Empowering our experts to work out loud
We don’t take the culture of “working out loud” lightly in the Ontario Digital Service. We believe that giving public servants the permission to talk about their work and expertise makes their work even better.
Working out loud, of course, brings with it some questions: How should a public servant conduct themselves online? What is the interplay between personal and professional social media profiles?
Government staff often take their professional passion outside the workplace — to public consultations, meetings with experts, networking with industry leaders and beyond. Their online profiles should be no different.
The Social Media Modernization team in Ontario’s Cabinet Office recently released updated social media guidelines for public service staff to reflect social’s growing role across government operations. We’ve posted them publicly to be transparent about how we expect public servants to interact with Ontarians every day.
(You can read a little bit about the process of how we came up with the guidelines, and a short profile of our community manager and her work, on this blog.)
Ontarians want government transparency, but more than that, they are interested in the work happening in government; specialists and people with expertise in certain areas can provide huge value to the public through their online personal interactions.
The goals of the new social media guidelines are to provide guidance to public servants who want to connect with their communities, all while making sure they adhere to workplace requirements that are unique to government like the the Oath of Office and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
These guidelines make it easy for our engaged government staff to be more active in highlighting the work they do in government, and working out loud as they work to serve the people of Ontario.
Below, you’ll find some public service staff accounts already doing a great job of working out loud:
Tom Wright (@feedlandontario), Dairy Specialist
Tom is a dairy specialist with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) who uses his twitter channel to share information and ideas with farmers and agriculture experts. Tom was initially surprised by how vibrant the Ontario dairy farm community was, saying that his followers may not “fit the typical definition of the ‘general public.’”
Tom is finding ways to provide personal support to his network. “Information for management decisions on a farm is often needed quickly,” he says. “This account can be a very fast way to share information.”
Cara Dowden (@CaraPhrase) and Paul Vet (@thePaulV), Open Government Team
Connecting with specialist communities online is one of Paul’s favourite activities. “Twitter is a great way to connect with leading experts and public servants from Ontario and other jurisdictions,” he says. “This improves my ability to collaborate, which means I’m better informed to do my job.”
While Open Government has an official account, @OpenGovON, accounts with a person attached to them offer something unique.
“People may see government as existing in a bubble. It can be hard for a government entity to keep up,” says Cara. “Having this account allows me to personally connect with other open data people around the world.”
“Showing that government is made up of people humanizes our efforts and helps us connect with the communities we serve.”
Jennifer Grixti (@jen_g_Tdot), Environmental Scientist and Friend of Bees
Jennifer has first-hand experience balancing passion for a personal topic with her professional conduct. She’s an environmental scientist and science communicator, who shares information about climate change, the environment and conserving bees and other pollinators.
Jennifer uses Twitter to talk science without overlooking her job as a public servant, saying, “I want to maintain a positive, education and inspiring space. I use social media responsibly and keep my profile professional.”
Jennifer’s digital enthusiasm has led to some exciting opportunities, as many Ontario schools have invited her in as a mentor. “My feeling is that if I can share what I’ve learned with others in an engaging, yet factual way, then maybe I will also help them create a greater connection with the environment.”
Whether your interests lie in data or dairy (or anywhere in between) the new social media guidelines ensure that more government staff can work out loud: that the expertise of our public servants can be used to serve the public in new, open ways.
