The blog itself mentioned certain well-known examples (such as poor Domino's and its disgusting ex-employees' YouTube video) of this danger, and the very interesting graphic accompanying the post showed that "disinformation" and "leaking of information" (by employees, we presume) were by far the biggest sources of harmful "attacks" to companies via new media.
In reading the post, I was in full agreement about the risk the every-increasingly "social" aspect to the web , but I was a little disappointed that no one addressed my biggest question, which is what should an employer do about this very real threat?
Social media is here to stay, and more and more people are destined to get involved in it. The only solution I hear from most employers involves blocking access to all avenues of social networking on company computers.
Um, really? Sure, this solves the problem at work (sort of). But is it really possible to prohibit individuals' participation in social media just because those individuals are your employees? I think not.
In fact, I think even trying to control an employee's behavior outside of work is just asking for trouble. Sure, go ahead and block Twitter and Facebook from employees' computers....it might help with that pesky "productivity loss" statistic. But unless you can control what employees do on their *own* time with their own computers and mobile devices, all you'll do is make them more determined to have a voice. (Employees don't take kindly to "big brother" employer techniques, and the forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest, anyway.)
If you're an employer who is very worried about this risk is, I've got some very practical advice.
First, get out of your little self-absorbed bubble and educate yourself. Your fear is irrational. You must overcome it. In my experience, most corporate muckety-mucks are terrified of social media because they think it means they can't control every word that is said about their company. Anyone who has a life outside of work realizes that's just silly -corporate muckety-mucks have never controlled what people say about a company. People have always said stuff, good and bad, whether you want them to or not. Now, through various new media, regular people can say those same things to an instant, potentially global audience. The old adage about new media is true: "The conversations are happening whether you're a part of them or not. Isn't it better to be part of them?"
Second, make your policies clear about who can officially speak for the company and who cannot, and about what kind of information is shareable and what is proprietary. This stuff is most likely already on the books in HR somewhere, so dredge it up and repackage it for today's information-sharing world. Educate workers in how to participate responsibly in social media, whether or not they intend to talk about their work. (In fact, providing a training or informal info session on new media for employees could be a great way to connect with them and reinforce your company line at the same time.) And by all means, ensure employees know the consequences of failing to follow company guidelines.
And finally, look to thineself first. If your external image or brand takes a hit from a disgruntled or misinformed worker, by all means, whip out the big guns, set them to "damage-control" mode, and fix it as best you can. But consider prevention next. And I don't mean just firing the guy who posted something disgusting on YouTube in the first place (although that may be a warranted move).Take a really hard, self-critical look at the actual cause of the problem. Is that person a typical employee, or does everybody secretly feel the same? If most of your employees love coming to work, are fully aligned with and informed about the company's goals, and are engaged in the company's culture and mission, then the risk of harm from their forays into social media is very slim. In fact, those employees are your greatest advocates, and you probably want them to tell the world how awesome your company is. But if you can't trust your people, it's because you have created an environment of fear, disharmony, distrust, or disillusionment -- or some other morale-sucking emotion. In that case, my friend, blocking MySpace or some other website ain't gonna help. And you have a right to be afraid.
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