The simple answer is to protect your business.
Yesterday evening I was reading Twitter and saw a post from Duncan Ballantyne outing a Twitter “troll”, as a result of him doing this the name of the business where this “troll” worked came out and then the businesses Twitter ID was tagged into some of the posts. What would you do if you were this person’s employer? Do you have adequate policies to cover such events?
The impact of individual’s outcomes on private social media is becoming a more common occurrence.
So when does a person’s private actions impact the business? The line is becoming more and more blurred, of course, if it is someone’s private page and it does not refer to your business then it is private and you can’t do anything. But if your business name is mentioned, and a negative image is portrayed then you probably can take some action, as long as you have relevant policies and procedures.
We recommend all business have a social media policy, which covers action about inappropriate posts, personal use of social media in working hours, etc. and that this also is reflected in the disciplinary procedure so you can take action to protect your business brand.
Since writing this it has come to light that the Company named did not employ the individual; however that doesn’t change the need to make sure your policies are up to date, as this can happen to anyone at any time.
