Social Media has made communicating layoffs a top priority

As I flipped through the papers today, it’s almost always guaranteed to have layoff news on it. It’s never easy to communicate something like this, especially in such terrible times.(The company will always be the bad guy!) However, it’s interesting to note how companies are going about announcing the lay-offs. (This is purely from an external perspective and I have no idea how the internal comms are handled)

Let’s start with DBS. I did a post on them a few weeks back and the people’s bank really went through a terrible time with the High notes issue being linked with Lehman brothers. To compound their problems even further, DBS was going though layoffs for some of it’s senior staff. How did they go about handling 2 problems? Focus on the layoffs to appease the shareholders that costs are being cut and use lousy customer service to answer the investors who invested in the high notes.

Then there’s Yahoo! who had the recent layoffs of 1500 staff. Every knows Yahoo! has been going through a horrible time because of declining profits and the whole Yahoo-Microsoft saga. I interned at Yahoo! and i know they’ve got excellent internal communications. I’m sure those that were being laid-off would have known well before hand and would have been properly compensated. It doesn’t help that with Yahoo!’s current situation that the economic crisis had to occur leading to cost cutting via layoffs.  The communications to the media and online blogosphere was open and honest.

As i read about the lay-offs, i was wondering why the comms folks in Sunnyvale didn’t try to steer the media towards their new product launches. I mean you have an article from Mashable that says Yahoo! might be the next great app platform and an article from ReadWriteWeb which says Gmail struggling with Email wants to be your task manager too. Both articles came out on the same day. So why focus so much on the layoff news when it might be possible to push out other news which can enhance your reputation at a time like this? In fact, why not keep quiet about it?

I point the finger to social media but more importantly micro-blogging and citizen journalism. This article from MarketingVox, Yahoo layoffs draw more blog coverage than ad campaigns, nicely sums up why today’s companies should be tackling layoffs more seriously. However, it was also nice to know that showing your pink slip online allows others to know that you’re ready for your next job! Tokbox showed how it was able to leverage from Yahoo!’s layoffs.

So it’s inevitable to make a layoff private. It’s also not very smart to focus on something other than your layoff. It should be a top priority because you’re now the Lich King. (WOW analogy for being a bad guy). You can check out this post here, You’re Fired: 7 Public Relations Tips for HR managers in an age of layoffs. on how to communicate a layoff

What’s the story you want to tell in a recession?

I’m sure most of you have seen how companies are doing massive layoffs due to the economic conditions over the past few months. We’ve seen how DBS has handled that badly and have now announced that they will be cutting bonuses too like most of the other banks.

But is that what you want ppl to remember you for when the going gets tough? I like the idea what the “wizad of wow” provides here. Essentially it involves transaction based giving. Getting customers more involved with a brand is a really a branding 101 thinking, but i think this idea could be taken one step further.

With Singaporeans not trusting such efforts due to NGOs embezzling money with the NKF scandal, the transparency issue with CSR is vital if you want to paint of a picture as a company who is giving.

DHL provides a service where you can track where your delivery is going. Similarly, this is where a company can have a website which is a social media platform. A blog, youtube videos, podcasts, micro-blogging etc. can showcase how the money has gone to help the cause which you company has pledged itself to help.

Yet, some might argue how can u implement this when we’re already laying off ppl and cutting bonuses? Obviously you should have thought of this earlier to avoid the finance guys hounding you for the budget but this is where not all companies can execute this. Those companies which have been touted as a safe haven by analysts should practice this. You not only build your reputation as a safe haven but you show that you can give at a time like this.

Governments with the excessive reserves should also practise this, after all, it’s a job where it requires caring for the people’s welfare. So why not distribute that moeny around a little? (Plus i like it that my fines end up helping someone)

So in this holiday season with the gloomy outlook, how do you want to tell the story of your company?

DBS to improve customer service via web2.0?

DBS has been having a terrible time settling its highnote case. It’s reputation has taken a huge blow because of the way it has reacted to this incident coupled with the fact that this quarter’s earnings have been the worst since 2005.

They have responded to the highnote incident by reporting some of their relationship managers to the MAS, by going through consumer profile to see if the product fits the consumer and willing to turn some away and internally retrenching its workers.

