By Roy Snell
From Compliance Today, a publication for HCCA members.
Some are reluctant to post comments, opinions or analysis in social media. I share your concern. However, if you keep it to a strictly informational approach, it’s really risk free. The benefits of being active in social media are enormous. You can become a household name in the compliance social media world without ever posting anything that might be considered controversial. If you are trying to build a network and respect, in an effort to improve your position in our profession, social media can be invaluable.
I would join HCCAnet and HCCA’s LinkedIn group. Subscribe to HCCAnet’s “Chief Compliance Officer Health Care” group and any other groups you find interesting. Watch the discussions and do research into information related to the discussion. Post a link to the information you find in the discussion thread. People will find it helpful, and it is something meaningful you can do that gets your name out there without having a great deal of experience in the field or taking risk. You will learn and you might make a good connection or two. If you really want to go a bit further, tell the group you’re willing to do research for anyone who wants help with a particular subject. I would also scour the internet for compliance news, articles, websites, documents and post it to the discussion group.
If you build a name for yourself in the discussion groups, people looking for a compliance professional might remember your name when a new job opens up. People who are asked whether they know anyone available to fill a position might just suggest your name.
[bctt tweet=”Using Social Media to Improve Your Position in the #Compliance Profession #theHCCA” via=”no”]
You should also follow @theHCCA on Twitter. You can find news items to repost on other social media that hasn’t covered it yet. You also can Tweet news, links to articles, etc. There is also an HCCA Facebook page. There are social media sites that are not run by HCCA. I would certainly encourage you to do whatever will help you get to where you are going. However, it’s best if you focus your efforts in one place. If you get too “spread out,” it’s difficult to become a household name. There is no greater collection of people who are regularly hiring compliance professionals than on HCCA social media. There may be larger compliance social media groups but none are more focused on compliance professionals. Good luck.