Research Advice

How do we mitigate any viral video damage that may come back to our company from an employee being careless?

Detailed question - One of our competitors had an employee video get leaked to facebook - and went viral. This event hurt the company and they since fired the employee. He is now pursuing legal action. What do we do to make certain we protect ourselves against this type of harm as best as possible?

Consultant Answers (2)

Ron Arp Washington - BRUSH PRAIRIE , USA

Reg. 01 Jan 2020

Answered 4 years, 3 months ago Highly situational. What was videotaped and why? Who did the video taping and why? Regarding the legal side, do they have clear policy against recording or sharing internal practices and did they follow their own policy? Overall, the best solution is to complete routine vulnerability assessments and address what you find before there is a problem. This should work in concert with establishing and training best practices, and of course, hiring the right people. The best defense is a good offense.

Dave Barcos Washington - Vancouver , USA

Reg. 31 Dec 2019

Answered 4 years, 3 months ago In the age of transparency powered by technology, there is little you can do to stop this from happening. www.glassdoor.com is an open listing where people get to say anything they want (within the law) about their experience in interviewing and working at your company. On the policy side: - You can address in the long term by putting in place an HR policy to cover employee ethics, guidelines, and behavior. - You can choose not allow phone/video to be taken in the workplace. The short answer is - Be a better place to work so people won't want to leak. And work harder to get better employees that won't leak. I also suggest if a leak does happen you get a PR firm to help you get in front of the problem and get proactive about addressing the leak. Also, don't make something out of it until others do. Just because a leak happens does not mean it warrants a response. That should be based on the impact of people's reactions to the video. For example, people are outraged and called watchdog organizations, your top client is pulling an account, SEC is filing charges, etc. Look to address with the individuals who are reacting first, then measure sending a public response. If you do I suggest the EAT IT model. It's about respect and taking the high road. E - Explain what happened and your position (if it is misportrayed or different than people's reaction) A - Acknowledge the content (if it's valid) T - Treat the employee/ offenders with respect (especially if it was a mistake, not malice) I - Invite people with a reaction to address with you personally (like "make good" or "refund") This shows great will and conscienceless) T - Thank the community for bringing this to your attention so you can fix it and become better.