Google Sets Great Example of How Not to Handle a Corporate Crisis

The crisis communications and strategy surrounding the recent resignation of David Drummond, top lawyer of Google parent company Alphabet, form a compelling case study of what companies should not do in a crisis.

In my experience managing all types of crises for corporate giants in a spectrum of industries including technology, law, financial services and health care, I have been consistently amazed how well-pedigreed professionals can lack a fundamental ingredient in crisis management: common sense.

Consider: Drummond, as chief legal officer, is expected to enforce and embody corporate policy, professionalism, ethics and integrity. Yet the company kept him in the esteemed position despite the avalanche of negative press reports of inappropriate relationships with employees throughout his tenure (including fathering a child with a colleague during an extramarital affair while he was general counsel of Google).

The fact that his Jan. 10, departure was positioned as a “resignation”—and he was allowed to stay through the end of January—supports the narrative that company executives accepted his behavior and covered up sexual harassment. Drummond and other execs were named in suits alleging sexual harassment.

Drummond’s departure came weeks after Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, announced their abandonment of their respective roles as Alphabet’s CEO and president. Many of the allegations stem from the company’s response to allegations that former Vice President of Search Operations Amit Singhal groped an employee. Google CEO Sundar Pichai succeeded them.

What to do now? The company should determine what the heck happened, fess up, take ownership, clean up its act and stay clean.

Although an effective strategy requires taking a deep dive into the issues and developing a customized approach, here is some general guidance:

• Engage a credible outside consulting firm to conduct an independent study and identify why and how a culture that allegedly permitted sexual harassment developed and continued.
• Ensure all allegations are investigated, and anyone who participated in inappropriate behaviors is properly dealt with—immediately.
• Develop an action plan to prevent recurrences. This should include such resources as internal hotlines, employee training and dedicated human resources professionals to enable employees to report issues without fear of losing their jobs or retaliation.
• Share the findings with the public. Transparency and accountability can help the company emerge stronger.
• Hire an appropriate CLO. Beyond business and communications skills, this professional must embody the highest levels of integrity and ethics, and should be able to roll up his sleeves and work collaboratively to implement the action plan. A strong background in law, communications, crisis management and leadership would be ideal.
• Ensure true diversity at all levels, starting from the top.
• Develop an impactful nonprofit or industry organization dedicated to creating positive workplace environments. Recruit board members of leading companies and other thought leaders to engage in meaningful dialogues, conduct research and provide access to much-needed information and resources for companies and employees.
• Properly anticipate and respond to issues going forward. Keep a close pulse on the company’s issues and proactively address issues before they become problematic. When something goes wrong, jump on it immediately and handle it appropriately. Develop an action plan that is in line with the company’s messaging and positioning. Messaging should feel sincere and authentic, not like legal-speak.
• Stay clean. The public will give second chances, but not third or fourth. It will hurt the company’s culture, morale and reputation if some other damaging news breaks. The company should do the right thing even if it hurts the bottom line in the short term. This includes terminating employees who violate company policy, even if business could suffer while a replacement is found.
• Plant seeds. Establish and maintain open lines of communication with internal and external stakeholders. Work with media—traditional, social and digital—to cultivate strong relationships and elevate awareness of the company’s achievements. In addition to building the company’s business and brand, this can create the necessary foundation to better position the company to overcome any future crises.

Beyond creative and strategic thinking, crisis management will invariably fail without good, old-fashioned common sense and judgement. When all else fails, tons of resources are readily accessible on Google—let’s all hope that Alphabet and Google execs know how to access them.

Jolie Balido is CEO of NewStar Media, a crisis-management and public relations firm. She may be reached at jbalido@newstarmedia.com.