Julia Jahansoozi, public relations professor at Royal Roads University, believes the company, the industry and other mining firms who feel the sting of this environmental disaster, should be able to get past the public relations nightmare.
“But it really depends on the community building work [Imperial] has done and what sort of corporate socially responsible initiatives they’ve undertaken,” said Jahansoozi.
“If it’s been good and they have been doing what they should have been doing and they are seen as part of the community, then there is probably a conceptual bank account of trust built up over the years.”
That, she said, would give the company the chance to rebuild its reputation. But if that work hasn’t been done, Imperial and the mining industry could have an uphill fight.
“They will have to do the hard work,” said Jahansoozi, noting that means connecting with the community, listening, taking concerns seriously and being transparent in what they plan to do. “The more open they can be, the better.”
So far, Jahansoozi said, Imperial appears to be cautious in its approach as it investigates how 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of silt spilled from a tailings pond into surrounding lakes, rivers and creeks.
Brock Smith, marketing professor at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business, said there are typically three types of corporate response to crisis — confrontation, which is a denial of responsibility; impression management, which again denies blame while pointing out the company’s redeeming features; and taking ownership.
In this case, he said, taking ownership of the disaster is the recommended approach.
That means expressing regret for the damage done, taking responsibility for it, apologizing and promising to investigate openly what happened.
And once the company has determined what happened, it will have to explain how it will work differently in the future.
“[It] works best when there is commitment from the top of the organization and when there is transparency and authenticity in the investigation and communication,” said Smith. “People affected by a crisis, either directly or indirectly, want to know that the people in charge are doing the right things and are actively working on appropriate solutions.
“They are more likely to trust you again and even trust you more than before the crisis, if they think you have done everything possible to prevent this problem from happening again.”
