HRpedia: 'Streisand Effect'

Streisand Effect, n.

No, not a particular way of warbling a sentimental lyric. (‘Fee-ye-ye-lings…’) But mega-star Barbra is actually lurking behind this somewhere.

Essentially, The Streisand Effect is ‘the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicising the information more widely’.

Further exposition from Wikipedia:

It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand, whose 2003 attempt to suppress photographs of her residence in Malibu, California inadvertently generated further publicity of it. Similar attempts have been made, for example, in cease-and-desist letters to suppress numbers, files, and websites. Instead of being suppressed, the information receives extensive publicity and media extensions such as videos and spoof songs, often being widely mirrored across the Internet or distributed on file-sharing networks.

I once worked in a secondhand book with a canny owner who had more tricks up his sleeve than Harry Potter in a kaftan. One day, he told me  the best way to shift unwanted books was to put them in a box under a sign reading ‘Reserved’ or ‘Not for Sale’. People, he said, would assume that the contents of the box were the good stuff, and would fight to buy them simply because they had that ‘unobtainable’ cache.

Well, perhaps. But there’s the clue as to how The Streisand Effect can become a sneaky management tool, not least for HR.

Think about how reverse psychology might help you and your team get your way. Basically, by making the unintended consequences intended. Need some examples? By all means.

• Popularise an underused benefit by appearing to withdraw it or to restrict its use. ‘Due to a reappraisal of the actual value of our Butlin’s holiday discount,’ you say, ‘we are currently considering making it available only at Director level.’
• Rid yourself of unwanted members of staff by phoning a recruitment consultant and telling them to keep their hands off the individual in question. ‘Don’t even think about poaching Julian Smythe in our Finance office – he’s far too valuable. I’ll forward his CV so you can see exactly what I mean.’
• Send an email to all staff telling them that until further notice they must not, under any circumstances, access the Employee Referral Programme page on the intranet. Hey Presto – massive penetration overnight followed by a deluge of cheap recruits.
• Alternatively, write a ‘cease and desist’ letter to all staff telling them not to tell anyone outside of the organisation that your total reward package is the best in your sector because you ‘don’t have the bandwidth to be inundated with applications.’
• Perhaps most fiendishly, try encouraging relocation to an unglamorous office by refusing to tell people about it. ‘I can happily share details of the Rio office,’ you opine, ‘but I’m afraid that information regarding the Morecambe office is unavailable before interested parties sign a NDA.’

About the author

Andrew Baird

Andrew is the CEO of HRville. He is also Employer Brand Director of Blackbridge Communications, Editorial Director of Professionals in Law and an associate of The Smarty Train. Previously, he was the MD of TCS Advertising.