Business leaders hope never to face a crisis. It can affect their brand, their credibility, and erode the loyalty of customers. And, chances are, it’s outside of their control. 

But that doesn’t mean a business shouldn’t be ready – preparing for a crisis is one of the most effective tools in our arsenal of minimising opportunity for crisis to impact our brand.

Metanoia Ltd are strong advocates of training – at the coalface, all the way up to C-suite. We work with our clients teams to help them prepare for everything media-related – crisis management being just one of these themes. 

Last week, Metanoia’s Directors, Craig J Selby and Farrell Tan facilitated an intensive one day training seminar for a large local player in the telecommunications industry. Targeting their Heads of Department and mid-level management team, the session brought together inter-connected themes from several areas of crisis management, condensed into a full-on one (1) day workshop, where the most important nuggets of advice were explored in context for the client - from Preparing for a Crisis, to Social Media Management in Crisis Situations, to Training Your Team Internally.

Although participants had a degree of prior exposure to issues crisis management; many had not been put in a position to think it through end-to-end, and thus to all the nuances that relate to issues of crisis management and crisis communications. This full day session served up the opportunity to explore these, and to discuss best-practice actions and response protocols, along with issues of how one needs to influence organisational culture to positively support crisis management planning. 

Many were aware of the role that social media plays in perpetuating (and elevating) a crisis, but few had fully grasped the strategic integration of this into the organisations holistic response. They sure did after this workshop.

With exercises designed to embed humanity into crisis management, to challenge ones understanding of the fundamentals of communication, and to get the crisis team working on the same page, we were able to successfully work through a range of issues which the participant’s corporation potentially face, and to strengthen the inter-organisational knowledge-sharing practices departments, in order to fully understand the crisis communications landscape.

Client feedback was very positive, and gauging from the high level of intelligent questions being posed by participants, they each got a lot out of the experience.

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Metanoia Ltd offers six Crisis Management workshops amongst its schedule of customised training options: 

Developing Your Crisis Management Plan

Crisis Management Spokesperson Training

Responding to a Crisis

Getting Media on Your Side

Digital & Social Media Management During Crisis

Training Your Team Internally

Each of these workshops are run as either half day or full day – tailor-made to client’s organisational needs. Our training can be held in-house or off-site at one of our partner’s facilities.

Source - www.bloncampus.com

Your employee made a mistake. He apologised and you went on with your usual business. He does it again. Now you are upset.

Your own boss calls, says, “what’s going on”?

You say, “it is Michael”. 

He is now toast. 

He may not get a good raise, ever. Your boss may not let you, even if you try. 

You blacklisted Michael in your own mind.

He might quit soon. Actually though, he is very good.

Now, consider this …

Most mistakes are made by employees who are trying to follow processes set up by managers. Often, it is easy to make mistakes because of the process that has been set up.

Review the process together with the employee and see what can be done to make mistakes less likely.

When Michael made the first mistake, you should have taken responsibility. You should not have even let him apologise.

And when your boss called asking about what is going on, you should not have even mentioned his name.

Fix your process, not the person.

#debate #change #perspective

Orchan’s Christina How and Craig J Selby discuss the landscape for food and beverage operators and how they can stay current / relevant to their patrons.

1)      What are some of the challenges restaurant operators face in this competitive climate?

CJS: There are many challenges operators face.

At the coalface, finding suitable and appropriately-trainable staff is a major hurdle; sourcing reliable and consistent suppliers of quality ingredients at non-fluctuating prices. But deeper the issue is staying relevant. It is building a recognisable brand and keeping your customers loyal – getting your customers as unofficial brand ambassadors, and building the business from strength to strength. Restaurants come and go, and in an industry as fluid as this, its important to be able to react positively to trends.

2) We are seeing a “hipsterisation” of the food & beverage industry. Is this shaking things up, or is it simply a fad?

CJS: I personally believe this is a fad. I’m all for it though, as it is shaking things up. It is forcing more traditional restaurants to reevaluate themselves, and to up their game.

