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Word of mouth ethics isn’t just something for the PR or legal team to handle. At great brands, every employee gets it — from the owner to the intern. Here are three ways you can make sure your entire staff understands the fundamentals:
1. Give them the basics
2. Roll it into existing training
3. Be an ongoing resource
1. Give them the basics
Don’t assume your staff (senior or otherwise) knows the basics. Help them out by starting with the fundamentals. The good news: There are a lot of great and freely available training tools to help you help them. Get started by checking out SocialMedia.org’s Disclosure Best Practices Toolkit and our own Word of Mouth Ethics Checklist.
2. Roll it into existing training
You don’t have to invent stand-alone training to get word of mouth ethics across. Chances are, your company already has a process to train new employees — look for ways to incorporate your ethics essentials into this curriculum. For your experienced employees, find ways to piggyback onto annual training or upcoming workshops.
3. Be an ongoing resource
Your team will run into situations you didn’t think to address in training. That’s why you have to continue to be there to proactively support them. When you see someone doing something questionable, it’s your job to not only stop it, but to also tell him or her why it’s wrong. Do this in an approachable, encouraging way to make sure everyone feels comfortable coming to you when they have questions — because they will.
