Team Huddle compiled by Stephanie Baxter
This has become an issue for several sports teams now, but earlier this week the Calgary Flames became the focus of media and fan attention when they became embroiled in an apparent H1N1 vaccination scandal. The media learned that the players, their families and team staff had received H1N1 vaccinations at an off-site clinic and didn’t have to wait in line for the shot. This revelation caused immediate backlash given the perceived line-jumping and the current focus on high risk groups. The Veritas team identified a couple of aspects to the story, but ultimately felt the Flames deserve a Touchdown for their quick response to the public outcry once the story broke. The team response included all the key elements of a good crisis management response. They framed the situation well – they admitted they had received the shots and explained why, they indicated that they had worked with the appropriate government body to assess the team’s risk and the possible disruption that going to a public clinic would cause and finally they accepted responsibility for the outcome and their actions. They ended with the acknowledgement that the situation had changed since they had received their shots, and if the current high priority focus was in place last week they would not have sought to be vaccinated. Everyone, from the head office to the players, was on message and apologetic. This situation has helped underscore the need to have a clear and consistent communication protocol in place; one that will allow timely, effective and accurate distribution of information to all potential spokespeople, not just those at the top.
Friday, November 6, 2009
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1 comments:
No dice! Too little to late. Iginla single-handedly fumbled the situation (though no one should have expected him to offer a enlightened response). He should have been better prepared for that infamous scrum where he justifies the shots - that's is what people will remember. NOT the recovery. It's not the actions of entitlement and privledge that these players received that ticked people off so much. It was public perception of the the attitude that they deserved this entitlement and the failed attempt to justify it... that will be remembered. FAIL! Made a bad situation worst and really showed that someone either droppe dthe ball in preparing the playerr or worst, they are simply out of touch with public sentiment on this one.
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