Executive Accused of Sexual Assualt
Background – An organization contacted the Fallston Group after a key executive was accused of sexually assaulting and harassing an employee of the opposite sex. The concern revolved around the proper management of the situation from a human resources, leadership and communications standpoint as this very sensitive issue had both operating and legal ramifications. Strategy & Results – Immediately, the Fallston Group met with leadership and key employees to fully understand the facts as they occurred and were reported. Once the facts were discovered, the policies and guidelines of the company were evaluated so leadership could evaluate its options with the offending employee while providing proper relief for the person assaulted. Key legal and leadership opinions were considered then the Fallston Group made a series of human resource recommendations which ensured the company abided by the law and reduced exposure for the entity and employees impacted. Because this was a prominent executive, the Fallston Group worked with leadership to arm them with the proper message points while communicating with staff and other relevant stakeholders. Additionally, a plan was created in the event the incident was leaked to the news media. The Fallston Group continued to work with leadership to provide proper executive perspective and counsel on the handling of the many operational, training and communications-oriented issues that arose as a result. The company has now changed its approach in dealing with issues of sensitivity which has had a positive impact on its culture and team performance. Image by Hardwick
Reputation Attack Via Social Media Channel
Background – An international nonprofit organization contacted the Fallston Group due to the professional and personal reputations of its key executives and Board members being tarnished anonymously by people via social media outlets. The attacks accused organizational leaders of financial mismanagement, gross misconduct and malicious behavior. As a result, key stakeholders, including investigative/oversight bodies, were questioning the validity of the accusations due to the lack of response by nonprofit leadership. By their own admission, leadership didn’t know how to address the attacks, strategically or technically. Strategy & Results – Members of the Fallston Group quickly engaged. After a series of discovery meetings with executive and Board members, the accusations were investigated by the Fallston Group using interview, document review and digital search techniques. The accusations were quickly deemed unfounded. As a result, core message points were developed by the Fallston Group and key written and verbal messages were quickly and efficiently delivered by nonprofit executives through various distribution points and channels. The well-crafted message points provided the necessary transparency, balance and perspective stakeholders needed to again gain a strong sense of confidence in current leadership. Stakeholder sentiment quickly turned positive while both mainstream and social media channels were monitored by the Fallston Group. The malicious attacks stopped immediately as the organization told its story with a sense of confidence. As a result, oversight bodies turned their attention elsewhere and the nonprofit regained focus after this major, unwarranted distraction was eliminated. The international organization has now reshaped its communications strategy, enabling it to proactively trumpet its positive news while managing sensitive issues in a forthright fashion. Image by TripleCurve
Public Company Quickly Focuses on Crisis Planning
Background – A prominent public company contacted the Fallston Group because leadership felt exposed and unprepared if there was a crisis of any magnitude in any of the seven generally accepted crisis categories – natural disaster, technological, confrontation, malevolence, organizational misdeeds , workplace violence, business relations (media, HR, lawsuits…). Strategy & Results – Fallston Group members met with all executive team members and performed a Crisis Audit. During this time, each team member was given an opportunity to talk about what “kept them up at night” outside of driving sales and advancing their mission. In other words, what were the very real concerns that could disrupt business continuity and derail the company from its operating and financial mission? After conducting the Crisis Audit, the findings were presented to leadership and the many exposure points were prioritized. As a result of the prioritization, the Fallston Group engaged to create the policies and protocols surrounding crisis communications, product recall and IT disaster recovery plans. Once the plans were created in concert with organizational representatives, training and simulations were held to fully prepare employees for a real event as everyone must know their role and how it is vital to the overall success of managing crisis. The Fallston Group currently sits on the organization’s crisis team and continues to provide counsel while working to reduce additional points of exposure. The entire process begins with a Crisis Audit as leadership has a responsibility to its many internal and external stakeholders. Image by createbright
Partner Fallout Spins Law Firm Into Crisis
