Coping with barbecue abuse

By Alex Manchester, Editor, The Internal Comms Hub (Australia), Melcrum

I was having a chat recently with a friend whose company isn't best loved by the general public. The situation isn't all that great at the company either. Lots of in-fighting struggles were one factor, historical actions yet another.

What happens when my friend goes to events and someone asks who he works for? It can get pretty uncomfortable, so much so that he no longer answers the question directly and lies and mashes it into a simple, "I work in IT" (that's often enough to put most people off asking anything else). If they go further he uses the name of a fictional consulting company. In fact, his actual job is nothing to do with IT. One time he's even said he sells metal piping.

What if you work at Motor-Co, and a new acquaintance takes offense to an endless series of problems he's had with his car.

What if you work at Software-Co and another friend has endless problems with their computer. Sure it's not your fault, but the often unwarranted frustration is against the company. It rubs off and can often be demoralising (being verbally bashed at a barbecue is not my idea of a fun Sunday).

The effectiveness of services, products and companies we see and rely on every day is deeply ingrained in us. When your company is in the public spotlight, be it for good or bad reasons, there's a duty to prepare and train employees for these situations, correct?