Weekly Fail Whale: Something that Social Media should NOT be used for…..A Pink Slip.

The weekly fail whale is something new to Geary Fresh.  We will be posting a poor use of social media/marketing/general existence/did they really once a week.  A company or person will receive the honor of being the “Fail Whale” of the week.  We will also give some suggestions to ways that the winner could have handled the situation in a better manner
Our first “Fail Whale” honoree: Tesla Motors.

What they Did wrong:

Electric automaker Tesla recently announced the layoff of 90% of its Detroit office through….a BLOG post.  The blog post states “there will be some headcount reduction due to consolidation of operations” and also informs that the Detroit office will be closing.  The brand new HQ in San Jose will remain open and the 10% that did not loose their jobs will be allowed to relocate and work there.  Which makes sense because the cost of living in San Jose is extremely comparable to Detroit?

What they should have known:

Social media is about communication, connection and relationship building.  Using it as the first communication of a sad occurrence like this does not fit the bill of proper uses.  Maybe Tesla will take the stance that the economy and their “green” nature forced them to communicate this news through a public online portal versus an actual pink slip.

What they could have done better:

We would suggest that a company never use a public forum as a way to announce a lay off/closure before they address the employees.  If a personal session by the company (be it in person or in a webcast) cannot happen an email is still a widely accepted form of business communication that is private.  Addressing the employees in this manner will help to support internal morale (as much as possible in a lay off) and also work to minimize Online Reputation Management issues.