However hipsters are not new. Every generation has hipsters in some form or another, and the approach simply brings us back to square one. The advantage is that it opens doors for customers first – to see what is possible beyond existing confines, and this then translates into higher customer expectation – and ultimately better response from operators as they sharpen their game.

For a long time here, the industry has been quite staid, in the sense that innovation was not at the forefront – hipsterisation is one of the contributing factors to changing that experience.

CHYL: I agree with Craig that it is forcing more traditional restaurants to reevaluate themselves and up their game. But, I don't think it's a fad.

I believe there's always been that group of people who appreciated things that were unusual to what was traditionally offered in the F&B industry, but never got to access it until someone decided to ignore the "label" and went ahead to create such space for these people. At the very core, there are those who truly appreciate it. But, as with anything, it comes with those who just ‘jumped on the bandwagon’.

3) How do consumer habits and spending power affect the survivability of restaurants? What can outlet operators do to influence this?

CJS: Being value-to-the-table is always key. No matter what your price point is, your customers must get perceived value or higher. Anything less and you are selling yourself short.

Consumer spending habits directly affects survivability. If no one is spending, it of course affects business. Operators needs to look at ways to extend their offerings to customers – perhaps off-peak specials, changes in opening hours, promotional dining packages, etc.

CHYL: Just to add on, it's important to connect with your target market regularly; not to a point of annoyance, but enough for them to remember your establishment the next time they decide where to dine. People these days consume food with their eyes before it actually enters their mouths, and they're more often than not socially active. Connecting with them on that level gets one foot in the door. Then, the rest is up to you and your team to ensure their experience is worth every penny.

4) What are some of the elements that can make a food and beverage outlet standout for consumers and tenants?

Both: Design. Service. Cuisine. Publicity. Innovation. Guest chefs. Location. Tie-ins.

5) What are some of the strategic approaches existing operators can take in order to keep up with the game?

CHYL: Engage an external party to help re-evaluate your brand and what it offers. However, it's important to engage one who is going to listen to your brand story (or help you build one if you don't have one), take time to understand and actually help strengthen your brand inside and out. When we are so engrossed in our own brand, sometimes we forget how to step outside and see from a different point of view. Engaging external party helps with gaining new perspective within the F&B industry, but still have a say in the direction your establishment is going to take.

6) Looking into outlet concepts might be one of the ways restaurants can stand out. What are some concepts operators and owners can consider?

CJS: Let’s not look at what they can consider, but lets look at what they shouldn’t/ I recall both a hospital themed restaurant, a toilet themed restaurant, and then a cat café with only two cats. Whilst we want our concepts to stand out from the others, this standing out still needs sensibility constraints.

Source - www.kenhuntfood.com 

The hospital themed restaurant (in Penang) failed. Why? It felt odd. Customers felt the concept was too clinical, and could not enjoy the theme of the atmosphere. For some, it crossed the line. For others, one does not have positive association between food and healthcare – hospital food is never deemed good. For me, they over invested in a large retail space, but lacked the marketing to promote it. Getting a small crowd into such a restaurant is a challenge – but whenyou have in excess of 100 seats to fill at any one time, the task is monumental.

The toilet themed restaurant is great. It gets publicity, and it draws the curious crowd. But that’s the issue – the curious crowd only want to try something once – they are unlikely to become your long term clients. Long term clients want a concept that they can fall in love with – an ambience, a feeling – not a curiousity which can be satisfied on one visit.

By rights the cat café concept should have worked. People love pets. Their food was great. Their location great. But, when you can seat 40 pax at a time, and you only have two cats – well, excuse me? Expectations were not met – customers expected to see many friendly cats walking around to interact with. But two – and not very friendly ones at that – meant customers didn’t get the interaction – only the visuality.

Any theme, be it simple (eg; Italian, Mediterranean) or complex (30’s style jazz bar) needs to endear customers, and it needs to be the real thing. If you cant transform your customer into the essence of your theme, you have failed. Let them forget where they are – they need to be embedded into your theme for the duration of their visit. That may be as simple as good food and service, or it might extend to the feeling of “I forgot I was in Malaysia for a while”.

