Introduction

The RCN Library and Museum (LAM) hosts a significant number of online and hybrid events and members are increasingly seeking support and library services online, as well as in person. Our digital offer ensures our continued engagement with online audiences and improves accessibility by providing a range of contact points for customers.
This policy sets out the principles that guide the RCN LAS approach to achieving welcoming, safe and inclusive online interactions with all our customers. 

Event formats and content

All online events are hosted on Zoom or Microsoft Teams. These are usually set up as meetings, not webinars, so audience members are active participants with audio and video functions. In some events audience microphones are controlled by the host, a member of LAS staff.

Our online events programme includes:

• Lectures and panel discussions, for larger public audiences (up to 200 people from across the globe, approx. 50% members 50% public – some of these events are hybrid events, taking place in front of a public audience and live streamed)
• Smaller participatory workshops for RCN members (15 – 40 members)
• Library training sessions for RCN member groups (10-20 members)
• Library training one-to-one sessions for an individual RCN member
• One to one Virtual Reading Room sessions for researchers

Event formats vary and may include a chairperson, an individual or panel of speakers, presentations and screen sharing, break out rooms, chat box discussions and in-person audience Q&A. Audiences are a mix of RCN members and other health care workers, and members of the public.

Content of events often includes, but is not limited to, history of nursing, contemporary nursing experience, creative/arts-based skills and activities, information literacy skills.

Links to access events are shared only with those who have registered for the event. Links are not made available on the public event listing page.

Online library services and enquiries

LAM staff regularly engage with RCN members, the public and other customers via email, phone, web chat and on social media. All staff members who communicate with customers (members and non-members) online or in-person follow the RCN’s process for managing unacceptable behaviour.

Where a member of staff feels upset or distressed following an interaction with a member or other customer, they may speak to a colleague of their choosing for support. They should then raise the incident locally with their manager, who will follow the appropriate procedures as detailed in the RCN’s process for managing unacceptable behaviour.

If staff would like further support following an incident, free access to trained counsellors at HealthHero, our Employee Assistance provider, is available.

Staffing events

In most cases, two members of RCN LAM staff will be present at events to support the hosting and technical management. For some smaller workshops or one-to-one sessions, one member of staff is sufficient. In these cases, all participants are contacted by a member of LAM staff prior to the session. The member of staff will always make it clear who from the LAM team is available to contact on the day of the session, should problems arise.

Behaviour and wellbeing

When engaging with members, the public and other customers online, RCN LAM staff are aware of the following:

• Some members may be contacting the library for support with sensitive issues or from high pressure environments
• Some event attendees who are RCN members work in high stress roles and/or may be attending events following distressing situations
• RCN members work in a range of environments and roles, whether that is our members working in ICU, community or those isolating and working from home. Everyone’s experience of nursing is different
• Events and workshops, particularly those that are creative, reflective and/or personal in nature, may be more emotionally charged than usual
• History of nursing events are increasingly impactful on the experiences of nurses working today. Whilst the time period in discussion might appear to distance us from the content, the connection to contemporary nurses’ experiences should not be underestimated
• Options like having videos off and chat functions available mean event attendees may feel less inhibited than at an in-person event. People may share very personal experiences or questions in the chat. They may also feel more inclined to give criticism when they are not happy about something
• Chat messages cannot be edited or deleted once they have been posted
• Customers may also feel less inhibited during web chat communications, compared with an in-person or phone communication

With this in mind, as online event hosts or facilitators, RCN LAM staff commit to the following:

• Chairs, speakers and hosts are all appropriately briefed to consider audience needs and expectations
• For talks and lectures, hosts must ensure that screen sharing and annotating for participants is turned off before a session starts. These functions should be available only when required for active participation from attendees in workshops or training sessions
• Chairs provide a warm welcome at the start and make it clear attendees can ask questions in the chat at any time
• LAM staff post a standardised welcome text in the chat box, encouraging safe and inclusive discussion and highlighting the direct chat option for messaging hosts
• Chairs ensure everyone feels comfortable using the technology by taking time to go through the housekeeping checklist as set out in the procedure
• Event hosts recommend that participants turn their videos off during talks with larger audiences, as this may be distracting or confusing for other participants
• Event hosts encourage the use of video for all participants in workshops but recognise that due to busy home/work environments and bandwidth issues, some may remain off video

The following additional commitments apply to any member of LAM staff engaging with customers online:

• LAM staff respond sensitively and appropriately to emails, chat messages and phone enquiries
• LAM staff refer customers and members to further support where useful, including member support services
• All staff and members are expected to follow the RCN’s Respect Charter and Customer Promise

More detail on how these commitments are carried out can be found in the RCN LAM digital events procedure.

