Reputation Management is Everyone’s Business

Introduction

Reputation Management is a task that requires constant vigilance by every employee and manager of a company. Wikipedia defines it as, “the process of tracking an entity's actions and other entities' opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report creating a feedback loop. All entities involved are generally people, but that need not always be the case. Other examples of entities include animals, businesses, or even locations or materials. The tracking and reporting may range from word-of-mouth to statistical analysis of thousands of data points.”

Anyone associated with a business can have their actions reviewed and, if offensive enough, reviled. A pattern of undesired or undesirable action, or a single highly-offensive event can cost companies clients. In some cases, these events can cost employees or their supervisors their jobs.

Why? Because every employee—from the top manager to the lowliest intern—is considered by outsiders to represent that firm. An action by one employee reflects not just on that employee, but on the entire firm.

Every company needs to include a section explaining its reputation management policy in its employee handbook. Firms also need to include a way of dealing with reputation issues that can reflect badly on the firm. It should explain how these actions impact both the firm and individual employees.

Let’s start by taking a look at one alleged event, using it as an example.

An Example Scenario

This incident was overheard while eating lunch on Friday, April 1. Whether it occurred or not is irrelevant: it serves as a good example of the need for a reputation management policy.

The owner of an area law firm often brought her three-month-old puppy to work. Another employee objected to the pooch jumping on him that morning. He showed his anger by grabbing the dog’s legs then slamming the puppy against a wall. The owner heard a noise and was told the dog had “bumped its head.” The dog did not appear to suffer any harm from the incident and no one else witnessed the event when it happened.

This business owner, though, has surveillance equipment set up inside the office that recorded the action. After viewing the recording, the owner issued the employee both a verbal and written reprimand, which was inserted in his file. While no further action was taken, the business owner wonders if the employee will understand the severity of his action, or disregard it since his boss is a woman.

The use of surveillance equipment inside an office and the potential for gender bias are both covered in detail further on.

Among the other actions suggested by friends and relatives of the owner were: “Fire him immediately” and “report him to the police for animal cruelty.”

Events of this sort cry out for a stronger response. They also showcase the need for a reputation management policy.

Why Is This Policy Important?

Reputations, like trust, take a long time to build. Unfortunately, they can be destroyed by one jerk in an instant. A reputation management policy explains this in ways every employee can understand and makes maintaining the firm’s reputation relevant to them.

Lawyers, such as the firm’s owner, have a task: help people who are hurt by the actions of others gain compensation for their injuries. If a violent spouse hits their mate and injures them, these lawyers seek to ensure the victim is properly protected and taken care of while the offender is punished for their dirty deeds.

If, though, a law firm acquires the reputation of allowing its employees to abuse either people or pets, the firm could find itself without clients. The impact here is simple: no clients means no reason to keep employees on the payroll because no one is paying the bills.

Law firms—and every other business—spend a lot of money advertising their services with the goal of recruiting new clients. Firms do not spend money telling people, “We don’t need your business. Go away and leave us alone.”

When either a single explosive negative action—or a pattern of smaller ones—occurs that counters your firm’s stated goals of taking care of your clients, it has the effect of negative advertising.

This is especially important today with cell phones capable of recording and transmitting live video to the Internet where literally millions of people can see it.

Unfortunately, one effect of social media is: you don’t have to be convicted in a court of law these days. You are considered guilty in the court of public opinion once charges are leveled. Innocence is not a factor at all: just being charged is enough to make someone appear guilty … at least in the eyes of many people. Charging someone with the right type of offense can destroy their professional career in an instant, even if the charges are later proven wrong and without merit. Innocence and guilt are not on trial here: your reputation and your livelihood are.

Now that you understand the reasons why a reputation management policy is important, let’s take a look at what one might look like.

A Sample Reputation Management Policy

Feel free to use the following as a sample reputation management policy, adapting it to your specific needs and including it in your employee handbook.

“At insert your firm’s name here, we value your contributions. Your efforts and those of many other people have allowed us to become one of the preeminent firms in insert your field here.

“We have a reputation for always doing good work and taking great care of our clients. We zealously guard this reputation and all of the hard work it took to attain and maintain it.

“As a way of both protecting our reputation and our firm, we have a Reputation Management Policy. This policy protects not only our firm, but everyone who works with us and contributes to our success, especially you.

“Our Reputation Management Policy is this: any action taken by anyone—full-time, part-time, contract employees and outside vendors—that portrays our firm in a negative light is subject to an immediate review and possible termination of services. Any action that gains our firm positive publicity is also subject to an immediate review and possible reward.

