A while back, telecom companies in Uganda, especially Airtel and MTN, came under intense public scrutiny and criticism on social media over what disgruntled customers described as data theft orchestrated by the unexplained depletion of mobile data bundles.

As expected, both Airtel and MTN released press statements. In its statement, MTN Uganda acknowledged the criticism and emphasized that it took the concerns with utmost seriousness and was ready to address the queries. The company provided contact details through which customers would reach them for assistance. For Airtel Uganda, the statement hinged on promoting the data manager tool within its ‘MyAirtel’ app. Since then, I have not found any new information published on the matter!

It’s becoming a common practice that in the middle of a crisis, too often many institutions will issue cryptic press statements, hoping that the issue will go away and things will not turn out to be as bad as they seem.

However, to build public trust and credibility, institutions need to do more than just make statements. They should take more affirmative actions. Consider how Kenya-based Equity Group Holdings handled a sensitive problem: One day, the Group CEO James Mwangi received a letter signed by 6 women who said they believed there was sexual harassment in Equity bank. Upon verification, he immediately informed the board of directors, and issued a press statement acknowledging that he had received the accusations and that in 60 days he would tell the general public the results of an investigation.

He created a team of 6 women from middle management to hear the complaints. Within 2 weeks, 16 women came forward. Within 4 weeks, the disciplinary process kicked in, and 6 people were terminated. Mwangi later said, “Since we dealt with the issue decisively by terminating the six, that issue has never arisen again”.

In today’s fast-paced world, complicated by social media that can quickly and effectively amplify concerns, you can have the best strategy, technology and balance sheet, but when something negative happens to your stakeholders (clients, employees, investors, media, etc.) – regardless of whether it’s within your control or not – it can have a huge impact on your business.

In fact, how well a business performs can be linked to how well it handles its stakeholder interactions and their ever-growing expectations. Mishandling these relationships can cause irreparable reputational damage, which at best can end careers and at worst kill a business.

If I were the MTN’s or Airtel’s CEO, I would, in addition to the press statements, (1) invite the affected customers for a meeting, where I would firstly offer a personal apology for the mishaps. (2) Well-knowing that dealing with the root causes of an issue requires more than an apology, I would assign a small, agile crisis team from my leadership team to study the crisis and provide recommendations in a timely manner.

Furthermore, (3) I would hold accountable anyone who may have played a role in creating the crisis. (4) I would change and clarify the relevant policy and communicate the same to the public. Ultimately, I would use the criticism as an opportunity to create change in the company.

In my opinion, the best way to manage a crisis is to prevent it in the first place. But sadly, no matter how well an institution is run, the question for even the best CEOs is not “if” they will have to lead through a crisis, it is “when”. This, therefore, underscores the need for multi-faceted approaches to addressing crises. You can’t stay silent or communicate only through press statements.

Mr. Mukalazi is the CEO, Talis Consults Ltd

brian@talisconsults.com