Comments on: Social Media Masterclass Tips

By: Stuart

Stuart — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:59:27 +0000

We are in new territory here Ken. Certainly many existing employment contracts will already have clauses in about bringing the business into disrepute through actions or statements. But we are moving into a new era many small businesses will not necessarily employ directly but use freelancers and their use of Social Media in relation to any work they are doing may be governed by confidentiality clauses.

If we prevent employees being champions in Social Media then we miss out on our business being part of the wider community. Giving clear guidelines on what is or is not acceptable is better. Social Media is happening and preventing employees being part of it on a business’s behalf is probably trying to out the genie back into the bottle.

By: Ken - Wynchcote Websites

Ken - Wynchcote Websites — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:23:32 +0000

Thre is an important potential conflict arising here when we blur employee / organisation members’ use of social media.

Can organisations really tap into employees/members personal social media presence without imposing their corporate mores on the individual’s freedom of expression?

Unless I am a director of a business then I probably want to totally separate my private life from my work life.

What about this scenario?

You encourage an employee to promote your business. Then you discipline them or part company on disagreeable terms.

You may sanction their bad PR in a contract of emoployment with restrictive clauses applying after they have left. But have you got the time or resources to police them and their activities on the web?

Even when you aware of their bad-mouthing you after leaving you still have to chase them down. Could your PR budget be better spent?

I am a sole director but currently feel that when we do employ someone then their terms and conditions will state that they should only refer to their employment by my firm in their LinkIn profile.

What does anyone else think?

By: Dave Graves

Dave Graves — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:07:50 +0000

Point 6 about companies not blocking access to social media is an important one. I believe the quickest and most cost effective first step for a company embracing social media is to tap into what their employees are already using. Most companies’ existing HR policies that would extend to cover best practice when using social media and when combined with basic instruction on ‘being sensible’, this would provide a great start for embarking on a social media strategy.