What happens when a widely admired government contractor gets bombed by the Air Force?

There are no shortages of media interest in allegations of waste, fraud and abuse in government contracting – from allegations of Tiffany’s-priced hammers and toilet seats to the unique access of Halliburton. SAIC, a highly regarded government contractor is now facing, not one, but two increasingly public examinations into how they do business.

The investigation is led in part by the combination of a unique and blistering Department of the Air Force False Claims Alert, supported by what appears to be a credible whistleblower and a separate but unfortunately timed FBI contracting dispute over the quality of SAIC homeland security software.

Journalists love patterns and these two events, however distinct, will soon appear as a pattern sufficient to taint SAIC and bruise its reputation as a widely admired, play-by-the-rules government contractor. It will be left instead with a reputation sullied enough to potentially make them the poster child for contractor abuse.

How does SAIC preserve its public image?

1. Stop the bleeding
   
   Don’t make things worse. SAIC has already done this once by irritating the US Justice Department by communicating through improper channels.
   
   Gather all the facts, as deep as they go. Bring your team together, including contracting experts, lawyers, the sales and legislative teams, and media experts. Find out everything they know and come to agreement rapidly over the best course of action. Do not let the lawyers drive the crisis team bus alone – all strategies need to be fully vetted with the crisis team.
   
   
2. Determine your audiences
   What are you trying to say and to whom? What is your message to opposing counsel? To contracting officers? To clients? To members of Congress? To reporters, particularly those out of San Diego and trade publications which follow government contracts most closely? Your messages need to be consistent, but they also need to be carefully timed. You can win credibility and fair articles from journalists who believe you are giving them open and honest access.
   
   
3. Perception trump facts
   Preparing 10,000-word statements for Congress may make you feel better, but the information is inaccessible. These elongated statements are necessary but do not confuse them with effective communication. People scan, they don’t read. What your audiences are looking for are statements they can understand, trust, and latch on to. Your spokespersons need to be trained in communicating them.
   
   PR counsel needs to be assisting in getting these messages to journalists. You web site needs to have these clear, concise, and understandable message points posted and “optimized” so that journalists researching their next story will naturally be drawn by the Internet to your site and your messages.
   
   
4. Who are your allies?
   Just as SAIC risks being hoisted on its own petard for the practices of an entire industry, it needs to find allies who can communicate key messages. Are their other government contractors who would assist in publicly sending a message of standard industry practice rather than whistle past the graveyard, knowing full well they may be next in this kind of investigation? What about other benefactors? Who are constituencies that understand the value that SAIC brings to them and are willing to communicate it?
   
   On the FBI-software dispute, the US is still lacking sufficient software to prepare the TSA with the best information at airports. Natural allies like the airline pilots and passenger groups, freight forwarders and others are natural organizations to send out an alternative message on their own – why is the government dragging its feet on heightened security? The Nation’s capital is filled with consulting firms that do this everyday. The strategy is called coalition building; the tactic is changing the subject.

At the end of the day, there are many communications and public policy strategies SAIC can effectively use, rather than to just circle the wagons and lash out with its view of the truth. The question is, how much is this worth to them? If the instant contracts – not to mention their reputation for honesty and integrity in the marketplace – are as valuable as we all believe, then everything is accomplishable. It is just a factor of time and money.

Richard S. Levick, Esq., is the co-author of Stop the Presses: The Litigation PR Desk Reference, and President of Levick Strategic Communications www.levick.com a global leader in high-stakes litigation and crisis communications. They have directed media on such issues as Guantanamo Bay, the Catholic Church, Napster and the Rosie O’Donnell Rosie magazine lawsuit.