Whilst Michael is amused by the struggles DBS faces in communications on the differences in announcing the layoffs and handling the highnotes issue, there is another concern which is the way DBS has. It has a very very poor customer service or front line office people to handle any situation.

You can see the details of one customer who had problems just signing up for a  credit card. As of last week, investors still had not heard from the bank about the mini bonds issue and were clearly unhappy by holding protest talks at the speaker’s square. While the MAS has been trying to calm these investors, DBS has taken a backseat by focusing its communications on the layoffs.

Internally, the relationship managers are mulling over selling. They are wondering if the new policy of going though consumers profile would prove to have less commission for them.

It’s a sticky situation they find themselves in now and I’m wondering if any earlier social media attempts to allow open communications to the public and any internal social media communications within the company would work for a bank?

I know the various arguments about banks using such tools. Not professional enough, company secrets leaked, etc. But the fact that it has branded itself as the people’s bank, shouldn’t there be a medium to improve its crappy customer service?

I’m sure many of us have heard of dell hell and how it transformed its customer service with the use of twitter and blogs. Yet would this same approach work for a bank?

Yet i have my reservations due to 2 issues.

1. The consumer profile of the investors (Some include the elderly who are clearly not computer savvy enough)
2. The value of the mini bonds which can run up to hundreds of thousands and are people’s life saving (Not a laptop)

Yet would it not have been great if there was a common platform to trash this out. Given that the MAS has responded much more openly than before and that consumers need a better customer service to register their complains via twitter groups or blog posts (I’m sure there are common issues and these can be grouped together)

While i know Kim would argue about setting up a ‘dark site’ in times of a crisis, I’m wondering if any social media attempts prior to the highnotes incident would have made this crisis more bearable? Or because of the nature of the banking industry and the nature of the crisis victims (The elderly), would this not work?

Comments and feedback are welcome!

Looking at MAS response

It’s always interesting to see how a regulatory body will respond in the midst of a crisis given that they are the ones who pretty much dictate everything within an economy admist the harsh external environmental factors.

MAS finally responded on the 17th of Oct to complaining investors who had funds tied up in Lehman Brother’s and were sold to them by local banks.

Local banks have responded to the call of MAS, DBS being one of the banks.DBS has already started compensating investors.

The response that MAS has given to the financial crisis can be summarized as follows:

• Said that it was changing tack by giving the public more information on what has been done behind-the-scenes;
• • Identified those investors (lowly-educated retirees) who needed immediate attention
• Cracked the whip publicly on the financial institutions that sold the structured products to the common man, by telling them not to be “overly legalistic” in their approach;

Yet the responses have been varied amongst the media. Looking at Today, its general impression was that of MAS taking a progressive step forward from passive to active.  (Like a regulatory body is suppose to do).

You can read more about the article here on what it had to say and quotes from experts on the subject. Yet, there are others who think MAS can do more with the power vested in them in such turbulent times.

A post on MAS being a headless chicken and taking cues from Hong Kong are such an example.

Action is being taken by MAS, despite is quiet initial start. It has worked with its main stakeholders, the banks, to pacify the public. This can be seen when the banks have each set up a a panal.

“…to headed by an independent person, respected individuals, so as to make sure this is a fair and serious process,’

I’m sitting on the side of the fence that the MAS has done a pretty good job in stepping forward. There are of course a whole host of external factors to take into consideration but the communications implicates a change in the way of thinking.

I’m now thinking of how the different panels of the banks can be collaborating online with secure firewalls to protect the flow of information. To address the employees on the progress so they don’t start self promoting themselves to being the head of corp comms and rubbish out rumors to media and other stakeholders.

This is a great opportunity for internal social media to come into the works. Considering how bank departments are so used to working in silos.

It would also be a great stepping stone to see if the demands MAS has placed on the banks are reasonable and effective. Then it would be easier to address the shareholders, investors, potential customers, the media and general public. We could even take this approach overseas and see how the US or Europe if it works!

I’m sure the Investor Relations guys will welcome this idea.

What other suggestions can you think of to use social media in this context? Do share!