Protecting your reputation during a protester eviction

One of the areas we focus heavily on when conducting a protester eviction is the protection of our clients’ reputation.

Reputational risk can occur when uncontrollable events and/or negative publicity have an adverse impact on your reputation. This may be amongst customers, shareholders, the wider public, employees and suppliers.

Protests can be highly emotionally charged, with occupants determined to make a stand and take dramatic steps to resist removal.

Protecting your reputation

So, how do we protect your reputation during an eviction?

Procedures

We have thoroughly developed procedures, backed up by decades of experience, to manage and control any situation we come across.

Planning

We undertake detailed operational planning and risk assessment, making sure we have all the right people and equipment on site, including Police support where needed.

People

Our team of enforcement agents are highly trained, qualified and experienced. We have the correct insurance in place for the work we do.

The training we undertake isn’t just about how to remove a lock-on or carry someone safely off site; it’s also about managing conflict to defuse situations to prevent any trouble happening in the first place.

What can you do?

Have your senior team and PR contact on site fully media trained and also briefed before the eviction. Our team will keep you posted on events as they happen, to allow you to prepare for difficult media questions.

Whilst we will monitor social media to see what plans the protesters have, for example trying to bring more supporters on site, you can also use it to check what response, if any, there has been to your decision to remove the protesters. This can enable you to manage your communications and get your message across in a positive and timely manner.

Some examples

Whilst we do not have any direct examples of damage to reputational risk – we really do make sure that we protect your reputation – here are some examples from other events that have damaged reputations, where the plethora of media means a story can go global in seconds.

Ryanair

One passenger was the subject of racist abuse by another passenger. The cabin crew decided to deal with it by getting the victim to move. The media backlash was strong, with many calling for the airline to be boycotted.

United Airlines

When a passenger refused to volunteer to relinquish his seat for airline maintenance workers, he was physically carried off the plane. The airline then compounded the problem by their poor response after the event, blaming the victim.

Facebook

Will Facebook ever recover fully from the damage to their reputation caused by the Cambridge Analytica scandal?

Pret A Manger

Their reputation has also been significantly damaged by the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse as a result of eating food that did not have adequate allergy labelling.

BP

A simple statement by then BP CEO at the time of the enormous US oil spill backfired spectacularly and lost him his job when he said “I’d like my life back”.

For more information

If you would like any advice or information on the safe and reputable removal of protesters, please get in touch.