I’m pretty much the same person when you meet me as I am online. Perhaps this comes out of being a punk rock kid who sought to challenge the status quo of a small town in the Maritimes? Perhaps this comes as the result of wanting to live life as honestly and truthfully as I can- without feeling any shame when I look in the mirror or reading old blog posts I’ve written from years ago (however there is one photo of me on Flickr that I hate as I look like some creepy, large foreheaded monster).
Why the mention of this transparency? I just finished reading a blog post from FreshNetworks blog about Virgin Atlantic firing 13 staff members for discussions around safety standards and “generally bringing the company into disrepute” and was quite amazed that companies are engaging in this kind of behaviour in this digital age. Rather than be proactive and work to address the concerns of their staff and remedy the situation, Virgin Atlantic chose to shut them down and close the conversation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Facebook was the best channel for this conversation to happen but I am concerned that there aren’t enough vehicles for submitting employee feedback to companies without fear of reprimand.
I had been fortunate to hear the former Head of Innovation and Process Design at the Royal Bank, Dr Anita Sands speak about the initiatives to bring transparency and feedback to their organization. This gives me hope that there are organizations that are understanding that conversations don’t end when someone says something we don’t want to hear. This is where they begin.
If anyone knows of other companies which are tuned in and transparent, please share them with me in the comments section.
Where you can find me