Speak Out August 2016 Low Res

20 / 40

20 Speak Out August 2016
Ethics
Online review sites are fairly new in speech pathology.
Examples of such sites include Whitecoat and Care Navigator.
These exist to promote consumer rights and choice.
Negative comments on review sites, or on social media platforms
like Facebook, hurt. They may make us angry, embarrassed,
sleepless or even sick. They can also sap team morale, tarnish
reputations and lose us business. When we consider how to act
in response to a negative review, we’re bound by legal and ethical
rules, e.g. about advertising and privacy. Even if reviews are
wrong or fabricated, we can’t always respond.
With more competition, and more review sites starting up,
managing reviews will probably become more important. Some
businesses - e.g. restaurants and hotels - have been dealing with
online reviews for years. We can learn from their experiences. For
example, hospitality-sector research shows that online reviews:
1. Can attract a wide audience, are perceived by consumers as
credible and trustworthy and play an important part in shaping
client opinions and purchasing decisions;
2. Give us a chance to fix problems and improve services;
3. Are usually triggered by a negative experience, and motivated
by strong emotions (e.g. frustration, anger), a wish to educate
other consumers, or even economic gain (e.g. from unethical
competitors). Some reviews may be heat-of-the-moment rants,
others logical and thought through. Some may be trivial, others
serious. Some may be accurate, others fake. Some may be
shared with just a couple of followers or a small group, others
may go viral. Some may be posted by clients you know, others
anonymously.
4. May name and shame you or individual staff members, or be
discriminatory or defamatory.
So how should we manage online
reviews?
To follow are four, evidence-based strategies:
Prevent
• Ensure you communicate effectively about your services so
that client expectations match what you offer.
• Improve service delivery to reduce problems.
• “Check in” with clients more often: fix small problems before
they become big.
How to manage negative online reviews:
Four evidence-based strategies and a response template
As the prevalence of health review sites continues to grow the need to manage poor
reviews will become a necessary process for Speech pathologists.
by David Kinnane