What is Issues Management in Public Relations?

Let’s talk about issues management in public relations for a moment. When I talk about this to my clients, there’s a good definition of issues management in public relations I always share, which is:

“The monitoring or scanning of the organisational environment in order to identify issues and trends, adapt to changes, and/or to decide on managerial or communicative actions aimed at creating mutual understanding with relevant stakeholders.” Corporate Communication Research.

So in other words, issues management is a bridge between your organisation and your stakeholders.

Across any business, there are always problems that must be analysed and resolved. Some are easy to deal with. While other issues may have a substantial impact (both good and bad) on your customers, employees, partners, suppliers and investors. Along with managing and resolving the actual problems, HOW these issues are being managed also need to be communicated.

I know that using public relations is an effective way of handling the management of these issues as part of an overall PR issues management plan. And, of course, it can stop any issue becoming a full-blown PR crisis too.

How does issues management differ from crisis management?

This is something I’m often asked: what’s the difference between issues management and crisis management? Simply put, issues management is proactive; crisis management is reactive.

From a public relations and communications approach, it’s important to know what you’re dealing with as crisis management and issues management are different animals. Consequently, they have to be dealt with in different ways. Let’s take a look.

Issues management

So the key markers of issues management include:

• Time to assess the situation and get ahead of it
• Opportunity to explore all possibilities and make an informed decision
• Taking the most cost-effective plan of action
• Managed during normal office hours so it’s business as usual
• Can extend for months or years
• No death, illness or injury
• Someone at departmental level (rather than board level) is authorised to sign off the response.

Crisis management

The key markers of crisis management include:

• Need to make a decision on the spot without knowing all the facts
• Fewer options available to take, which decrease as the crisis continues
• Costs could be high
• Daily crisis management activity could overwhelm the business
• A crisis will eventually end, but financial and reputational impacts last
• Can include injury, illness or death
• Requires the input of an organisation’s leader such as the CEO or Chair
• Will involve numerous stakeholders including customers, team members and suppliers.

Most businesses will recognise a PR crisis as it’s happening, from product recalls and social media missteps to major accidents and disasters and will – hopefully – have some kind of plan to manage the crisis effectively.

But a PR crisis can very often be averted if an issues management plan is already in place and potential issues are identified earlier in the cycle. And that’s an area for a PR professional with expertise in issues management.

The role of public relations in issues management

The area of issues management is a natural fit for a public relations consultant, like me, or an in-house PR team, as we’re highly organised people with a high risk/opportunity awareness. Issues management also requires a certain set of skills commonly found among PR practitioners:

• Strategic communication and planning skills, as well as listening and observation skills.
• Strong research, data gathering and analytical skills.
• Relationship management skills, both inside and outside the organisation, including internal stakeholders e.g. employees, and external stakeholders e.g. suppliers, investors and customers.
• Hands-on crisis management experience.

So public relations can play a vital role in the development of successful issues management outcomes, which benefit both the organisation and its stakeholders. Here’s how I approach it.

Issues management approach: the six key steps

When issues arise – and they always do – your organisation will need to handle the situation carefully, if you want to minimise the negative effect it has on your business. Having a formal process in place for issues management means problems are identified and resolved quickly without becoming a PR crisis.

My PR issues management process has six key steps: identify potential issues; set priorities; establish a position on the issues; develop the response; take action; and monitor the issue.

1. Identify issues and trends

Issues management begins with identifying potential issues and how they can impact your organisation. If an issue evades detection, then nothing can or will be done about it, until it reaches crisis point.

The role of the professional PR in issues management is to have our finger on the pulse. And that means scanning the external environment for developing trends and issues, which are of interest to the business. This can be anything from chatter on social media to changes in legislation. PRs look inside the business too, such as business strategies, operations and behaviours. Is there a threat to the IT systems? What are the consequences of a HR breach? How about an employee carelessly sharing company information on social media?

2. Set priorities

The impact of the issues should be evaluated into high, medium and low, and priorities set. What issue matters most to your organisation? What issue could have the most detrimental effect if allowed to escalate?

It’s important to concentrate on those issues critical to your strategic objectives, and where your organisation’s input and management will make the most difference.

3. Establish a position on the issue

What needs to be done? What steps must be taken first? And how will the issue be managed and communicated? There may be several ways an issue can be tackled. As an experienced PR practitioner, I  look at costs involved for each option, as well as the scope and timings. It may be that several courses of action are taken in parallel. Or one clear plan of action is developed. Either way, key messages need to be drawn up, so messaging is consistent.

