Fishburn Hedges

17.05.2010

Airports closed, knock-on disruption on the wider transport network and angry customers taking to Twitter. Yes, the ash cloud was back this weekend, taunting travellers and generally causing chaos. Reporters camped outside emptying airports are all repeating the mantra “check with your airline before you leave home”.  But how are those airlines preparing their people to respond to a deluge of enquiries from irate or frustrated passengers? They might know it’s not the airline’s fault, but the way they are dealt with by airline staff will shape their confidence in the company – and whether they’ll be repeat customers once the ash cloud has passed.

So what can companies do to ensure their people are well prepared? There are five main areas to focus on:

- Clear knowledge of the audience. Have you mapped out who needs to know what, and when? Have you mapped each of your organisation’s ‘touchpoints’ with customers and made sure you know how to reach them?
- Regular, timely information. Keeping employees up to speed with the latest developments is key. In the Twitter-age this can be difficult, but the single morning briefing from managers will no longer suffice. For example, call centre agents will need a constant stream of accurate news, in-line with what the company is saying externally to the media. They will also need regularly updated ‘lines to take’ that keep track of developments and ensure they can always give customers confidence that the company knows what it is doing.
- Agreeing who does what. You might have the most up-to-date information, but who is going to communicate it to your employees? A clear chain of command and understanding among managers of their role in communication is required to get the key messages to staff and, ultimately, customers.
- Equip managers to communicate. Communication isn’t everyone’s bag. That’s why it’s important to make sure companies train their managers to be proficient communicators. If the ash cloud highlights gaps in some managers’ ability to communicate, don’t file that knowledge away – use it and provide the information, support and guidance required to help the relevant people become more engaging managers.
- The right tools for the job. Situations like this really test the mechanics of a company’s internal communication function and uncover where the strengths and weaknesses in their tools and channels lie. There’s no single solution for what works best in a situation like this, it will depend on the nature of the company and the type of employees it needs to reach. Crucially, though, if the tools and channels don’t work as they should, you should make changes now so you’re better prepared in future.

Inspiring and equipping employees to treat customers in a respectful and supportive manner is a key step in protecting the brand and current customer base. And it’s not just airlines and airports that will be affected by the ash cloud: insurance companies, hotels and car hire companies are among those businesses that will need to tread carefully as they seek to retain customer loyalty. In each case, communicators need to take proactive and decisive steps to help manage customer relationships in what is certainly a challenging context. It could even provide an opportunity to improve aspects of the internal communication function that needed addressing long before the Eyjafjallajoekull outbursts.

Every ash cloud does, it seems, have a silver lining!

Posted by Dan McLoughlin