“These actions—both positive and negative—can occur at any time, not just on company property nor during working hours. All employees represent insert the name of your firm here at all times, whether working or not.

“Should an event occur, facts will be gathered and reviews conducted by each person’s immediate supervisor. A description of both the review and its findings—regardless of the outcome—will be placed in the employee’s permanent personnel file.

“If the reviewer believes the action—or pattern of actions—can severely negatively impact our firm, immediate employee termination may be requested. Termination will be made pursuant to existing company policies.

“Employees accused of violating the company’s Reputation Management Policy have the right to contest any actions taken, so long as they do so in writing within a period not to exceed five business days. The employee’s submission will also become part of the employee’s permanent record.

“Employees accused of violating the company’s Reputation Management Policy are required to read, confirm the accuracy of any statements (or attach documents repudiating them), then sign and date any documents entered into their permanent personnel record. That employee’s supervisor must follow the same procedure.

“The act of accepting employment with insert your firm’s name here means this person understands and agrees to abide by the terms and conditions of this policy.

“The Reputation Management policy ensures that everyone is held to the highest standards. It also ensures that actions that could jeopardize our livelihoods are discouraged and those committing these infractions are held accountable for them.”

What This Policy States

The sample reputation management policy clearly states, and yours should also include:

· Why this policy is in effect.

· Why employees and management should buy into it.

· What could and will happen if the policy is violated.

· Who must sign any documents.

· What recourse the employee has.

· When countering comments are due.

· Where this information will be filed.

The policy’s goal is not to single out one individual or department. Instead, it is designed to create a pattern of behavior that meets the company’s standards. A reputation management policy’s ultimate goal is simply this: protect the company and everyone who works for and with it.

Having such a policy in effect earlier today would have allowed the law firm’s owner to write up, then fire, the offending employee.

Use of Surveillance Equipment and Social Media

Some firms install surveillance cameras inside their offices. These cameras are not there to spy on employees and learn their personal secrets nor watch their every move as in George Orwell’s novel 1984. These cameras are placed to protect every employee and ensure their rights in the workplace.

Your employee handbook should state what images from these cameras can and cannot be used for, such as investigating possible reputation management policy violations.

Employees should be repeatedly told that these cameras are there for their protection and to eliminate any ambiguity—“he said, she said, the recording shows …”

Social media—especially YouTube videos—is just as bad, if not worse, than in-house security cameras. Social media almost guarantees that when someone makes a mistake, it becomes public instantly. These videos can either prove that a member of the firm acted appropriately … or show them committing an intolerable offense. Employees should be told to watch what they are doing at all times, even in private. All it takes is one person with a grudge against either your employee or your firm and a lot of damage to your firm’s reputation could ensue.

Employees also should be warned about the personal use of company computer equipment, including email accounts. The short version is: if the company owns it, the company has a right—some might say a responsibility—to look at it.

For a detailed look at this topic, read My Boss is An Idiot in the archives at http://wordsbydavereyn.blogspot.com.

Along those lines, one common use of computers, both at home and the office, is downloading and viewing pornography. That leads to our final topic, gender bias and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Gender Bias and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

The law firm’s owner said she wasn’t sure if the employee she reprimanded for throwing her puppy against a wall would curb his behavior, partly because it came from a woman.

Reprimands—and compliments—do not come from a man or a woman. They come from The Boss. Employees need to respect the title and the office even if they don’t respect the person holding that office. Any employee who lacks that respect should also be lacking a job.

Should situations occur where a person’s competence is questioned based on their gender (or race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.), managers should talk to the employee then make sure they reread your company’s policy on that topic. If your company does not have such a policy, you should add it to your employee manual.

Should an audit find pornography on an employee’s work-provided computer, that is generally considered a violation of sexual harassment laws. Employees of some firms have been terminated because of this.

Another approach to finding pornography on company computers is this: employees are being paid to work, not download and look at porn. Doing so on company time is a theft of company resources—the money your firm pays them to be productive—and that alone may be grounds to fire them.

Firms should tread very carefully when they suspect employees of breaking company rules and regulations. If you think there is a problem, research it, document it and make sure the employee signs a copy.

Please send any comments, questions or suggestions to author David B. Reynolds at davereyn83@gmail.com or davereyn83@me.com. My personal goal is to help people communicate better and through better communication, reduce conflict.