Background – As a small law firm grew, the two founding partners realized their management and customer service philosophies were more divergent than initially anticipated. This lack of alignment ultimately led to a great deal of tension which was routinely spilling-over and negatively impacting both staff and clients. In fact, the two partners had grown so angry they didn’t want to be in the same room with one another; the relationship had grown untenable. Strategy & Results – The Fallston Group was contacted by one of the founding partners who wanted to immediately meet – the very high emotion and desperation was obvious. The initial concerns revolved around (1) the poor work product that was being delivered to clients by one partner and (2) managing the dissolution of a partnership that would no longer work. Additionally, since one of the partners would have to leave, the challenge was to maintain a sense of business continuity and stabilize the current client portfolio – significant change such as this often triggers clientele uncertainly which leads to attrition. After analyzing the facts, the Fallston Group met with each partner separately for many, many hours and ultimately brokered an exit strategy – one partner maintained ownership and current client-base while the second partner planned to exit with settlement. Both partners agreed with the terms, signed documents and executed the dissolution. This was a very emotional, yet relieving experience for all involved. Because law firm leadership changed, a firm name change was required. As a result, the Fallston Group crafted all of the external communications messaging and created a distribution strategy to (1) announce the change and (2) explain to clients what the change meant for them and how the change will enhance service. As a result, the internal and external stakeholders were communicated with very effectively. The client-base and revenue lines were stabilized. According to the client, the very objective, professional judgment of the Fallston Group was the key to moving the partners through adversity to advantage. Image by VILLA
Professional Baseball Team Signs Jose Canseco, Taps Fallston Group to Handle Media
Background – The business side of the Minor League baseball industry views the Minor League experience as affordable family entertainment. Communities want competitive baseball in family-oriented venues where folks can enjoy America’s pastime and be entertained at a fraction of the Major League cost. The revenue lines in this business revolve around ticket sales, sponsorships, food & beverage and merchandise sales. It is a very “up and down the street business” where sales are earned by young, aggressive sales teams on a daily basis. Enter the signing of a prominent/controversial baseball player, a baseball owner’s dream and the likelihood of increased ticket sales…the stars quickly aligned to create a unique sports marketing opportunity. That’s when the Fallston Group was immediately tapped on the shoulder… Strategy & Results – When the Worcester Tornadoes (Massachusetts) team owner called the Fallston Group (FG) at 8 PM one weekday evening, they asked if the FG could mobilize immediately to manage a possible milestone, newsworthy baseball roster signing – naturally, the FG team answered the bell. Within 20 minutes of the initial call, the FG was on the phone with Jose Canseco and team officials in an effort to create and manage a media strategy that would thrust the team and player into sports headlines. Within 36 hours of the initial call, the FG led the efforts to launch a full media assault upon the Boston market. As a result, the FG generated nearly $500,000 in earned media value over the next 72 hours, quickly making the media effort the largest in franchise history. The FG team was “on the ground” early the morning of the announcement and quickly timed the sequencing of messaging to all stakeholders, including the international news media, so as to generate as much positive news as possible within the appropriate media segments. Message points, press releases, quotes, digital posts, advisories, plans, stories and event strategies were authored, distributed and executed across many platforms. Live shots, taped interviews and documentary requests, etc. across many mediums were managed with assertive precision so as to lengthen the value of client exposure over time. With several timely decisions to make, the FG decided to launch the story on the morning the 100-Year Anniversary Celebration of Fenway Park (Boston, MA); Canseco was an invited guest. Additionally, the Boston sports media market was also intently covering the Boston Bruins playoff run, so the market was buzzing with sports news. Since this was an unconventional approach in that it was already a “crowded” news day, the FG strategically timed the release for 8 AM sharp to coincide with key morning drive-time radio on The Sports Hub, Boston’s sports flagship radio station. Canseco was interviewed live at the top of the hour and announced the news so as to capture the morning sports audience and move them to “breaking news” mode. The strategy paid-off and was overwhelmingly positive; the incredible media placement metrics paint the picture. The overall strategy has many more elements; for more information, contact the Fallston Group at 410.420.2001. Jose Canseco Player Background – Canseco recorded eight 30-homerun seasons, five of them in an Oakland A’s uniform. He also played for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and New York Yankees. He ended his Major League tenure with the Chicago White Sox in 2001. Canseco earned six all-star selections, four Silver Sluggers, the Rookie of the Year Award (1986), the Comeback Player of the Year Award (1994), and the Most Valuable Player (1988). He owns two World Series Championship Rings: one from the 1989 A’s and the other from the 2000 Yankees. Canseco garnered American League MVP honors in only his third full season (1988). As one of Oakland’s “Bash Brothers,” Canseco notched 42 homers, adding a career-best 124 runs batted in while batting .307 (also a personal best). He also reached career highs in hits (187), runs (120), walks (78), stolen bases (40), total bases (347), slugging percentage (.569) and OPS (.959). Image by setlistart.com
