An Instagram Post Was the Last Straw…

 

True story of a high school athletic coach and how she sealed her already shaky fate with the organization she worked for…

A coach was hired for a high school athletic team. While young and inexperienced, the season started off okay. However, as the season progressed, it became clear that perhaps this coach was not the best choice for the organization, as there were conversations with the owner sporadically throughout the season. While addressed with the coach in question, things would improve for a short time, but then fall back into old patterns.

More supervision was given, but as the season was coming to a close it was clear that this coach should not return next year. The coach herself sealed the deal with one wrong Instagram post.

Imagine being at a regional, year end tournament. It’s the last day, which is often referred to as elimination day – teams play until they lose, hoping to reach the semi-finals or even the championship game in their division. The athletes anticipate this day and come ready to leave it all on the court.

Sadly, the coach didn’t feel the same way.

That morning, as girls arrived at the venue, they received a mass text from the coach stating she was “sick” and would not be there that day. She also claimed that attempts to call the owner and other coaches within the organization failed – it’s amazing that the text to the athletics got through. The athletes, not wanting to forfeit, took action and got the assistance of officials to reach out to coaches of sister teams and the owner, who rushed to get to the venue in time for their first game.

The owner huddled with the girls, and all parents could see was team conversation followed by more than one get their cell phone to show something to the owner. The owner did get in touch with the coach en route and she explained how sick she was the night before and that morning. Upon sharing this with the team, at least one mentioned that they saw her post on Instagram at 2am the night prior from a bar. That right there was the icing on the cake, and her fate was sealed.

This was wrong on a few levels:

1. Those in a position of authority, namely coaches, teachers, and other similar roles, should not “friend” or connect with athletes and students on social media. It crosses lines, and should not happen.

2. The coach clearly wasn’t thinking ahead. Perhaps it was a last minute decision to not show the last day, or maybe she realized the writing was on the wall, planned not to show the last day. At any rate, if you are going to call in sick, it’s probably a good idea to keep quiet on social media, ESPECIALLY if those you coach are your social media friends.

This is a great example of how social media can help or hurt employees. Monitoring social conversations of staff can uncover some of these issues proactively; the newest technology also allows for connection scans of employees. While this process is most often used for scans revolving around jury selection and/or trial preparation, industries such as coaching and teaching have seen great benefit in using this deeper, connection scan to ensure that there are not inappropriate social connections or relationships within the organization.

I’m sure this coach learned a big lesson, and will hopefully not repeat these mistakes in her next job.

 

 

One Post Causes Chaos For The Zoo…

 

One simple post caused an uproar for Brookfield Zoo guests recently. The following picture was posted by a Brookfield Zoo employee, apparently while at work and in front of a concession stand of sorts. To further indicate she was in fact at her place of employment when this picture was posted, she tagged her location as “Brookfield Zoo.”

 

zoo

 

 

This one post caused an outrage by several zoo customers, who learned of this picture, shared it, and then posted their thoughts to the zoo’s Facebook page.

The zoo indicated that they realized this incident after it was brought to their attention. This tells me that they are not actively monitoring social media, especially with regard to employee activity. It does appear that the zoo has a social media policy in place, as stated by Sondra Katzen in a recent article:

“This employee’s statements in social media are in violation of our policies and do not reflect our institution’s values. We have zero tolerance for these kinds of divisive behaviors. We treat all employment matters confidentially, but rest assured that we have taken prompt action to remedy the situation.”

How could this have been prevented? It’s possible that it maybe could not have been – social media spreads very quickly, and one post can travel faster than the speed of light, especially when it’s controversial in nature. However, if the right social media monitoring program is used, this type of content could be easily picked up quickly. The appropriate staff would be notified and the employee could have been dealt with efficiently, whether that means termination, having the employee remove the offending content, or any other actions that are needed in this case.

Why wait for customers to bring issues to your attention? This is an excellent case for routinely using a social media monitoring program for your organization, especially as it relates to employee social media policies. While I’m sure this will not likely be an incident that will result in guests not returning to the zoo, it is one that brings negative attention to the zoo. With the speed of social media sharing, it’s vital to prevent negative press as much as possible – social media monitoring is one tool to use as a preventative measure.

 

Why Social Media Makes a Difference in Jury Selection

The jury selection process is an art in some ways. There is limited time to get a full perception of potential jurors – who will serve as the “best” juror for the trial and who may be a detriment to your case. An article I came across from the Orange County Litigation News publication talks about the nuances of jury selection and what clues to look for when selecting a jury. Some of the highlights include:

 

    • Jury consultants find that the following types of potential jurors favor the plaintiff: long term unemployed individuals, those holding service oriented jobs, union workers, those who work in government jobs, and those with no prior jury experience.

 

    • Consultants also find that the following types of potential jurors favor the defendant: the elderly/retired, doctors, engineers, those in technical positions, and those with prior jury experience.

