Navigating Hot-Button Culture Issues with a Christian School
How can an organization navigate communications around sensitive cultural issues?
They engage a communications agency to ensure their messaging is sensitive, strategic and aligns with their values.
The Challenge
Independent and Christian schools across the nation have seen divisive social issues show up on their campuses—both physically and online. One such school enlisted Guardian’s help to address communications around hot-button topics such as racial diversity, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Many “Black at [school]” social media accounts were created on Instagram as a way for students of color to anonymously share their experiences of tension and inequality. Detailed instances ranged from hurtful oversights to more direct aggressions, but any listed incident grieved leadership and the larger school community.
The PROCESS
Tasked with assisting leadership in determining and implementing an effective and timely response for the account targeting their school, our first course of action was to help the administration review their policies and previous communications regarding racial diversity, determine any weaknesses, and anticipate what questions parents and students might have about the situation. Next, we provided counsel regarding the best course of response and guided leadership in creating a communication piece that addressed the situation.
In addition to tackling immediate issues, we turned to identifying potential vulnerabilities such as other social media controversies, school safety, positions on sexual orientation and gender identity, student or faculty tragedy, and moral failure by staff or students. We walked the school administration through a list of questions associated with specific vulnerabilities. While the decisions on policy and how to address those situations were ultimately up to the school, we asked the hard questions so the leadership would be equipped to deal with potentially volatile reactions. After they determined their response, we helped craft their answers into messaging for future use.
It is essential that organizations dedicate proactive time and thought to how they will navigate current social issues, to stave off potential crisis situations and know how they will chart their communications course about them. We help teams think through the potential ramifications of whatever situation they are facing and what questions might arise. You need to know who you want to reach, what you want to say and what audiences require proactive communication.
The results
Ultimately, Guardian transitioned this school from a posture of reactive crisis management to proactive preparation and strategic crisis communication. We equipped them with the knowledge they needed to address a host of sensitive issues, so they can respond immediately when they face a crisis or need to address a difficult issue.