Projects
Capital Raising
Digital
Community Engagement
Issues Management
Brand Building
Health
Events
Business-to-Business
Meals on Wheels SA
The situation. Every day Meals on Wheels SA supports more than 5,000 elderly, housebound or disabled South Australians to live independently in their own home through the provision of delivered meals - prepared, cooked and delivered by 10,000 volunteers.
In October 2011, Hughes Public Relations provided crisis management support to Meals on Wheels around a precautionary food safety announcement regarding an incident involving the discovery of the bacteria listeria monocytogenes, in a dessert prepared at its Kent Town cook chill kitchen facility.
Meals on Wheels SA continuously undertakes rigorous routine testing to monitor the safety of the food it produces for its clients. Though not legally required to test for listeria, this testing process detected the presence of listeria in one product.
The product could not be recalled from kitchens as it had already been served to a proportion of clients when the positive test result was obtained.
Adhering to their desire for open and transparent communication, Meals on Wheels SA needed immediate support in delivering on its objective to inform and reassure its clients, their families and the wider community about the potential health risk whilst protecting its reputation as a trusted and valued community service.
Whilst their own internal systems were in place to communicate on issues that arise, the nature and timing of this alert necessitated a broader approach.
Objectives. The objectives of the public relations and communications strategy were to:
- Reassure the community at large and its major stakeholders in particular, that Meals on Wheels has a primary concern for the wellbeing of its clients;
- Advise clients and their families of the potential health risk and the recommended steps to take to seek help if listeriosis is suspected;
- Minimise disruption to ongoing services and reassure clients to continue to use the services provided by Meals on Wheels SA; and
- Reduce any speculation in the community and manage media interest or resulting criticism.
Elements. The Meals on Wheels communication strategy had Hughes Public Relations as a core member of its crisis management team. This enabled Hughes Public Relations to have 24-hour access to information and to act quickly and effectively to:
- Ensure CEO Sharyn Broer as Meals on Wheels’ spokesperson was well prepared for media interviews and work with her on key messages about the situation and the organisation’s response;
- Provide fast, factual information to the news media and anticipate media requirements;
- Manage the process of strong and positive communication with clients and their families to maintain essential confidence in the safety and quality of meals and enhance trust in Meals on Wheels;
- Assist in ensuring Meals on Wheels board, staff and volunteers, were regularly updated on all aspects of the situation;
- Provide liaison between Meals on Wheels SA, the SA Department of Health and the SA Health media unit; and
- Provide round the clock support, as required, to the Meals on Wheels ‘front-line’ team to help with minimising disruption to ongoing vital services throughout the incident.
Outcome. The South Australian Department of Health and Meals on Wheels received no reports of illness connected to consumption of the dessert in question.
Meals on Wheels SA engaged proactively and positively with its staff, clients, volunteers, media, SA Health and its key messages were successfully relayed to the community by all major news outlets in Adelaide.
As a result of the responsible and positive way in which the issue was handled (and as a result of the considerable brand equity built by Meals on Wheels SA) the organisation has continued to enjoy strong support from its major stakeholders and the wider community with minimal impact to clients and volunteers since the listeria issue arose.
In a follow up, the Department of Health has not only closed this incident, they have praised the work done by the team to effectively manage it.
Testimonial. "The recent incident, focussed on one meal prepared by Meals on Wheels, on one day. This amongst the many thousands of meals we produce each day in this State. Our effective planning and early engagement with the Department of Health, Hughes PR and our management team ensured that this incident was treated in perspective and we believe has had little to no impact on our brand. The expertise and experience of Hughes PR contributed greatly to achieving a successful outcome. It was a job well done by all."
Sharyn Broer, CEO
