Very few professionals imagine that they will ever be in the frontline of a global crisis. Yet, as more and more Australian companies focus on global markets, the probability is becoming more tangible. Far flung workforces mean coping with more than time differences and distance from head office. Cultural, political and economic disparities can spell real risk for distant employees. The headline cases are only the tip of this iceberg and behind every media story are real people dealing with these situations.
Sue Lebrato is human resource director and manages the HR department at Maersk Line Limited, a U.S. flag transportation, ship management and technical-services company, and a subsidiary of a much larger enterprise based in Denmark. In this interview with Jared Shelly, she shared some of the insights she gained through her “crisis management” surprise, in the form of a hijacking.
As the hot African sun rose over the Gulf of Aden, the 20-person crew of the US freighter Alabama must have thought the morning of April 8 would be just like any other while out at sea. But, as the Alabama forged ahead, four men from Somalia -- the virtually lawless, poverty-stricken African nation 400 miles away -- were approaching in a smaller, faster speedboat. Their intent, just like pirates in other eras, was to hijack the ship, steal cargo or perhaps even hold hostages for ransom.
In just the past few years, Somali pirates have pulled off dozens of brazen, and extremely profitable, attacks on merchant ships, with more 60 in the few months of 2009 leading up to the Alabama attack. As it was the first time in recent history that pirates attacked a U.S. merchant ship, the story got the attention of the global media almost instantly, but few details were initially available about just what was happening on board, leaving the public to wonder:
Sue works 8,000 miles away from where this incident was happening. She received notice that one of her company’s ships had been hijacked via an email to her blackberry. Her first thoughts were would there be a role for HR in this crisis? She had only been with the 200-employee company since December 2008 and had certainly not expected to be involved in managing such a crisis.
An action plan is imperative
CEO John Reinhart gathered the company’s leaders to create a plan of action, that was in line with the company's five values. They needed to work with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Defense to rescue the crew. They needed to get information to the families of crew members. They needed effective communication with the media. The language needed to be carefully selected, to offer information without putting the crew in any more danger.
As the circumstances escalated with Captain Phillips becoming a hostage on one of the lifeboats, so did the scene back at the offices in the USA. Conference Room 19 South, otherwise known as "The Situation Room" was the central hub for the company's response effort, complete with white boards filled with information about the incident and news coming steadily from the room's three TVs.
Sue found herself working alongside FBI agents and officials from the Department of Defense who had direct phone communication to the Alabama and the USS Bainbridge. "It was getting very intense," she says, "because now [Capt. Phillips] was isolated in a situation where we had no contact with him directly."
Keep everybody informed
The company set up a hotline for the families of crew members to call, and Sue was tasked with gathering information to answer any questions they might have and feeding that information to call-center operators.
Staff were also eager for information. Sue collaborated with the communications team to craft companywide e-mails updating them on the safety of the captain and crew.
It was certainly a juggling act -- following their corporate value of uprightness with workers while at the same time, not saying nearly as much to the media. This was further complicated by the fact that this incident was half a world away, so the time difference really impacted the communications.
"We really did need to be as open as possible with the family members ... but with the press," says Sue, "being very responsible with the information [was paramount] because the pirates and their associates watch the same TV the rest of us do."
Sue knew the press had been hoping for some new material, so when one reporter asked if he could have some information before the 5 p.m. news, she gathered questions, then sequestered herself in her office and carefully crafted a press release. Every nuance had to be considered. In some instances, she was learning “on the job”.
"One of the questions I thought was a non-issue was, 'Tell us about the lifeboat,' " she says, but Senior Vice President of Technical Operations Steve Carmel quashed that, telling her that publicising such information could play in to the hands of the pirates. "Between the time I handed that to [the press] downstairs and the time I got back up to the situation room [on the 20th floor], it was already being read on CNN.”
Be prepared for escalation
Just when Sue thought the situation couldn't get any worse, she got news, along with the rest of America that Capt. Phillips had leapt from the lifeboat and tried to swim from his captors. Almost immediately, according to reports, the pirates fired gunshots into the water and air but Phillips was not hit. One of the Somalis jumped in after him, eventually dragging him back to the lifeboat and once again into captivity.
Phillips' gutsy attempt to escape helped the team back in the US, who had been putting in long hours in the situation room to stay energized.
"What it did was give an indication to everyone of his character and strength," says Sue. "His actions were a communication to everybody of his willingness to put himself in a situation that was potentially risky to get off that boat."
After hearing the devastating news about the failed escape attempt, Phillips' wife, Andrea, decided it was now appropriate for her to issue a press statement, even though media had been outside her home for days. But Andrea had never dealt with anything like this before. She wanted help. Sue was asked to craft the statement.
How does one write a press release for a woman in danger of losing her husband? It turned out to be the most difficult and emotional assignment to date in Sue’s burgeoning career. To tackle her task, she put herself in Andrea Phillips' shoes, imagining what her thoughts might be.
Will I ever even see my husband again? Is he getting tortured? Will my children ever see their father again?
She wrote the statement, then spoke to Andrea over the phone and read her the proposed statement.
"My family and I would like to thank our neighbors, our community and the nation for the outpouring of support that we've been getting. We have felt the compassion of the world through your concern for Richard. My husband is a strong man and we will remain strong for him. We ask that you do the same."
"When I read it to her she was obviously moved and I asked her if she wanted to make any changes," Sue said. "She said, 'No, it was perfect.'"
Sue was supposed to be spending Easter Sunday around a dinner table with her family but she was asked to come into the office to help with the crisis instead. She eagerly obliged.
Her task that Sunday was an optimistic one, scouting out venues for a press conference if Phillips was eventually freed. On her way back into the office, she ran into Reinhart (CEO), who had taken a quick break to have an Easter lunch with his wife and son. He looked excited. He ran out to say that he had just received a call indicating that there had been another rescue attempt.
The team that had worked so diligently for so many days rushed to the situation room and called the sailors on the Bainbridge.
"They might have had us on hold for five seconds," says Sue, "but it seemed like a lifetime before they came back and said, 'Yes, we can confirm the captain's been released.' "
Navy sharpshooters shot and killed the pirates. He was free.
The Aftermath
Although the situation was over and the crew was safe, Sue's work was hardly finished. She was integral in reuniting the crew and families. Phillips would return days later. She met with family members for dinner to help prepare them before their loved ones got off the plane, expressing gratitude for their strength and resolve during the incident, she says. The crew arrived home after midnight, but who could be too tired for an event like that.
Months later, Sue and other company leaders finally met Phillips at an industry dinner in New York. "I really thought I was out there all by myself and it's amazing how wrong I was in that regard," says Phillips. The captain says he was grateful that the company sent representatives to his home to spend time with his wife as well as providing him some paid time off to be with his family after the incident.
"They supported my wife and family," he says. "They had it harder than me -- I knew where I was and what I was going through and they had no idea. Sometimes, the imagination is worse than the reality."
No matter the business and no matter the industry, a crisis of some kind can come knocking on the door. The more human resource leaders and practitioners expect it to happen, the more prepared they will be when it does.
A focus on being open and available to employees is imperative. Crisis communications should focus on gathering information, not just administering it, so that the next step can be evaluated. Crisis management calls for rapid adaptability.
As for Sue, she continues working on organizational development and employee relations, with an Alabama baseball cap displayed proudly in her office as a constant reminder of the employees' lives that were saved. "It feels quite good to not be operating at the crisis mode," she says. "The fact that the story ended the way it did was just wonderful."
