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Don't let political minefields devastate your business by 123wert sdfsf
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Don't let political minefields devastate your business |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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A restaurant chain in California had to act quickly when onemanager's political contribution sparked a fury. How do you protectyour business this election season? We re in the midst of yet another volatile primary season in whatpromises to be an especially tumultuous election year. ManyAmericans are angry and frustrated with their congressionalrepresentatives, as evidenced by Congress s all-time record-lowapproval rating of 11 percent. Adding to the cacophony, in earlyFebruary, the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overturnedCalifornia s controversial Proposition 8, declaring the state sban on gay marriage unconstitutional. As American citizens, we all have the right to engage in theelection process and vigorously support our favorite candidates andcauses. And while I would never discourage active participation inthis vitally important component of our democracy, be aware that asa business owner, you (or your employees) could be putting yourbusiness in jeopardy. Volunteering, speaking out or donating moneyto a candidate or cause could alienate customers, vendors,suppliers, partners or even the banker thinking about funding yourloan.
Your political contributions aren t a secret In these days of social media and transparency, it s nearlyimpossible to hide political contributions they re a matter ofpublic record, available for anyone to see. Sign a petition onTwitter or Facebook? Same story. Back in 2008, when Proposition 8 was first passed (outlawing gaymarriage in California), passions ran high on both sides of thisissue. Business leaders were pressured to take a side, not take aside or donate to both sides equally. Groups sprang up on Facebookurging consumer boycotts of the businesses they perceived asworking against their cause.
In fact, the Los Angeles Timesreportedsome activists posted messages on Yelp pointing out whichrestaurants donated to the Yes on 8 campaign (anti gay rights). More recently, while Wisconsin business owner Tami Lax, the ownerof two restaurants in Madison, was supportive of the protesters whoflooded the state capital last year, she didn t want to voice herviews. As Lax told Business News Daily, I have my strongpolitical opinions, but I don t think it is right for me to wearthem on my sleeves. I run my business for the betterment of myemployees and community.
How to handle employee contributions While it s in your control to decide if contributing money orsending a message is worth the risk, what about your employees? Orperhaps you own a franchise, and one of your franchisees jumps intothe fray? This actually happened to the El Pollo Loco franchise chain inCalifornia during the Proposition 8 fight. Reacting to a reportthat the franchise supported Proposition 8, consumer complaintsstarted flooding in. The company acted quickly, explaining thatwhile someone "associated" with one of its franchises appeared tohave contributed to the "Yes on 8" campaign, El Pollo Loco in noway supported that cause. But it added that El Pollo Loco believesin the rights of people to express their opinions.
The franchise didn t leave it there, however. A company executivewrote to an angry customer explaining she was supportive of gayrights and had voted against Proposition 8, adding, "I honestlybelieve that anger directed at El Pollo Loco over Prop 8 is illadvised, but it is certainly your right to eat wherever you choose.[However] you will be missing the world's greatest chicken."Sometimes humor works to defuse an angry customer base. The employee question can be a bit tricky. This is the UnitedStates; we revel in our participatory democracy.
But in fact, alawyer I spoke to (who requested anonymity) says private-sectoremployees are not always protected by the First Amendment here. Inmany states, employees don t have the right to discussnon-work-related issues on the job. Obviously, most businessesallow non-work conversations, but apparently that s a privilege that can be revoked. In some states, employees are allowed by law to express theirpolitical views. Most states do protect private-sector employeesfrom being discriminated against, harassed or fired as a result ofthe content of their political views.
Please check your state lawsbefore creating any company policies. But remember, you certainlydon't have the right to tell your staff what to believe, how tovote or whether or not to donate money. It s your responsibility to delineate your policies to youremployees, and these should be codified in your employee handbook,which I do hope you all have and distribute to your staff. Ifsomething does go awry if a customer gets angry at you or yourcompany address the problem immediately and: - Find out what you re being accused of and why. - Form an internal crisis team and appoint one person to be theofficial company spokesperson.
- Be responsive, transparent and truthful. - Be compassionate and understanding of all points of view in yourresponse. It s your company. Only you can determine if the passion you feelfor a candidate or cause makes it worth going public.
GiniDietrich, the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich, a strategiccommunications and online marketing firm, believes it s not worththe risk. She says, Politics is one of those things you shouldn'tdiscuss, online or off, outside of the privacy of your home. Wealways advise clients to keep their political views tothemselves. I am Apparel & Fashion writer, reports some information about expensive designer clothing , double sided coin.
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