Services

Crisis Management

No matter what your industry, crisis preparedness and a plan for a  disciplined response is a necessity.  How your organization behaves and communicates during a crisis can be crucial to your future.  And it’s not enough to simply anticipate a crisis.  You must contend with the actual issue or problem, and – in a world where news and internet rumors can reach around the globe in seconds – the fallout if the situation is not addressed swiftly and effectively.

6 Recent Crisis Management Initiatives

Falcon Safety Products, Branchburg, NJ 

-       R&J worked with Falcon’s corporate management  (makers of Dust-Off^®-brand computer duster) to anticipate, prepare for and manage a very complex national crisis situation – the death of an adolescent from inhalant abuse, and a subsequent viral email campaign against Falcon – that threatened to have a devastating impact on the company’s bottom line, and potentially endangered its very survival.  We developed and implemented a crisis response strategy and a comprehensive, far-reaching communications program that managed both internal and external resources, seized control of the situation, quelled the initial onslaught and kept the crisis from escalating and spiraling out of control.  Through our efforts, we firmly established Falcon as a national leader in the fight against inhalant abuse, and in the process, significantly elevated Falcon’s corporate standing among its top retailer partners (Costco, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, etc.) 

Berjé, Inc., Bloomfield, NJ

-       This international flavors and fragrances company is one of the chief importers of diacetyl, the naturally-occurring chemical that gives butter its distinct smell and flavor, and which has been linked to “popcorn lung syndrome” in workers in factories where microwave popcorn is manufactured.  Acting on a referral from Falcon Safety Products, Berjé called on R&J Public Relations to develop a crisis communications plan and strategy to manage communications around this national crisis, and protect the company’s other flavor and fragrance business – which comprised the vast majority of the company’s sales volume and profits. 

Integrity House, Newark, NJ

-       R&J proudly serves as the public relations agency of record for Integrity House, one of the Northeast’s most prominent substance abuse treatment and recovery agencies.  On the organization’s behalf, we provide a diverse range of public relations and media relations services for the purposes of raising awareness and promoting favorable action on key National and New Jersey drug policy issues, including needle exchange, mandatory minimum prison sentences, reform of antiquated drug laws, prisoner re-entry and drug courts. 

Altoona Regional Health System, Altoona, PA

-       When Altoona Regional Health System was in contract negotiations with its registered nurses and faced the prospect of a strike by the RN’s union – the powerful Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – it reached out to R&J Public Relations for guidance and management of the communications process. During a tense negotiation with the union, R&J’s on-site counsel and actions were instrumental in leading hospital senior leadership through the events leading up to the strike vote.  These actions resulted in a rapid swing of employee and public opinion in favor of the hospital, nurses supporting the hospital’s contract offer, and approval of a new RN contract without a strike. The sway of support stemming from R&J’s crisis communications program contributed to the savings of millions of dollars for the hospital, had a strike taken place, and preserved the health system’s reputation as a provider of top-quality care in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board 

-       As agency of record for the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board, (NJFSAB) R&J works to elevate awareness of the need for and efficacy of fire sprinklers as a means of saving lives and property.  Comprised of local leaders, contractors, businesses and unionized personnel representing fire sprinkler construction, production, distribution and installation, the NJFSAB’s mission is to educate the public on the dangers of fire and the effectiveness and benefits of fire sprinklers in responding to that immediate danger. R&J is a major contributor to that effort, as effective crisis public relations and responses around major fires in the state of New Jersey has helped foster an environment in which the organization is able to partner with the NJ Division of Fire Safety, NJ Department of Community Affairs and several other entities to successfully advocate for more stringent fire protection measures, building codes and regulations related to fire sprinklers.  In early 2007, our efforts in support of the NJFSAB contributed to a statewide mandate requiring all nursing homes in New Jersey to install fire sprinklers.  R&J’s efforts have also contributed to the promulgation of new regulations by the State Department of Community Affairs that would require all high-rise buildings in New Jersey to install fire sprinklers, a measure that has received support from Governor Corzine and is currently being considered by state officials.

-       R&J’s work on behalf of the New Jersey Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board has led to our appointment as the Public Relations Agency-of-Record for the National Fire Sprinkler Association.

Good Samaritan Hospital/Bon Secours Charity Health System,  Suffern, NY 

-       Working with hospital leadership at the highest levels, R&J developed a plan of action to overcome heavy political pressure from the largest health delivery system in the state – New York Presbyterian Healthcare System – to successfully obtain New York State Department of Health approval for a cardiac surgery center at Good Samaritan Hospital. We approached the issue from almost every angle imaginable and we developed relationships with the people and groups that could best help to bring this important issue across the finish line – local and statewide politicians, senior citizen groups, National healthcare experts, the medical community, public employee unions, and, of course, the press. The result: lives will be saved as a result of the implementation of this program. 

-       R&J developed and executed a communication strategy that successfully carried the three Bon Secours Charity Health System hospitals through a contractual stand-off with WellPoint/Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state’s and region’s largest health insurance provider.  This strategy was later modified and re-purposed for successfully managing communications during a contract impasse with Oxford Health Plans.

-       In September of 2006, R&J worked closely with Hospital and System management in preparation for a potential job action by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199, which represents the hospital’s service and technical employees, as well as Registered Nurses.  The service and technical workers’ contract with SEIU 1199 had expired, and a strike was imminent.  Fortunately, a resolution at the last minute pre-empted the need to engage the strategy, which was fully framed out and ready for execution.

-       R&J provided professional communications consultation to Good Samaritan Hospital in support of a planned 2-½% reduction in the hospital’s workforce.  This reduction touched virtually all areas of the hospital and included both union and non-union employees, as well as clinical and non-clinical employees.  Our communications plan was rolled out internally on a hospital level, as well as within individual departments.  It included communication with the medical staff, the unions representing affected employees, and the hospital governing and foundation boards.  Additionally, R&J provided counsel and support for managing external publicity.

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