Operations
Part of Reputation management operations: from source record to publication
Reputation management team roles: six functions, capture to closure
Map six reputation management team roles in England, from evidence intake to correction, and see which review and reputation-management tools each one uses.
What to take away
- Six reputation management team roles carry a case from capture to closure: source custodian, review-integrity owner, case investigator, response editor, consumer and advertising reviewer, and privacy, employment and IP reviewer.
- Each is a role with recorded authority, not a job title, and one person may hold several if the overlap is written down and an independent challenger reviews decisions they would otherwise approve.
- Every function leaves a dated record, so coverage can be checked before launch.
- Each function also touches different review and reputation software, from monitoring and archiving tools to the invitation, moderation and response settings inside the platforms themselves.
The six functions at a glance
The table maps each function to the decision it owns and the record it produces.
These six are listed in case order, not ranked. No supplier funded this page.
| Function | Decision it owns | Record it leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Source custodian | What the item said, and when | Dated capture file |
| Review-integrity owner | Whether invitations or moderation continue | Moderation log |
| Case investigator | Which statements are checkable | Claim sheet with provenance |
| Response editor | What the public reply says | Approved reply with claim refs |
| Consumer and advertising reviewer | Whether collection and reuse comply | Clearance note with reviewer name |
| Privacy, employment and IP reviewer | What internal or copied material may be used | Decision log with named specialists |
Source custodian
The custodian opens the case and preserves the public item: its location, visible text and capture time. Later changes become new versions, and machine labels stay outside the original. This function does not judge whether a reviewer is genuine or an allegation true.
Its record is a dated capture file holding the screenshot and URL.
Source Custodian Capture Steps
- Open case and preserve public item
- Record location, visible content, capture time
- Log later changes as new versions
- Keep machine labels outside original
- Do not decide reviewer genuineness or truth
Review-integrity owner
This owner governs invitations, incentives, selection, moderation and presentation, and can stop work that risks fabricated or concealed-incentive reviews. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans fake reviews and the offer of incentives for reviews that are not disclosed, and the CMA's fake reviews guidance sets out the banned-practice framework and what traders publishing review information are expected to do. Consumer-law counsel must interpret the organisation's precise role.
Before you quote a fake-review statistic in your moderation rules, the UK fake-review research sets out what the evidence can and cannot support.
Its record is a moderation log showing what was published, hidden or refused.
Case investigator
The investigator turns checkable statements into evidence questions and gathers only authorised records. Provenance, date, status and uncertainty are logged, and opinions stay labelled as opinions. The ICO's accuracy guidance matters once the file holds personal data, because it applies the accuracy principle in Article 5(1)(d) of the UK GDPR, though it does not settle a public dispute.
Its record is a claim sheet listing each statement, its source and its confidence level.
Response editor
The editor converts cleared findings into short public copy, separates acknowledgement from admission and attaches each factual sentence to the claim sheet. They cannot invent a remedy, promise a deadline or overrule a specialist block.
Its record is an approved reply version with the claim references attached.
Consumer and advertising reviewer
A named, qualified reviewer examines review collection, moderation, incentives, disclosure and any reuse of testimonials. CAP's testimonials and endorsements page, in Section 3 of the CAP Code on misleading advertising, covers evidence that a testimonial is genuine, plus material interests, permission and context, and the ASA enforces that section. Before you sign off copy, the companion check set 'Five checks for review-led advertising rules' gives the wider test.
Its record is a clearance note naming the reviewer, the date and the limits of the advice.
Privacy, employment and IP reviewer
This group decides what internal material may be used, what stays private, how staff allegations are handled and whether copied words or images may be republished. Members must be named and qualified for the actual risks. The operational lead records their decisions rather than reading clearance into silence.
Its record is a decision log naming each specialist and the scope of their advice.
The software these functions work in
Review and reputation software is where most of this work happens, but no single product covers all six functions. The tools split roughly along the same lines as the roles.
- Source custodianmonitoring and archiving tools that hold the item, its URL and its time stamp. A listing on Google Business Profile, Trustpilot or Reviews.io already shows the visible text and its date; the custodian adds the dated capture.
- Review-integrity ownerthe invitation and moderation settings inside those platforms, plus the dashboards that show how invitations are sent, which reviews are filtered and which are reported.
- Case investigatora case file, spreadsheet or CRM with an audit trail. The claim sheet lives outside the review platform, which will not hold your evidence.
- Response editora review-response queue. Google Business Profile and Trustpilot both carry a public reply, and reputation suites such as Birdeye and Reputation.com add approvals, templates and routing.
- Consumer and advertising reviewerno product signs this off. The reviewer reads the live invitation flow, the moderation settings and the testimonial page as published, against the CAP Code.
- Privacy, employment and IP reviewerretention, deletion and access controls in the platform and in your own archive, which is usually where the personal data sits.
How to source and vet the person
Sourcing a named person for each function takes four steps.
- Write down the decision the function owns and the harm a wrong decision causes.
- Match that harm to a qualificationa solicitor on the SRA roll, a data protection practitioner, an accredited security tester or an advertising compliance specialist.
- Ask for two comparable cases with dated records, and check the named person rather than the firm.
- Record the appointment, the deputy, the scope limit and the next review date.
Where you buy the function in — or buy review software that performs part of it — the companion article 'What to check before you buy' lists the contract points to settle first.
Coverage check before launch
- Every function has a person and a deputy.
- Authority is recorded where one person holds several functions.
- An independent challenger reviews decisions that person would otherwise approve.
- Any coverage gap stays open, not assumed.
Common questions
Short answers to the questions that come up when a team maps these functions.
Do six functions need six people?
No. One person may hold several, provided the overlap is recorded and an independent challenger reviews decisions they would otherwise approve.
Which UK sources sit behind these functions?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the CMA's fake reviews guidance cover banned practices and how traders should organise review information. The ICO's accuracy guidance explains the accuracy principle in Article 5(1)(d) of the UK GDPR for personal data, Section 3 of the CAP Code covers advertising claims, and NCSC supplier assurance covers bought-in tooling.
Who is qualified to hold each function?
No single register covers all six. Match the qualification to the decision: a solicitor on the SRA roll for legal risk, a data protection practitioner for personal data, a CREST-accredited security tester for security, an advertising compliance specialist for claims.
