“Eric thinks it is important to come out at work for this. As a bank, we are committed to a working environment where everyone can be themselves”, it continues. the tweet from the bank.
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In the video Eric talks about his way of life. “Many do not see it as the norm. And I understand that, because you don’t just hear it from everyone. But I do wonder, am I the norm or are you the norm?”
More than a thousand people responded to the tweet. “Concentrate on your core task: banking. Others do good,” someone says. “Why is it important to come out at work for things like that? Is it relevant to the performance of his job?” said another.
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Also another tweet about collaborator Paula, born as a man, attracted a lot of criticism.
estimation error
“ABN Amro completely misses the point with these tweets,” says Paul Stamsnijder of De Reputatiegroep. He advises clients on reputation management.
The intention was clear. “It probably seemed an appropriate way to make it clear as an employer that employees with a non-average preference in terms of love life are also very welcome within the organization,” he suspects.
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“The bank made an error of judgment, given the reactions,” he continues. “Personally, I felt bad for poor Eric and Paula and the bank’s well-meaning marketers. They thought they were sympathetic to the inclusion trend and that is not out of place. The reactions show that the action is not really successful.”
mocked
The accusation: they want to be selective, are woke (politically correct) while they are special about something that should be completely normal, says Stamsnijder. “The big problem: the campaign is interesting, but not relevant. And then you get ridiculed.”
And that’s not surprising, according to the reputation expert. “Banks are already not seen as safe havens for progressivity and everyone also knows that there are other, bigger problems – such as the money laundering file – that deserve full attention. With this action they have simply gone crazy.”
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Stamsnijder thinks the bank will be more cautious next time and may remain neutral. “I think that these kinds of actions make companies more careful with their inhakers. This was a waste of effort.”
‘Nothing wrong with statement’
Frank Peters of Virtus Communications is also involved in reputation management. He disagrees with Stamsnijder. It is not a failed statement from the bank.
“Of course you will always have different opinions about such a tweet. But there is a lot of research on this subject and employees and customers increasingly expect organizations to show their colors and take their social role,” he says.
pillarization
In the past, in the time of pillarization, the government and the church did that, according to Peters. “They determined the standards and values. Companies and institutions have taken over that role. There is nothing wrong with such a statement as long as it is authentic and if you also show the rest of the year that inclusivity is important. You also have to do it when no one is looking. And that is the case at the bank, I guess.”
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Angry people are always louder on social media than happy or neutral people, Peters emphasizes. “But I think that with such an action you bind a large part of the staff to you and also many customers. According to research, after such a statement, there is increased loyalty. Employees are more likely to stay with an employer, that is true also for customers. You want to belong to this company,” he explains.
Jan Driessen, communication strategist at Q&A, also thinks the criticism of ABN Amro’s tweets is unjustified. “Of course companies like to hitch a ride on gay pride because of the interesting, because generally wealthy and growing target group,” he believes.
“Most companies no longer do this from window dressing, but have a good diversity policy in their organizations. Otherwise, today the employees themselves would also be able to see through this.”
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