4. Develop a response

A plan is then prepared for how to respond to the problem, including possible scenarios and the appropriate message for each. What information is shared about the problem and how the issue will be presented to the public and media is decided. Next a list of authorised people who can talk on the matter also needs drawing up, as well as a step-by-step guide to communicating the issue internally.

5. Take Action

The issues management plan is put into action and messaging that’s been agreed is communicated via internal networks and external channels, including the media.

6. Monitor the issue

Lastly, I check how successful the actions have been, look at the ongoing response to the issue, and decide if any changes need to be made to the plan.

The questions that need to be asked are:

• Has our brand and reputation been affected, and how?
• What kind of comments and feedback are we getting from customers and employees?
• Have we taken all the necessary steps to resolve the issue?
• Has media coverage been positive, neutral or negative?

How PR pros identify issues

Earlier, in step 1, I wrote about identifying issues by actively monitoring and assessing trends and developments in my clients’ industries. The key to successful issues management is identifying these issues early in the cycle, along with the potential stakeholders involved or affected.

But what exactly is an issue?

An issue is a trend or condition that may significantly affect your organisation’s operations over the period of its business plan. These could be changing attitudes and behaviours, they could be related to technology trends, lack of resources, or changes in legislation, all of which have a political, social and economic effect.

Early evaluation of the nature and direction of these trends is key to successful PR issues management. Issues may present a threat. Or they may present an opportunity. My skill as a public relations professional is to evaluate the issue to understand which one it is.

Type of issues

Issues are commonly described as having a five-stage lifecycle:

• Early
• Emerging
• Current
• Crisis
• Dormant

By the time an issue has worked its way through the first three stages and reached crisis point, it is much less manageable and attracts way more attention. As a PR pro, successful issues management is about working within the first three stages.

What external groups can cause issues?

Any issues facing organisations are usually due to:

• Government, bureaucrats and elected officials who, unsurprisingly, are instigators of most issues, as they’re most likely to be responsible for changes in legislation and policies.
• Pressure groups that focus on a single matter (e.g. the environment), they capture media attention and are likely to cause issues.
• The general public, although to a much lesser degree than the two above.
• And the news media. The media doesn’t create or formulate issues, but it does draw attention to them and shape popular opinion. It can very quickly build pressure around an issue (and equally, drop an issue).

As a PR professional, I need to constantly evaluate and monitor how an issue is playing out.

Monitoring the issues

One way to do this is by monitoring the media and looking at specific areas such as:

• Economic e.g. how will an imminent recession in the country, where my client sources goods, affect prices?
• Regulatory e.g. how will legislation in two years’ time affect how the business operates?
• Social trends e.g. how will growing environmental concerns affect how we travel and consequently, the travel industry?

Traditional media is still seen as a prestigious source. But, as we’ve seen, social media is a game-changer, as it’s more immediate and has removed any guesswork around stakeholder sentiment. Social media has made it easier for PRs like me to research and identify issues, monitor what’s said, work through a solution, then manage the issues more effectively and more consistently.

Issues management case studies

It’s easy to see how an organisation has responded to a crisis, during and after the event. As we know, some organisations handle it better than others.

But it’s harder to analyse issues management case studies, as process documents and plans are, by their very nature, internal documents and not for public consumption.

But back in 2016, a whistle-blower at Coca-Cola leaked a series of documents relating to Coca-Cola’s approach to potential policy changes e.g. more tax on soda, and their issues management process to deal with that. The plan, developed by a senior manager at Coca-Cola responsible for EU government relations, categorised the company’s priorities into main areas called ‘Fight Back’, ‘Prepare’, and ‘Monitor’ based on the policy’s impact on Coca-Cola’s sales and the likelihood of the policy passing.

Interestingly, Coca-Cola’s PR team only prioritised issues which were negative from the organisation’s perspective and didn’t actively push any positive outcomes. Whatever the view on Coca-Cola’s approach, the leaked documents demonstrate how seriously the company takes the issues management process.

Why having an issues management process in place is vital

As a PR pro, my issues management expertise is about looking for emerging issues that can affect my clients’ organisations. But it’s also about building long-term, trusting relationships with stakeholders such as employees, customers and investors, as well as external public bodies, both at a government and grass roots level.

Communication is a key factor in the issues management process, which is why public relations practitioners play such a key role. When communications around issues are clear, honest and open, a mutual understanding can be fostered. When a well-thought-out issues management and strategic PR plan is in place and your organisation has the capabilities and commitment to support it, you’re in a good position to adapt to any issues – and opportunities – as they present themselves.