A Lesson in Crisis Comms from Optus

Most brands will encounter a crisis at some point in their business journey – be it minor or major, it’s almost inevitable. And in Australia, telco Optus is no stranger to a crisis.

In 2022, Optus suffered a data breach which affected 10 million customers. In 2023, a nationwide Optus network outage took place during routine maintenance, affecting everything from train services to EFTPOS. Most seriously, Optus customers were unable to call 000.

History has repeated this month, with another technology-based outage taking place, leading to some customers unable to contact emergency services. Tragically, the deaths of three people have been linked to the outage. Another 000 outage took place in NSW just over a week later.

There is no doubt that Optus should be experts in crisis communications by now, having had more opportunities than most to refine their crisis communication strategy. So what have they got right, and what needs improving?

WHAT THEY’VE DONE RIGHT

In 2022, Optus moved quickly to alert the public of its security breach, and the following crisis in 2023 saw then-CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin make her public appearance in a more timely fashion than the previous year. Optus used a range of channels to communicate with their customers, including social media and doing live media interviews, providing updates as the outage continued. Optus cooperated with the subsequent ACMA investigation, and made immediate changes to its system to avoid future failures.

This time, Optus have a new CEO, Stephen Rue, and chose a press conference to communicate the outage to the public. This enabled interactive communication with journalists, facilitated immediate clarifications, and provided the new CEO an opportunity to connect with the public. There was an apology, expressions of remorse, and a promise to remain transparent as their investigation continues.

There are some elements of good practice here: customer updates, press conferences held by the CEO, apologies and promises of transparency, independent investigations.

WHAT THEY COULD IMPROVE ON

Optus have been heavily criticised in the public over its response to all three crises. The themes have been similar: delays in communication to customers and other stakeholders, and a lack of accountability, clarity and empathy. For example, the 000 outage took place on the morning of Thursday 18th September, however the snap press conference wasn’t called until late on Friday. The timing of this press conference has been criticised as slow and cynically timed for a Friday evening. Governments and emergency services were only made aware of the issue during the press conference. Six days passed before Singtel issued a public apology.

One theme across all three instances is that the nature of Optus’ response has led to them losing control of the narrative, resulting in severely damaged brand trust.

So, what does GTM recommend as best practice when it comes to crisis communications?

• Always have a crisis communication plan pre-prepared to enable quick action.

• Be timely with your public communication – delays lead to confusion, distrust and a loss of control over the narrative.
• Have an immediate plan for each communication channel – ensure customers and stakeholders are notified at first opportunity, then move to external media comms.
• Be honest and upfront. Minimising the scope of the issue or being vague on detail leads to distrust amongst your customers and the public.
• Take accountability. Companies that own their mistakes often recover faster.

This example serves as an excellent reminder that all companies need to have a crisis communications strategy. Organisations that are well prepared, act quickly, take accountability and are transparent in their communications are far more likely to emerge with their reputation strengthened rather than tarnished- as seems to be the case with Optus.

Need help setting up your crisis communication plan? Contact Good Talent Media today.