7) What is more important – concept, menu, or staff / service?

CJS: All. They are intertwined, but fluctuate. It's important to balance all positively so customers enjoy the experience.

CHYL: Hahaha~ I cannot agree more. A positive balance between all aspects will earn you return customers. Here's the potential outcome if you were to compromise one of them. If you compromise concept, people are going to get confused as to what they're going for. When they plan their next meal, your establishment will not be at the top of their mind simply because they're unsure what you actually offer. If you've got a great concept but an irrelevant menu to match, it defeats the purpose of having a concept. If you've got an amazing concept and superb menu but terrible staff / service, they're going to walk out.

8) Are food delivery services necessarily a threat for brick-and-mortar outlets? How do these newly-emerging concepts fit into the industry?

CHYL: They are a convenience, not a threat. They don’t replace restaurants, or the experience that diners seek from a restaurant; they value-add to the industry in terms of convenience or ‘samplers’. Chains such as Little Fat Duck grew from food trucks – but you never see established restaurants substantially grow by adding a food truck. For several it is just a gimmick to reach more customers.

Source - http://www.jiaaqieats.com

9) What is the role of our more traditional or long-standing fast food outlets in the industry?

CJS: There will always be a place for fast food providers in the landscape. They suit a certain psychographic and demographic, and have over the years carved out a segment all for themselves. This segment is highly contested, and is quite challenging to break in to. For example, international chains trying to go against Starbucks face challenges; likewise to emerging local chains trying to go head-to-head with existing players such as OldTown White Coffee or PappaRich.

The role of these outlets is to provide an element of convenience for customers. It is also to provide staple, standardised food. Some may argue that a further role is to help youth transition into the workplace, by ensuring that low-skill jobs are available for youth to engage with and receive training, thus providing them a valuable experience.

For customers, it is simple comfortable convenience, hopefully with 24 hour access.

10) Does having a pretty view and/or an expensive address guarantee success?

CHYL: No. It is a draw-card factor that might motivate a customer to try an outlet, but it does not guarantee any form of success. Success is a combination of multiple factors, and the customer must tick-off the positive experience of each of these in order to want to return; therefore, the outlet needs to ensure it is constantly delivering at the appropriate pace and level.

CJS: Many great outlets are not in ideal locations, are stuck in hidden alleys or others (think Speakeasy’s) – they simply provide the whole package. Several outlets in prime KL real estate failed – not because of the location – but simply failing to stay relevant to customers.

Source - http://assets.inhabitat.com

When I first moved to Asia I was frustrated by the constrained power that Principals had within their institutes. Authority and empowerment for core business decisions was with Business Managers, Administration Managers, Marketing Managers – but little, apart from managing academics, was in the hands of Principals. This initially disheartened me – I was used to an environment where the Principal led the entire institute – not just the academic aspects of it. It concerned me because many of those in positions of authority for operations did not have a reflective appreciation of, or understanding of, how educational facilities truly operate. One cannot simply run an institute like a hospital, a department store, an automotive brand, or a mall. Education is special; education is different. 

As a formal Principal, I always oversaw marketing, administration, operations and facilities; and whilst I worked together with the respective managers on many things, the final direction always rested with me. It concerns me that Principals are to some extent sidelined, as it is essential to have strong leadership steering the direction of an institute – and with education being at the core, the Principal is the logical, and often most qualified / experienced leader for this.

This discussion recently surfaced in New Zealand, where local newspaper, The New Zealand Herald looked at the extensive role of leadership in Institutes. It examined the challenges faced to fill the Principal’s role – as these go beyond academic. A strong academic leader may not be an ideal Principal – finding an astute businessperson who is an accomplished academic is essential – to ensure a balance of the pressures facing an institute. This makes it difficult to fill positions, as for many emerging education leaders have focused on teaching, research, and leading educators, but may have neglected developing their business acumen to compliment the needs of this specific job.

To leave you with a quote from the article: "While they are also running an organisation, at the end of the day it is still all about the students".

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Source - www.acgedu.com

An overwhelming range of responsibilities is one reason New Zealand faces a critical shortage of potential school principals - a predicament some fear will impact the quality of education.

