Crisis Comm: John Deere Lays off Hundreds

Being laid off is nothing anyone wants to experience.  Factory workers at the Illinois John Deere facility are facing just that as 125 employees have been laid off this March.


According to the article UAW sanctions mass layoffs by farm equipment giant John Deere written by George Gallanis, there has been previous layoffs, "this is the third round of layoffs since last November.  A total of 445 workers have lost their jobs so far."

Freeze.

There are two points of view when looking at this article.  One side is the general public and another is the public relations section of John Deere.  From John Deere's perspective, there is a crisis communication plan that needs to go into effect immediately in order to maintain the Company's image and keep the worries of employees and consumers at bay.

This is where having a crisis communication plan in place is very important.  From the text Agricultural Communication in Action, A Hands-On Approach crisis communication is often used to describe an organization facing a crisis and the need to communicate about the crisis to decision makers and the public" (Telg and Tracy, 2012, pg 266).

But what does a crisis communication plan look like?  What are the components?

From the text Agricultural Communication in Action, A Hands-On Approach there are a few main points to keep in mind when dealing with crisis communication and communicating to the audience.

1.  Figure out who the audience is to which you will be communicating to
2.  Designate a spokesperson
3.  Develop messages and then communicate the messages and facts
4.  Anticipate tough questions, think of ways to answer
5.  Control the message by sticking to the message and the facts
6.  Control the flow of information
7.   Keep track of the media calls and requests
8.   Respond to the news media quickly and fairly

What does all of this mean?  Basically, create a message that addresses the issue at hand, convey the mission of the company and ways to revolve to issue, and leave the conversation with clarity and honesty.  Be upfront, straight to the point, and honest.  Nobody likes to be lied to or only given a small portion of the story.

Jumping back to the John Deere article, if I were on the PR team and came across this article written about my company I would need to take action right away.  I would work with my team and go over the items in the numbered list above to cleverly handle the situation.

To read the article on the John Deere layoffs, follow the link here.

The main goal of crisis communication is to combat negative statements or situations that are directed towards the company in a positive manner in order to maintain a good brand image.

Want to read up on more on crisis communication?  Check out Jonathan Bernstein's 10 Steps of Crisis Communication.

Resources

Bernstein, Jonathan. (2013) 10 Steps of crisis communication.  Retrieved from http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/the-10-steps-of-crisis-communications/ 

Don't panic button (2016). Retrieved from advantageconsultingservices.org

Gallanis, George. (2016) UAW sactions mass layoffs by farm equipment giant John Deere.  Retrieved from https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/03/14/deer-m14.html

John Deere Tractor (2016) Retrieved from www.deere.com

Nervous reporter (2016) Retrieved from aaronallen.com

Unprepared image. (2016) Retrieved from www.bairdscmc.com

 Telg, R., & Irani, T. A. (2012). Agricultural communications in action: A hands-on approach.

Delmare, Cengage Learning: Clifton Park, NY.