The Daily Carnage

Social media is everywhere in our lives. Sometimes it’s great! Sometimes it’s a friggin’ nightmare 🙂 Social media managers question their livelihoods often, and it’s usually because of the weird curveballs sent their way. 

Game plans are your best friend. Having your social media policies in the bag is the best way to stay ahead of any sucker punches and stressors. This is especially true for your brand’s employees and handling anything negative.

Where to Start: 

• Create a central library: Gather your evergreen, already approved content and keep it on lock. This way anyone has a set standard for posting.
• Assemble a team: Get the whole gang in on it. Senior leadership, HR, legal, marketing, communications, and IT don’t all need to be in the muck of it, but need to be up to snuff on social media in general.
• Bake it in: Make sure everyone knows what’s what when it comes to your policy from the get go. Especially new starts. Your policy should be in your employee handbook and called out as important.

What to include:

• Acceptable conduct and content: What can and can’t your employees post online? Think about how they should be interacting when representing your brand. Make sure they know what breaks regulations, what is legally restricted or sensitive information.
• Response for conflict or crisis: What should your employees do in sticky situations? Who should they reach out to? Canned responses are something you should develop for different use cases as well.
• Call to action for participation: Get the whole squad on board with supporting company culture and messaging. Getting their input is actually a great way for UGC!

SHRM goes into much more detail of the shifting world of social media and how to handle social issues with it as well. See the full article to see if your policies could use an adjustment.

Pride month, unfortunately, has sometimes felt like a marketing ploy for a lot of companies to flex values they otherwise don’t have outside of the month of June (especially internally). It’s actually a running joke. Here are some tips to help you be truly inclusive, all-year round within your organization:

Work without labels: Everyone is more than a label, and wants to be treated as such. As much as Pride month gives the LGBTQ+ community a chance to shine, it’s also great knowing that one’s orientation does not define them. Creating that environment of inclusivity without making people the token queer person is essential.

Have network visibility: Establishing LGBTQ+ network groups, role models, and peers, can go a long way. Seeing others expressing themselves throughout the company will encourage less confident employees to do the same.

Acknowledge and remove barriers: The first step is admitting, and change is not something done overnight. Leaders need to develop a space that addresses these underlying barriers and proactively supports people.

Adopt gender neutral language: Gender-neutral environments at work such as ‘partner’ or adopting the pronouns ‘they/them’ until someone self-identifies is becoming the standard. Everyday conversations, over email, and especially in a company’s policy is where it needs to start.

Other ways to continue being an ally:

• Do your research on the history and types of orientations and identities.
• Listen to your peers.
• Speak out if you have a conversation with someone and it concerns you.
• Role model behaviours of support and inclusivity.
• Be honest and accountable about mistakes or not understanding.
• Support local community events.

Chartered Management Institute has the full article on insights for a supportive environment that instills pride from the organization up. Check it out!