Internal Announcements Go Public
June 19, 2009 by Heather
We’ve written before about the need for companies to understand how social media influences internal communication. But, it’s just as important for executives to realize how employees are using these tools to communicate externally — often without management being “in the know.”
Case in point: This week, the beleaguered Minnesota Timberwolves decided against re-signing coach Kevin McHale. Following employee communication best practices, the team’s front office communicated from the inside, out — breaking the news to staff and players first. A long-time member of the T-wolves organization, McHale was well-liked by his young team, and many of them were upset about this change in direction. Before the organization made the news public, forward Kevin Love broke the story on Twitter, writing:
Today is a sad day…Kevin McHale will NOT be back as head coach next season.
Team president David Hahn didn’t seem to mind that the team’s announcement got scooped by Twitter. As he said:”I don’t want Kevin [Love] to feel badly about that. We live in a very different world than all of us grew up in. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
In this day and age, communication is instant and word spreads quickly. But, sometimes breaking news on Twitter is a big deal — and problematic. From a PR perspective, employee education is key to managing the message.
- Employees must understand what’s acceptable to share online … and what’s not.
- When companies make big announcements, they should explain when it’s appropriate for employees to share company updates on their personal networks.
- Companies should understand how their employees are using social media and look for opportunities to work together to spread good news or clear up “mistruths.”
One thing’s for sure: As social media continues to infiltrate our lives, situations like this are more likely to arise. Businesses need to be prepared … or risk being caught off guard – like the Timberwolves.
Tags: internal communication, Sports, Twitter
June 19th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I really like that David Hahn handled the situation the way that he did — similiar to your #3. He is smart to understand and realize that things are not how they used to be. That being said, this is still very much something that employees need to be aware of, as well.