It's no longer about doing business as usual.

That type of laissez-faire attitude, say experts, could be detrimental to the future of your company's operations - even when it's not your own business that is under attack.

In today's world, where news - especially bad news - travels at warp speeds, companies need to be prepared, proactive and ready to go into damage-control mode when disaster strikes, regardless of whether the incident is thousands of kilometres away or at a competitor's plant.

"There is a tendency to paint things with the same brush," says Ken Wong, a marketing professor at the school of business at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. "You need to assure your users and investors, and the general public, that this is not something that will happen to you."

CP (Frank Gunn)
A Maple Leaf Foods worker sprays down equipment on one of the Toronto plant's suspect food processing lines in the aftermath of the deadly listeriosis outbreak this past summer.

Incidents such as those at Sunrise Propane in Toronto, where an explosion at the plant killed an employee and forced residents to be evacuated last summer, and a recent listeriosis outbreak at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Ontario that has been linked to a number of deaths, have brought crisis-management issues to the forefront.

"My rule is to tell people as little as possible as late as possible, because you may be alarming people unnecessarily," says crisis-management specialist Allan Bonner, president of Toronto-based Allan Bonner Communications Management Inc.

"There is a principle in crisis management - you have no natural allies that want to come out and say, 'These are jolly good fellows,' because the reputation difficulties company A is having could help sink company B."

But Bonner says it can also make sense to take the bull by the horns and get out in front of the issue, especially if the incident deals with a company in the same field or a competitor.

"It's always a good time to be talking health and safely, maybe obliquely, without referencing this event," says Bonner. "You're obliquely addressing concerns some consumers might have, but you don't want to say (something like) 'Perhaps you've heard of this terrible problem there is with food, please be advised that this is not our problem.' A negative message like that is just not helpful."

Even though Bonner says it's not usual for a company to come to the rescue of an industry, Calgary-based Superior Propane decided to do just that shortly after the deadly Sunrise blast occurred.

Within 24 hours of the incident, Superior, even though it had no affiliation with Sunrise, was ready to answer calls about the safety of propane and its own commitment to safety.

"No matter what, we weren't going to make any comments on Sunrise. We're not going to kick somebody when they're down. It was their situation to manage," says Vicki Warwaruk, Superior's manager of organizational development.

"Being the biggest (propane) company, there was almost that feeling we have to be public with this, we have to let our stakeholders know about our (safety) program and that this incident does not dictate what happens in the industry. It was a singular tragic incident. We have a very strong safety program and that's what we wanted to share, and to let people know to try not to be worried."

Superior, the largest national propane distributor in Canada with a market share of about 50 per cent, issued a number of news releases, as well as launching an informational email hotline to provide information about its safety standards and programs. In addition, it put together a pertinent question-and-answer sheet that included details on how to contact the company for additional information.

Warwaruk says any concerns the company had that it could be tarred in connection with the Sunrise tragedy was overridden by the message it wanted to get out.

"Whenever you go into the public eye, there's always the potential of running the risk that people will take shots at you," she says. "But at the end of the day, we have a really good story to tell. We have a very strong safety record and very passionate people."

Superior was not alone in its defence of the $9-billion-per-year propane industry, which fuels some 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada.

According to the Calgary-based Propane Gas Association of Canada (PGAC), smaller propane companies were quoted across the country about propane issues and safety, though the organization says it is likely these companies were contacted by the media, as opposed to stepping forward on their own.

"We entered the picture immediately," says Tracy Walden, the PGAC's manager of communications. "In the beginning, we didn't know what the impact would be, but we knew it was a big incident with potential for far-reaching implications."

In addition to issuing a media fact sheet about propane and the industry's safety record, it also notified its members that an incident occurred and that they should prepare to speak to the media and their customers, who would likely have questions.

"We were encouraged by what Superior did and we were very happy to see it," says Walden. "The day after the incident, we fielded calls from across the country; the focus quickly changed from an incident in one locale to communities looking at similar-sized facilities in their own backyard."

Ken Wong, who has also worked with a wide variety of companies, believes it is a good idea to be proactive in the face of bad news. He cites the Maple Leaf incident as an example.

"I am somewhat surprised that some of the supermarket chains haven't been somewhat more public in their reassurance to the public about the things they do and that the food they supply is still safe," he says.

"I don't see that as an act of benevolence, but self-interest. When people stop buying any product, it is not in the best interest of the grocery chain. They have refrigerated units and if the (refrigerated deli) product is not moving, that floor space is unproductive."

Bonner adds in the wake of incidents, the public will always have questions, regardless of where the crisis occurred and whether or not your company was involved. "You have to be ready to respond," he says.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)