Effective PR: Learning to say 'I'm sorry'

If the last year has taught us anything, it's that our biggest firms aren't much good at handling difficult public relations situations.

This has been an annus horribilis for two of British industry's best-known brands: BP and Rolls-Royce. BP was responsible for the worst accidental oil spill in US history following an explosion on a rig in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 and injured 17.

It took months to plug the leak that saw 5 million barrels of oil pour into the ocean in one of the world's biggest environmental disasters. Rolls has been under the spotlight since one of its Trent 900 engines exploded on one of the new Airbus A380 superjumbos operated by Qantas. In themselves these events have little in common. But the thread that links the two is the hash that both made of their public relations after.

Public opinion

Their response undermined confidence in management and, in BP's case, to such a degree that it led to the departure of chief executive Tony Hayward.

There was a need from the outset for Hayward to address US public opinion. The last thing the Americans wanted was aloofness, wry smiles and a stiff upper lip that were hallmarks of Hayward.

In the period immediately after the explosion, BP retreated into itself and was reluctant to admit to shortcomings. Hayward's memorable comment that he "wanted his life back" midway through the crisis was like throwing petrol onto the fire.

Sir John Rose, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, also played things badly. The company has never been good at communicating with the outside word.

As the Ministry of Defence is one of its biggest customers, perhaps that should come as no surprise, but when its engine failed last month, Rolls should have been quick to open up lines to investors to explain how it planned to fix things. Instead, there was an almost deafening silence.

Ongoing investigations

Early Qantas checks on engines fitted to the A380s indicate the problems may not be as widespread as first feared. But no one can say for sure how much this is going to cost the company, as investigations are ongoing.

Perhaps Rose has learned something from BP. During the height of the crisis, the oil company consistently put a rosy gloss on the potential damage of the disaster. One of Hayward's biggest clangers was suggesting the environmental impact on the gulf would be "very, very modest". Worse, the cost estimates for investors kept heading north.

But what they should have learned by now is that the road to redemption lies neither in burying your head in the sand or playing down bad news. The key is to put your head above the parapet and engage via straight, honest talking, even if it means saying "sorry, everyone, we screwed up".