Navigating tricky corporate communications has never been easy, but companies and nonprofits are under added scrutiny in recent years thanks to polarizing politics and controversial cultural movements.
One area that’s seen widespread, ramped-up attention, pushback and negativity in just the last few months is corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. A handful of major brands have announced since this summer that they are significantly scaling back their formal DEI efforts or abandoning them altogether.
As expected, this has thrust those companies — which include heavyweights such as Ford Motor Co. — into the spotlight, resulted in calls for boycotts or brand-switching, and sparked national debates among individuals and activist groups across the spectrum of political and social viewpoints. In just the last six months, corporate giants including Molson Coors, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co. and Brown-Forman (maker of Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve and many other top-selling alcoholic beverages) have also announced a departure from their DEI policies.
A broad corporate policy change — such as scaling back or abandoning dedicated DEI efforts — spans far beyond the scope of company communications, of course. A decision of this reach would almost certainly come from the CEO down, involve the entire C-suite and be vetted through corporate counsel and human resources leaders.
Still, such a change inevitably puts pressure on those responsible for company communications. Here are a few tips for managing this tough messaging:
- Be clear and concise: Don’t deliver this controversial information in dribs and drabs, which only extends the difficult conversations. Clearly and concisely convey all relevant details about the decision in one dedicated messaging campaign, and then move on as much as possible.
- But prepare for a long play: While you’ll ideally communicate this decision just once, executives should be prepared to be questioned about it again, sometimes in unexpected settings. All public-facing decision-makers should be prepped on how to succinctly and sufficiently answer questions that may come up during press conferences, shareholder meetings and public events that concern seemingly unrelated topics.
- Don’t become an unintended debate host: Particularly on your corporate social media channels, you run the risk of being an unwitting host for angry arguments and culture wars. Supporters and opponents of the company’s decision may duke it out in the comments section of your posts, regardless of whether the topic is relevant. This is one scenario where you may consider shutting down comments on your social posts for a while, to avoid becoming the place where pundits and trolls have a field day.
- Think twice about being the poster child: Interested parties from various areas — journalists, activist groups, conference organizers and more — will reach out, looking for someone from your company to sit on a panel, write a thought leadership piece or spearhead a protest or campaign. While this decision will rest, ultimately, with the CEO, there is very little positive that can come from taking up this mantel, and plenty of potential negativity. And once you’ve fallen into this role, it can be tough to get out of it.
Like it or not, sometimes organizations must communicate about issues that ruffle feathers. Knowing the risks and having a plan may help ease the way.
