There can be many causes of a crisis media management incident.
When we ask delegates on our crisis communication training courses to suggest what might cause a reputational crisis for their organisation, they typically suggest things like incidents resulting in loss of life, significant injury or environmental harm.
Sometimes, major IT failures or data leaks are put forward.
But, outside the training room, allegations about working conditions and practices are increasingly putting brands at the centre of reputational storms.
BrewDog rarely seems to stray too far from controversy.
But over the past week, the company has been mauled by accusations of employees facing a “toxic attitude” and working in a “culture of fear”.
This, it was alleged, had led to a number of former staff at the Scottish brewer suffering “mental illness.”
The damning criticism came in the form of an open letter, signed by more than 100 former workers, published by a group called Punks with Purpose.
It went on to say that: “Put bluntly, the single biggest shared experience of former staff is a residual feeling of fear.”
Its Twitter post has been retweeted nearly 6,000 times and ‘liked’ by more than 18,500 people.
And the story was quickly picked up by mainstream media. Here is a taste of the headlines:
Former BrewDog staff accuse craft beer firm of culture of fear Guardian
Ex-Brewdog staff allege culture of fear at brewer BBC News
Former BrewDog staff accuse company of ‘culture of fear’ and misogyny Financial Times
BrewDog ex-employees share scathing open letter slamming company for fostering ‘culture of fear’ Daily Mail
'TOXIC' Brewdog accused of ‘rotten culture’ in damning open letter signed by over 100 former employees The Sun
So, how has BrewDog handled the story and this uncomfortable coverage?
First, let’s look at the good parts.
The brewer’s response has been led by James Watt, one of its co-founders, who describes himself as the ‘captain’ of the company.
And he responded pretty quickly with a statement on Twitter that contained much of the CARE acronym (Compassion, Action, Reassurance and Examples) we discuss during our crisis communication training courses.
I wanted to share a quick update on the open letter from former BrewDog team members. pic.twitter.com/yKPtKpfUmM
— James Watt (@BrewDogJames) June 10, 2021
There was an apology – although I think this should have come much earlier than the end of the third paragraph – and examples of action, with promises to find out more about the experiences of past and current employees.
He wrote: “We are committed to doing better, not just as a reaction to this, but always; and we are going to reach out to our entire team past and present to learn more. But most of all, right now, we are sorry.”
Continuing to lead from the front, in a BBC interview he announced a series of anonymous surveys of current staff and said the company would carry out “listening groups.”
And, over the weekend, it was reported BrewDog has brought in a new chairwoman, Blythe Jack, who will now lead its board.
The tone of the response was also crucial. With Mr Watt singled out for criticism in the letter from former employers, he must have felt tempted to respond directly to what had been said.
But fortunately, he avoided that approach, which risked making him sound defensive - and the situation worse - and opted instead for a conciliatory tone with a focus on being better in future.
He said: “It’s hard to hear those comments, but it must have been harder to say them. We appreciate that and we will endeavour to honour that effort and courage with the real change it deserves.
“We aren’t going to make excuses, we’re going to take action.”
In his BBC interview, he added: “It's very clear, looking at the feedback, we haven't always got things right here.
"We have to see this feedback as an opportunity to get better. We have to learn. We have to act. We have to take it on the chin."
The parts that left a bitter taste
Not everything in this response was an approach we would recommend on our crisis communication training.
As I’ve said, the statement should have begun with an apology. And there should have been more of a focus on those who had raised concerns, and less attention on the brewer being “a fast-growing business”.
But a bigger issue is that the internal comms, ironically, seems to be a bit of a mess.
After the story broke, the group behind the letter reported an email was being circulated to current BrewDog employees asking them to sign a counter letter about their positive experiences.
The memo labelled the claims made by ex-staff about its working conditions “demeaning” and warned current employees that the allegations posed a “threat to all of our livelihoods”.
That counterpunch tactic was ultimately shelved, but not before it was leaked on social media, adding to the storm.
We're expecting to see a response from BrewDog imminently. We currently understand this will be an open letter, which staff are being strongly urged to make a quick decision on signing. Some are already refusing. The current draft is here; sorry we only have images at present. pic.twitter.com/pDR3rRiQo2
— Punks With Purpose (@PunksWPurpose) June 10, 2021
Now, your employees can be a great asset in a crisis, particularly one centring on allegations of poor working practices.
But that advocacy needs to come naturally to sound genuine and have a positive impact.
The other part of its response that stands out is that the story does not appear to be acknowledged at the corporate BrewDog social accounts.
The only response is on Mr Watt’s account, which seems an odd approach given the extent to which the allegations against the brand have been shared and reported.
It risks people not seeing what it has to say and the crisis becoming even more closely linked to its co-founder than it already is.
How damaging will this crisis be?
Well, as much as I dislike the word, BrewDog is a ‘disrupter’ and had shaken up the brewing industry.
And that has seen it gain almost as much bad coverage as it has good in its rise to prominence.
Its attempt to combat the gender gap by launching a pink-labelled ‘beer for girls’ backfired. And it has been accused of encouraging anti-social behaviour and rapid drinking.
It even once told the Advertising Standards Agency it can “go f*** themselves” after it banned one of its commercials.
On a more positive level, it gained great coverage after using its distillery to produce hand sanitiser at the start of the pandemic. It responded to an Aldi copycat version of its Punk IPA by starting a collaboration, rather than going down the M&S approach of legal action.
And it has acquired 2,050 acres of wild land in Scotland, where it will plant one million trees as part of its drive to become carbon negative.
We have now enabled people on the front lines to safely sanitise their hands over 17 million times.
— James Watt (@BrewDogJames) June 30, 2020
To date, we have made and donated over 500,000 bottles of @BrewDog Hand Sanitiser to the NHS, health care charities & front line workers. pic.twitter.com/3FQs76ijW0
But this story poses more of a threat to the brewer’s reputation of being a “force for good” and being driven by values, than any of the previous issues it has faced.
And it comes at a time where there is increased focus on how we work, with younger generations, in particular, being more vocal about cultures and work environments.
In March this year, a group of junior analysts at Goldman Sachs criticised their employer for “inhumane” working conditions.
And Bill Michael, the UK boss of KPMG, had to step down following a backlash to comments he made during a staff Zoom call where he told consultants to "stop moaning" about the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on people's lives, and to stop "playing the victim card".
This latest crisis is unlikely to see last orders called on BrewDog, but it can expect a period of increased focus on its work practices. And it will need to show it is following through on the promises to change it has made.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 35 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
Click here to find out more about our practical crisis communication and media training.
Subscribe here to be among the first to receive our blogs.
