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THIS WEEK
Hands Up if You Have Never Made a Mistake at Work - @Westpac Keep Your Hands Down
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
Hands Up If You Have Never Made a Mistake At Work - @Westpac Keep Your Hands Down
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At last look, all workplaces had at least one human working in them. That means on any given day there is at least one person who could be beset with human error.
Humans by their very nature have bad days. They have vague days, angry days, happy days and days when they just want to go home and have a good cry.
But what happens when one of those bad days suddenly becomes very public? That scenario faced Westpac Bank yesterday. Westpac is a very traditional "big" bank. They are part of a monopoly of banks that dominate the finance sector and for many years were seen as "stuffy and faceless".
In the past 6 months, the CEO of Westpac came out in the media and announced that the bank had made mistakes in the past, that they were wrong in closing down branches and as a result they would bring banking back to the people by appointing local branch managers. They wanted Westpac to have a face again.
 Westpac embraced social media – setting up a Twitter account to talk with customers about problems they may be having, communicate about economic news and share information. www.twitter.com/westpac
But like all new forms of communication, there are teething problems.
Yesterday one of the assistants who monitor and respond to the Twitter stream accidently posted a comment meant for their personal twitter account onto the Westpac Bank twitter account. They posted "Oh so very over today".
People very quickly noticed the tweet, sending sympathy to the bank, a lot of good-natured ribbing and sharing the tweet with all of their followers. Suddenly something very private was quickly being discussed around the world.
Most people were largely very positive at the human face of Westpac being shown, but there was also a high degree of cynicism. People watched to see how the bank would respond.
One media agency rang the bank for comment (and to alert them to the tweet). 32 minutes after it was posted, the tweet was deleted.
People went into a frenzy. The "offending" tweet had been copied by enterprising people via screen capture and was now being shared at the speed of light. People sent sympathy messages to the person who had been human – everyone assumed they had been sacked.
Over 4 hours later the bank responded. A wonderfully low-key response "Yes, a case of the multiple account slip, here's hoping you have a better day tomorrow CT! ..Ean"
The hue and cry mainly died down, but people commented on the delay in the response and still wondered about the fate of the mysterious CT.
So what can other businesses learn from @Westpac? Anyone who says that no one reads social media is wrong. Social media comments do matter and one tiny slip can create massive buzz.
People do make mistakes – that's the nature of being human. And if you use social media it is very easy to make your mistakes in a very public way. What you need to plan for is how you will respond when mistakes happen.
In the social media you need to respond quickly – very quickly. A comment or response within the hour is optimal. You want to keep the response real, in keeping with the media being used (Twitter is chatty so the response needs to be chatty), and in keeping with your overall brand and philosophy.
The Westpac response was great – it just took too long. Responding faster would have "killed" the story earlier.
And should you delete the problem comment? This is one for your legal team & PR team. But if the comment is not defamatory or inflammatory then you are probably better off leaving it there and responding to it rather than deleting it. By being open with the mistake you will not be accused of trying to "cover it up". If you delete it, you should say why it was deleted.
If you use any form of social media you need to have plans in place to deal with the inevitable human error. You also need delegate authority to people deal with issues when they arise, rather than having to escalate it up the chain.
One a plus side, Westpac gained 150 more followers in the space of a few short hours, with many more gaining awareness that Westpac now "twittered". Fantastic publicity. It is up to them now to keep the human face going and not lose the momentum they have gained.
We also have a new saying enter the vernacular as a result "I'm having a Westpac of a day". More publicity and awareness – again priceless.
We are still to hear the fate of CT – and whether or not they have been disciplined. A tweet from them that they are OK & thanking Westpac for their understanding would be a nice touch.
The bottom line is everyone makes mistakes – some more publically than others. It is how a business publically responds to those mistakes that is the issue. Choose your response now and not in the heat of the crisis!
PS: CT from Westpac did respond today "
Thanks for all the support, MUCH better day today ;-) ..CT". Love it!
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| HR Tip of the Week: Social Media Policies - Yes, Your Company Need One! |
I have talked before about the essential policy that every business needs - a social media policy. Even if your company doesn't actively blog, Facebook or Twitter it is guaranteed that the majority of your employees do in their private lives.
Situations like the Westpac scenario, as well as the hapless finance person who was caught looking at saucy pictures during a live TV cross are great opportunities to have a discussion with your team about your policy.
Capitalise on what is happening in the news in order to prompt discussion. If you use that approach your policies suddenly become "real" and not just words on a page.
| Business of the Week: IdeaLaw |
While we are on the subject of protecting yourself, just a reminder that most businesses don't tend to protect themselves enough legally. IdeaLaw is my personal law firm - and they only work with IT companies, companies who do a lot of online type work or in common day parlance "geeks".
Kay is the least likely lawyer you will find - petite, attractive, funny and a love of casual clothes.
She is also a passionate geek, so really "gets" the whole social media phenomena (you can follow her regular irreverant as well as case law comments on Twitter at www.twitter.com/IDEALAW).
She believes in "cutting the fud" so you get clear, no-nonsense advice in a way that you can understand, without the clock ticking in 15 minute increments. Gotta love that!
Here is another example of a classic mistake - but one that unfortunately is going to cost jobs and businesses. When looking at planning for social media disasters, you may need to plan for government "help" as well.
exuberantly yours
Ingrid
Heart Harmony
PS: This week's Small Business Tips blog included a post about "Creative School Fundraising Ideas".
Legal stuff: This newsletter is intended only a general guideline for Australian businesses. You should seek specific advice for your situation rather than relying only on this newsletter
Earnings disclaimer. Some of the content may include advertorial information, which means I may receive financial compensation for the products I recommend. But - unless I know and trust the product, I will not recommend it.
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