Language used by CEO was understating: PR official on racist incident at PwC Australia

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PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Australia announced yesterday (September 28) that it will launch an investigation into a racist incident involving two human resources officials. One senior diversity and inclusion executive reportedly mocked Chinese accents while the other disguised himself as a “Wuhan bat” during an internal quiz party last week.

Managing Director Tom Seymour told the Australian Financial Review (AFR) that the incident “did not reflect the values ​​and culture of our company” and that he had communicated with partners and staff “reminding them to consider how our behavior can have an impact on others “. He added that while the incident was unintentional, it was thoughtless and damaging and resulted in injuries to employees.

According to the AFR report, Seymour had informed the company’s partners of the incident and organized a town hall among the employees to apologize to the participants of the quiz event. Company-wide communications have also been released explaining that the investigation could take weeks.

“In one skit, a human resources manager disguised as a bat from Wuhan while in another, a senior diversity and inclusion executive mocked Chinese accents.” It’s a shock and shows how working in diversity and inclusion doesn’t mean you “get” racism https://t.co/kOgM7t5moX

– Tim Soutphommasane (@timsout) September 28, 2021

Imagine if we had some scary quotes in the 1800s. British Empire will end ‘racist’ institution of slavery https://t.co/nZWltrk2UT

– Jim Malo (thejimmalo) September 28, 2021

I wish I could say that I was surprised by this. What is fascinating are the statistics of young employees who choose not to work in companies without clear diversity practices. https://t.co/73U8EGgCVK

– Weh Yeoh (@wmyeoh) September 28, 2021

Phoebe Netto (pictured below), managing director of Pure Public Relations, told PRWeek Asia that the AFR report made it clear that the situation had not been taken as seriously as it should be. The report says the internal investigation sparked skepticism from employees, unaided by inconsistencies between reports, with AFR saying the investigation could take weeks and the Australian saying it would be resolved “within a week. “.

“Calling employee actions ‘unintentional’ seriously misses the mark, not least because one of the employees was a diversity and inclusion manager,” Netto said. “It’s not just two dishonest members of staff, it’s the senior team members who are supposed to set the tone for the rest of the company. Culture, tone, respect and good behavior start at the top. Their actions set the bar incredibly low.

As a result of this incident, PwC clients, who themselves could be of Chinese descent, will undoubtedly question their affiliation with the consulting firm, Netto added.

“In order to set the record straight, PwC will need more than a wave ‘investigation’, it will need a comprehensive organizational review of its culture. They now have to counter the perception that this is a problem that affects the whole department or company, because two senior executives felt comfortable that they could be so offensive, ”he said. she declared.

Netto added that the company’s actions had not been sufficient despite its aspiration to be a “caring and inclusive organization”. Seymour’s language in interviews and media statements could also have been more forceful.

“Words like ‘discomfort’ seem to downplay and downplay the reaction, making it appear as an awkward moment as opposed to a gravely offensive and racist act. The language should have been much louder, using something like ‘appalling’,” Netto said.

“But they get points for speaking to the media and addressing the issue head-on with the chief executive. Remaining silent would have made them appear even more guilty, and the silence would have been filled with even more speculation, negative assumptions, and criticism.

Due diligence for alleged violators must also play a bigger role in the company’s public relations narrative, Netto said. For example, there was a brief mention of potentially terminated or suspended staff members at the end of the report in The Australian, but was completely left out in the AFR report.

“It tells me that the PR involved didn’t want to yell at this fact. They should have led with that, ”Netto said. “That kind of response might have worked ten years ago, but our tolerance for anything considered discriminatory or racist is incredibly low – and it should be. If they read the play, they would notice that people’s tolerance is also incredibly low right now. The impact of the lockdown and Covid has dramatically reduced people’s appetites for forgiveness. ”

Going forward, the company should be clear on how to tackle its culture which may be complicit in the adoption of racist behavior.

“A whole culture had to exist where this kind of behavior was deemed acceptable. As a result, he needs a much bigger response than just dealing with the two staff members alone. A diversity webinar or a slap on the wrist is not enough, ”Netto said.

“PwC needs to do an overall assessment of the business and hire an external culture specialist to look at the whole organization. They need to make sure that there cannot and there will be no circumstances in the future where a staff member would feel comfortable doing something like this again. ”

Netto suggested that the company communicate with its customers about this as well. “Customers will definitely read about it in the media, so quick and direct communication is the best course of action. They need to explain to their clients what they are doing, when they are doing it and how they are taking action to tackle the problem head on, ”she said.

“It’s not just a storm in a teacup. As with any PR storm, once the fire gets out of hand, it is nearly impossible to put out.

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