 

    • Uncovering adverse bias is an extremely important part of selecting a jury; this can be the most difficult to uncover within a limited time frame or depending on the tone of voir dire.

 

    • As many as 30% of the potential jury pool is considered “silent” – these are the potential jurors that are most quiet, are not outspoken, and are most often overlooked during the selection process. Research indicates that up to 20% of the “silent types” have an adverse bias that is not uncovered during the selection process, which can impact the overall outcome of the trial.

 

Considering the above, it’s a lot to take in and try to uncover during what can be, at times, a very short span of time. This is where advanced social media monitoring can come into play. Of course, this is most helpful when potential juror lists are provided in advance, which does not happen all the time. However, when it does, it can give further insight into potential jurors quickly, giving you a head start on exclusions or topics for further discussion.

With just some basic information on a potential juror, social media monitoring can shed insight on:

  • Employment/family history based on social content
  • Any preconceived prejudices, perceptions etc based on social media/online activity
  • Social connections that may influence perception/juror performance
  • Knowledge of trial/issues related to the trial

 

By employing a social media program prior to juror selection, a lot of the legwork can be done in advance and in very little time, allowing for the most efficient use of time as possible in selecting jurors for an upcoming trial.

 

 

It’s Not “Just” Social Media

In reading about yet another use for social media research, I came across a statement that a college student said in reaction to learning that more and more colleges are looking at applicants’ social media content during the application process. He said:

 

“It’s social media — it should be used between people who are social,” “I don’t think admissions officers should look at that because it might not be a good representation of their [an applicant’s] life, what they do and their accomplishments.”

 

But here’s the thing……while it may not be a complete representation of a person, it is an accurate representation of who that person is socially, in an informal, social setting. That’s just as important as knowing what grades you’ve gotten, what jobs you’ve held, and how well you can write an essay.

Social media conversations are becoming more and more relevant in many uses, from the college application process to the hiring process to litigation. While it’s “just” social media, it’s also another definition of who you are – think of it as your social side.

Why do people care so much about social media conversations? As more and more conversations happen online, there is the realization that this public facing data can be used in a myriad of ways. As mentioned above, monitoring for college applicants and their social content can give the admissions officers another glimpse into who the applicant is outside of the “paper version” of that person. There are also many other industries and companies that are finding a wealth of data in social sites:

1. Litigation: some states allow for potential juror information to be disclosed prior to jury selection. Using a social media monitoring platform to learn more about potential jurors makes the process more efficient. The brevity of time taken to employ social monitoring is well worth it in the long run. Expand that capability to learning more about witnesses and others who may testify at a trial and the benefit is multiplied. With real time, location based monitoring, lawyers can monitor for juror misconduct in an efficient, streamlined manner.

2. Legal/law enforcement: much like litigation, location based monitoring can be extremely useful in identifying witnesses to a crime, accident, or public incident, and can help determine facts in preparation for a trial.

3. Employment Application Process: much like college admissions officers, human resources staff are also using social monitoring to assist with the hiring process. By monitoring social activity of potential candidates, employers can get a better sense of who a person is and how well of a fit they will be if hired. With this aspect, there are federal regulations to adhere to, but this can be easily done with the right monitoring tools.

4. Marketing & Customer Service: as more and more customers talk about brands online, companies have taken note and worked to monitoring all conversations, not just those happening on their social sites. They are quickly learning that many customers talkabout them, not to them, and finding this additional conversation allows for deeper consumer insight and opportunities for positive customer service.

There are many businesses and industries that are realizing that a person’s social activities online are yet another representation of who they are; it’s time that more people realize this. Try telling a teenager this, and it will likely fall on deaf ears. However, this concept needs to be shared over and over again so people realize it’s not “just” social media – it is an extension of you and what you represent. When applying for a job, you want to present the best “you” possible – be sure your social side is also the best “social you” possible.

Insurance Fraud Caught With Social Media

Insurance companies are realizing the power of social media, especially when content that is damaging to their case is posted online.

Consider the following situation…..someone takes an insurance policy in the amount of two million dollars on their million dollar car. Suddenly the car is involved in an accident, and the owner files a claim. Unfortunately, one insurance company turned to the internet, and found damaging evidence against the owner, enough to deny the claim. The story was told by CBS news in February.

Because of a YouTube video, the insurance company had enough evidence that this was a fraudulent situation and there was, in fact, no accident as the driver claimed  – this was done purposefully and methodically.

Before social media, insurance companies would often times use private investigators to look into a person’s activities – for example, a workman’s comp claim for someone who is seen by a private investigator doing yard work or other similar activity. This task has gotten much easier now that people are inclined to share every detail of their personal lives. This is not always good news for those filing claims, but this social media development has been gold for insurance companies who are monitoring social media.