By Samantha Greves
samanthagreves@gmail.com
My family and I have this long-standing tradition leading up to a special event. It doesn’t matter what kind of event, so long as it’s something to look forward to. It could be Christmas, an important sports competition, or as I became an adult and moved away, any opportunity for the family to get together. So long as we are excited about the day, we start the countdown. “Only 6 more wakeups until the last day of school!” or “Only 5 more wakeups until our trip to Florida!” This year I was so excited about the CEI, I started my own individual countdown, except this time it started on September 18th, 2014, the day after the 2014 CEI ended in Chicago. Well, I am happy to say, the countdown is over! There are no more wakeups and I am once again surrounded by over 1500 members of my tribe. I am once again immersed in compliance and ethics in an environment full of hope, resilience, and community. As day one comes to an end, it is clear that this year will be even better than those before. Here are some of the highlights from my experiences today, that I sincerely hope you were here to enjoy.
My First Opportunity to Present at a Session
This year, I was so thrilled to be selected as a speaker. I finally earned me a black ribbon! And you know what, it wasn’t nearly as hard or intimidating as one would think. The SCCE staff were always available to answer questions or offer assistance in the months, weeks, and days leading up to show time. The audience was receptive and engaged, even though it was the first session, for 3 hours, on Sunday morning at 9am (thank you audience, you were great!). If you’ve been thinking about submitting a proposal, do it! It’s a great opportunity to connect with others and contribute to the discussion, and I’m personally grateful for the chance to give back to the community that has done so much for me.
Social Media: Beware or be brave?
During the afternoon, I attended the social media session hosted by Kortney Nordrum of the SCCE. Kortney had the unenviable task of hosting a 3 hour session by herself, but she did a fantastic job of ensuring none of us fell asleep. Her rapid fire delivery covered the full spectrum of concerns as she answered questions such as “What is social media?”, “Which rules should I care about?”, “How do I develop a policy?”, and “Can I find a way to use social media for good and not evil?” If you missed it, here are some of my favorite takeaways:
– If your company reviews social media profiles when hiring, separate the personnel conducting the research from those who will make the hiring decision to reduce the risk of discrimination.
– Consider using employee reviews of your company on sites such as Glassdoor and Memo as an additional way to identify potential compliance issues.
– Select individuals you can trust to manage your company social media accounts to avoid the 3 Ds: Disclosure, Discrimination, and Defamation.
– Just say no to automated posts, don’t touch a tragedy, and don’t feed the trolls.
-Don’t be scared, and don’t get left in the dust. Harness the power of social media to get your message of ethical and compliant behavior to those who need to hear it.
If you’re here, I hope you’re having as much fun as me. If you see me in the hall, stop me and say hello! And if you weren’t able to attend this year, put it on your 2016 calendar now. No questions asked. I’ll see you in Chicago!