Thread by @virtaava

Crisis management and communications
Thread to those companies that are still operating in Russia. 1/24

I write this because we now have a perfect example of a company that is operating inside Russia, a company that falls under the humanitarian clause exception of sanctions.
I am, of course, talking about @Bonduelle_Group. 2/24

There are three types of companies that still operate in Russia.
A company; that is operating against sanctions.
A company; that is operating in an area that is outside of sanctions.
A company; that is operating in an area that is under humanitarian clauses. 3/24

If you fall into category 1. wish your company will be outed, and face all the legal consequences, that you are due, and your customers and shareholders will abandon you. There are no moral or ethical exceptions. 4/24

If you fall into category 2, you have made a moral decision to operate inside Russia.
You should reverse your position and exit Russia.

That is the morally right thing to do, don't put profits above your morals. 5/24

Everyone should avoid your company and make it publicly known that you still operate inside Russia. Customers can then boycott your company.
Maybe the hit to the bottom line will change your tune. 6/24

If you fall into category 3, you have my sympathies, but there still is something that you can do.

Make it publicly known that you have an exit strategy in place, and communicate that plan to your customers. 7/24

Tell them the truth, don't try to hide behind the humanitarian clause that only makes you look iffy. 8/24

Let's take the @Bonduelle_Group case as an example.
What went wrong, and what should they have done to prevent this from happening at all? 9/24

It all started from this Twitter thread.
"So, ruzzian invaders were given
@Bonduelle_Group
canned food as new year's gifts? What the actual fck?"

https://twitter.com/sami_viitanen/status/1609129828321746944

10/24

And the answer from @Bonduelle_Group could hardly have been worse. 11/24

"Denial - Following the dissemination of false information
On December 30th, Russian social media spread misleading information about our activity in Russia.
The information and declarations assigned to Bonduelle company and its management are fake. 12/24

Bonduelle Group is maintaining its activities in Russia with the only objective to ensure that the population has access to essential food-stuff in Russia and in the surrounding countries." 13/24

So what's wrong with that answer?
Denial: upright denial of the event.
Secondly, hiding behind the humanitarian clause of providing "access to essential food-stuff" 14/24

I can almost hear the facepalming of various crisis communication teams when they read the above statement. 15/24

What should have been done instead?
Bonduelle Group has launched an internal investigation.
into the event that was published on Russian social media.
We apologize, and we will make sure that the results of our investigation are public. 16/24

And what could have prevented this from the start?
If your company has moral values, and you don't just stare at the bottom line. You should have an exit strategy in place, and you should have made that plan public with a simple press release. 17/24

Here is a perfect example of how it should be done from @Valio_Ltd 18/24

"We strictly condemn Russia’s attack on independent Ukraine. Ethically, Valio cannot continue operations in Russia; therefore, we are ending business operation in Russia,” says Valio’s CEO Annikka Hurme. 19/24

Valio has one processed cheese factory near Moscow, contract manufacturing partners and sales offices in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. Valio employs approximately 400 people in Russia. Annual sales of Valio in Russia have been approximately 85 million euros. 20/24

Valio’s subsidiary in Russia is 100% Finnish-owned by Valio.
The exit process will start immediately. The decision to end the business and ramp down operations involves many details that we have been working on, and we now could communicate about it. 21/24

Last week Valio stopped all exports from Finland to Russia and Belarus. In addition, imports of ingredients and packaging materials from Russia to Finland were stopped." 22/24

So, what to do?
Make an exit plan, publish it and be a company that value more than the bottom line. Customers will thank you for that and be loyal. You may take a hit and lose money in the short term, but your brand shall shine brightly and we will remember. 23/24

You can deposit my consulting fee into my PayPal account.
#exitrussia #crisismanagement #crisiscommunications #exitplan #russiaisateroriststate #Russia #Brand 24/24

som.yale.edu/story/2022/ove…

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