BP didn't learn the lessons of history

 

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 Carol Forsloff - BP did not learn  lessons from its history, and folks hope it will in time but aren't optimistic given the failures of the company during the great oil spill disaster the company caused in the Gulf.  Besides the crisis isn't really over. 

So what is that history?   “Their biggest mistake overall is not learning from previous failures,” said Tim Sellnow, a professor in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Communication. Sellnow points to a disaster that occurred in 2005 when there was an explosion at a BP refinery in Texas that ended up killing 15 employees.  A year later a corroded BP pipeline left miles of Alaskan wilderness covered with 270,000 barrels of oil.  The way BP responded to these disasters worsened their public relations. 

The way they are handling their public relations now only worsens it, according to communications experts. 

It is a hard sell, communications tell us, when people see images of thick brown oil floating atop Gulf of Mexico waters, even when BP has primetime commercials that play continuously for the public.  They also have ongoing press conferences combined with the Coast Guard, to present a united front to the folks who live and breathe the problem on the Gulf Coast.  

BP had a history of other mistakes, and of cost-cutting, that should have taught them better how to communicate with the public.  But that didn't happen, experts say 

“If you look at the crisis chronology, it was a big mistake to not acknowledge the severity of the situation early on,” Sellnow said. “BP failed to provide a clear and consistent message early on, as far as what was going on at each stage.” 

Early communications efforts during the spill produced ongoing streams of ideas, most not well thought out or well presented and proclamations at press conferences that things were going well, even as things deteriorated. 

“It became seemingly preposterous,” said Sellnow. “They would get our hopes up and fail miserably again and again.”

Sellnow said some of BP's decisions have been good ones, such as setting up an escrow account to pay for the spill’s cleanup costs, and by cooperating with U.S. government cleanup efforts. “They have acknowledged they can’t handle it alone," he said. "They have replaced (former company spokesman) Tony Hayward with someone who has a better understanding of the local population.”

According to Sellnow,  BP may never be able to do enough in communicating its regret for causing this disaster.   It hadn't learned previously from its mistakes.  Perhaps in time things will change, but the disaster is significant; and memories of such high profile events are not soon forgotten.  Besides marine scientists declare the problem doesn't end when the oil spill stops so the future still is unknown.

“I think the best thing they can do, and it will take years, is cleaning up the area and getting people back to work,” said Sellnow. “Then, they need to be proactive and move to the forefront of their industry in oil drilling and oil transportation safety. That would require an entirely new culture in the organization.”