Education First (EF) - Covid Response - March 2020

Overview: Education First (EF) is a global education company that provides language training, cultural exchange, academic programs, and educational travel experiences for high school students. EF students and teachers are located across the globe and the business involves a number of moving parts that include managing global logistics, creating effective language learning programs and tending to the needs of high-school aged students.

Challenge: In March 2020 the global Covid pandemic and resulting travel restrictions set off a cascade of challenges for EFs educators, students and their families. Students abroad and in the middle of their programs were forced to travel home, while others were prevented from beginning. Parents demanded full refunds for cancelled tours and interrupted programs. Fortunately, EF had already established a robust health and safety program and students returned home quickly and safely. Despite this, parents inundated customer service lines, communications departments, third parties and general information channels with questions and criticisms. They also turned to traditional media outlets and social media platforms to air their complaints, demanding refunds for future travel. The media onslaught began, with outlets relentlessly seeking comment from the company. The sheer volume of requests overwhelmed the communications department, leaving them unable to respond by media deadlines. The resulting coverage portrayed EF as a greedy, uncaring organization.

Advice: The first step was to efficiently communicate EF’s robust health and safety program to the media. Advisors worked with EF to draft a statement, detailing EF’s health and safety procedures and telling its success story about students returning home safely. EF posted these statements on all channels available to students and their parents. Advisors then worked with EF to catalogue all media requests by deadline, which enabled the company to respond quickly. The longer term challenge was managing the continuing flow of news about dissatisfied parents and their demands for refunds. The news cycle was prolonged by parents who were unaware that the EF contracts they had signed included non-refund clauses specifying that force majeure events—such as a global pandemic—would prevent them from receiving reimbursement. Though they were not legally obligated to do so, EF leadership did everything in their power to make the families whole. The crucial next step was for advisors to ensure that EF used all the channels available to them to communicate their efforts to their customers. The company issued statements via their website, and customer service teams were trained on messaging. Internal communications teams were armed with statements and background information. During this chaotic time, parents were able to get most of their money refunded and the media frenzy quieted.

Result:  Education First’s prompt and effective crisis management enabled the company to maintain its brand position as a leader in global educational travel, whereas competitors that lacked proper health and safety programs, and failed to communicate effectively or support customers during the pandemic, were unable to withstand the crisis.