lawyers involved as it can add fuel to the fire, giving an issue more publicity than it would otherwise have. But if, for instance, employees feel threatened then you have duties to them that can outweigh all other matters. The consistent distribution of materials that make untrue or damaging comments may also need legal action as well.
Work with the activists – this may always be possible but many groups want action to be taken and fear being tainted by a close association. Working together also does not guarantee action will stop and indeed it can make matters worse if they believe that they are simply being ignored. But if a way forward can be devised that meets your needs and addresses the concerns of activist then there is productive way forward for everyone. Relations have to be built and this can take time but a constructive approach is often the most useful for all concerned.
Strategies need to be devised on the basis of the organisation under attack, the nature of the attack and the attackers. It should never be assumed that the attackers are automatically right but similarly they could well be highlighting a valid issue that organisations need to deal with. That is why the working together strategy has become more popular in recent years.
A more aggressive fightback is favoured by some but the tactics may not be appropriate in all jurisdictions, the classic example being the establishment of ‘front groups’ or ‘astro-turfing’ (the creation of fake grassroots campaigns). Certainly in a UK context there are clear ethical standards expected, for instance by the CIPR, which outlaws such groups. That does not though mean that organisations should simply give in to demands.
There are a range of strategies available but the right one can only be decided on after some honest assessments.