Happy Friday! To those who have a long weekend…don't talk to me.
Ealier this week I talked about the importance of inclusion in the workplace. The case I shared was one that was extremely local to Cleveland. On the day that I posted, a story hit on The Advocate about some not so friendly LGBT-chatter coming from a leading mobile provider.
Here's the scoop: Vodaphone, a mobile network, suspended a customer service employee for using the company's official Twitter account to post an "antigay and misogynistic tweet." Specifically, the tweet in question said: "VodafoneUK is fed up of dirty homo's and is going after bea!@#." (Fill in the blank). The company's Twitter account has more than 8,824 followers, hundreds of which complained to the company, resulting in the suspension of the employee.
Now we can all agree that the opinion of one person does not reflect the opinion of the company. However, when that individual is customer-facing, it's hard to remember that distinction. And while the suspension is a good first step, I hope that Vodaphone takes the opportunity to create, or reiterate, a diversity and inclusion training so that all employees understand that they are the front-line representatives of the company and that their opinions certainly can reflect poorly on their employer.
I also hope Vidaphone takes this opportunity to engage directly with the LGBT community by setting up a taskforce internally to embrace LGBT employees, while externally showing fiscal support to important LGBT causes in their service area. It's unfortunate that the "tweet" had such a ripple effect for the company, but moments like these help all focus on how we act, and how we engage, with those we serve.
What do you think about the tweet?
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