Safeguarding

The Library and Museum should follow the RCN’s ‘Supporting our people – guidance on safeguarding’ available on the intranet. This guidance includes templates for reporting safeguarding concerns across the RCN Group.

The following safeguarding measures are specific to Library and Museum digital activities, such as online events and customer service interactions.

• Abusive and/or inappropriate behaviour is not tolerated. This could be during an event, in the form of chat box messages to everyone, private chat box messages to hosts or speakers, or language used when off mute. This could also be directly to members of LAM staff during an enquiry
• Event hosts reserve the right to immediately remove anyone from the event who is displaying unacceptable behaviour and to turn off the chat function if necessary. LAM staff have the right to close down conversations (e.g. customer service enquiries) that are deemed abusive or inappropriate, and then follow the RCN’s process for managing unacceptable behaviour. The RCN Respect Charter outlines what is expected of all our customers and can help identify where behaviour is unacceptable
• Prior to events, LAM staff will brief the chairperson and speakers and highlight any sensitive topics that may arise as comments or questions from the audience
• The chair and speakers will consider whether the content of the event is particularly emotive, or may include offensive historical language, and raise this at the outset of the event. Where talks are recorded, audience members can be reminded that if they are distressed and need to leave, they can return to watch the rest of the content at a later time
• If an event attendee or customer reveals information about themselves or a person in their care that indicates they have suffered harm, abuse or neglect or are at risk of harm, abuse or neglect (a disclosure), LAM staff hosts should record the information and escalate to the Head of the Library and Museum so it can be reported to the safeguarding lead
• If appropriate, hosts may have a separate conversation with an individual to get detail and suggest support, such as sharing RCN Direct contact details. This may be done confidentially in a breakout room
• LAM staff will familiarise themselves with the safeguarding guidance (‘Supporting our people – guidance on safeguarding’) and know who to contact, should a disclosure situation arise
• Should other attendees be concerned about something they have heard or seen, event hosts should acknowledge that the matter has been heard and will be followed up
• Where possible, event break out rooms are facilitated by a member of staff, to ensure safe and respectful discussion between attendees. In some cases, where this is not possible or required, LAM staff may ‘drop in’ to break out rooms to check on the group. Hosts make it clear how break out rooms work and highlight that participants can leave a breakout room themselves at any point

Reporting concerns

If any LAM staff member feels that something inappropriate has taken place in an online communication or would like to raise a concern, they should first raise this locally with the Head of the Library and Museum, who will then follow the relevant procedures, referring to the process for managing unacceptable behaviour and the Accident and Incident Investigation policy. They will complete an Accident and incident reporting form where necessary.

For events that take place outside core working hours (9am – 5pm Monday to Friday), the Head of Library and Museum may be contacted via their personal phone number in an emergency.

Recording and documenting events

Events are recorded with the speakers’ prior permission, for the purpose of sharing the recording with public audiences online. No attendees are present in these recordings. Q&A and discussions are not recorded to protect the identities and contributions of audience members. Where audience members’ videos appear temporarily (e.g. when changing spotlighted speaker), these are always edited out.

Where required, speakers sign a Consent and Copyright Assignment form so that recordings can be held in the RCN digital archive in line with GDPR regulation. Speakers are given the option to request edits at any time, including after the video has been posted online. Where content is particularly sensitive, for example speaking about personal experience, the video will be shared with speakers in advance of sharing online. This is also done if speakers request it when giving their consent for recording.

Screen shots of events and participants may be taken only with all attendees’ permission. This should always be sought prior to taking a screen shot, with the option for attendees to turn off their video if preferred.