One expert, Clarence van der Wel, CEO of Schools at ACG Education, says good principals are key to a successful school.

"International research shows," he says, "great schools do not exist apart from great leaders. Being a principal is one of the most rewarding jobs anyone can have and can be the difference between making or breaking a school."

The key role principals play was highlighted in research conducted in 2011 by the Wallace Foundation, a New York-based philanthropic organisation fostering learning among the young.

It said there is an empirical link between school leadership and improved student achievement.

"Research shows most school variables, considered separately, have at most a small effect on learning," the foundation said. "The real payoff comes when these variables combine to reach critical mass; creating the conditions under which that can occur is the job of the principal."

A 2013 report by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in the United States which looked at key international research on the issue, said it had not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in the absence of talented leadership.

Education experts in New Zealand, worried the lack of suitable candidates will deepen as large numbers of principals now in their late 50s begin to retire, say the situation is critical.

ACG Education - an independent group operating five schools in New Zealand - has appointed two new principals since June.

van der Wel, who oversaw the appointments, says while there will never be a shortage of people putting their hands up for the roles, it is worth asking: "Is there a shortage of high quality candidates?

"We had a good number of suitable candidates apply, but I know a lot of deputy principals and senior teachers are happy to operate at their current level of responsibility when they see the number of balls school principals have to juggle."

The NASSP report describes the job as being in "the hot seat" of heightened expectations.

They not only need to be educational visionaries, instructional and curriculum leaders, the report says, but public relations experts, budget analysts, legal, contractual and policy overseers - and broker the conflicting interests of parents, teachers and students.

"Although that job description sounds overwhelming, at least it signals that the field has begun to give overdue recognition to the indispensable role of and mounting demands on principals."

In New Zealand the shortage of potential principals has been blamed on teacher shortages (the Post Primary Teachers Association says this is at its highest level since 2008) and the expected swathe of retirements among principal ranks in coming years (their average age is in the high 50s).

Dr Brenda Service, post-graduate programme director at the Victoria University of Wellington's Faculty of Education, in comments reported by the New Zealand Herald, said the lack of suitably qualified people is a world-wide issue.

Principal training, she said, tended to be ad-hoc by expecting people to learn as they went through their former roles.

At ACG Schools the issue is largely overcome as the group's principals meet every second month to discuss ways to more effectively carry out their roles.

A former principal, van der Wel spent 15 years of his career in head roles, including at two ACG schools, ACG Strathallan near Karaka in south Auckland and ACG Parnell College. Part of his job now is the appointment of new principals.

In June he oversaw the appointment of Russell Brooke (formerly principal at Long Bay College) to ACG Parnell College and this month Danny O'Connor (as pictured above) to ACG Strathallan (O'Connor was previously principal at the UWCSEA Dover Campus in Singapore).

"We look for strong leaders, because strong leaders build a strong school," he says. "Leaders are pivotal to the success of a school and teachers look to them for leadership and direction.

"They need to be innovative, good instructional leaders, foster creativity and learning, be highly visible, effective listeners, problem solvers, have the ability to empower others and take responsibility for the well-being of students - these are among the qualities we look for in a principal.

"While they are also running an organisation," says van der Wel, "at the end of the day it is still all about the students."

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Craig J Selby | Craig is a long-time proponent of structured and measured change. His early career saw him teaching marketing and management at a variety of Universities and PTE’s in his native New Zealand, where he quickly climbed the management ladder to head several private sector institutes. Needing to do that little bit extra, Craig formed his own consultancy firm and was engaged by many in the sector as a trouble-shooter - responsible for internal auditing, restructuring and redevelopment of many departments and institutes in order to remain competitive in a highly contested market. This involvement motivated him to branch out and work with other industries - focussing on change and development as a core theme in business survival. When Craig moved to Malaysia, he went back into the Education sector to share his ideas with local private sector educational facilities. In 2009 Craig co-founded Orchan Consulting Asia, an award-winning Public Relations agency. His areas of specialisation are Crisis Management Communications and Change Management.