What do you do when you have a growing funding shortfall, an apprehensive membership and virtually no communications infrastructure or budget? You set up a Facebook page, of course—at least that’s what Gord Graham, executive director for the Auto Sector Retirees Health Care Trust (asrTrust) did.
The asrTrust was established in 2010 to fund and administer retiree benefits—which includes health, dental and emergency out-of-country coverage for a closed group of approximately 42,000 retirees of General Motors Canada Ltd. (GM) and Chrysler Canada. asrTrust was the first its kind in Canada. It was created when the Ontario and federal governments agreed to provide bankruptcy protection to the automakers on the condition that the automakers removed retiree benefit liabilities from the balance sheets.
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How to be a social media successThis was accomplished by setting up an independent trust governed by a board of trustees, with equal representation from the Canadian Auto Workers and industry experts whose job it was to manage the plans’ assets and liabilities on a go-forward basis.
To fund the trust, both companies made an initial lump-sum contribution and provided promissory notes for future funding. However, under GM’s court-approved settlement, the contribution fell short of what was needed to fully fund the current benefits program. Something had to give.
With a staff of two working for the trust who report directly to the board, there wasn’t a lot of fat to trim. At the same time, the trustees had a legal obligation to ensure that the trust was sustainable and that any plan design changes were fair, equitable and affordable for members. Moreover, the judge who presided over the settlement that led to the trust’s creation suggested that members should somehow be given a voice in any plan updates.
Engaging unofficial leaders
The obvious solution was to conduct a survey that solicited direct member feedback on the range of potential plan changes. But with no money to waste, the trust had to ensure that the survey generated the response rate needed to produce statistically valid results. The solution? Go viral and actively solicit key retiree opinion leaders to spearhead the initiative.
With a handful of email address to use as a starting point, it took surprisingly little time to track down all of the key retiree opinion leaders. Through emails, webcasts and face-to-face meetings, these unofficial leaders were invited to help engage fellow members—a role they embraced with passion, professionalism and a true sense of responsibility.
Telephone trees sprouted up and coffee clutches were soon buzzing with talk of the financial challenges facing the trust and the importance of making their voice heard by completing the survey.
When the idea of using Facebook to connect with members was put forth, the trustees had some concerns about how much an older, blue-collar audience would use an asrTrust Facebook page. However, they recognized the importance of full and public disclosure as a trust-building mechanism. The trustees also recognized that, like it or not, someone else would likely create a Facebook page if they didn’t. They could either watch from the sidelines as the rumour mill churned or participate actively in a healthy dialogue.
Full disclosure
The trustees’ instinct to go forward with the social media page was rewarded. The users proved both passionate and conscientious, and, from the get-go, the page was generally self-regulated. If a member started conveying misinformation, other members would step in and set that member straight.
When members sought answers to personal questions, Graham responded swiftly and empathetically, which reduced the number of one-on-one phone calls. The addition of a short video clip gave Graham a face and helped members understand that he really was on their side.
When a disgruntled member publicly suggested that the survey results posted on the Facebook page were rigged, Graham was able to post photos of 17,000 completed surveys and confirm that an additional 2,000 had been completed online.
Of course, one of the more compelling features of Facebook is that its reach extends far beyond its immediate users. Although total weekly logins averaged about 480, the site analytics confirm that the total viral reach exceeded 27,000 people. Moreover, the Facebook page supplemented the plan’s basic website, making it a perfect place to post meeting notifications so that far-flung members (e.g., the Florida snowbirds) could participate in webcasts.
By the time the webcasts took place, many of the key issues had—in members’ eyes—already been resolved. In short, they had acquired trust in the trust, which led to broad member support for some difficult changes.