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Not yet. Yes. Participation in social media can contribute to corporate goals. Can employees post criticism? Resources No: Exposes the company to more liability because the company's brand becomes associated with bloggers over whom the company has limited or no control. Turn off comments: Prevent both positive and negative discussions. Yes: Creates more authentic discussion. Moderate: Attempt to control disruptive behavior. Provide guidance Assemble an oversight committee. Obey the law. Can employees participate in social media using company resources? Microsoft's Employee Guidelines for Successful Blogging A dissatisfied customer created a group called ABC Company Sucks! . Hundreds of dissatisfied customers joined the group, and the discussion is full of horror stories about bad customer service. The discussion forum is visible to everyone, but only members of the group can participate in the discussion. How should the company respond to this? Can employees join the discussion in order to address concerns? How can employees avoid accusations of being shills or astroturfers? Yes, because the company needs a safe place for discussion. An employee has a personal blog on which he shares his reflections on politics, including controversial topics such as abortion, drug legalization, and gun control. This blog is done completely using personal time and personal resources, and is not affiliated with the company in any way: no mention of work-related matters, no links to the company website, etc. However, a search for the employee's name turns up these blog posts, so it is possible for clients and coworkers to come across the blog. Can the company ask the employee to delete the blog, or do employees have control over their personal lives and public personasé
No, employees should not use company resources for personal use. While recruiting for a position, you search for background information on your promising candidates. A number of them have profiles on Facebook. Some include name, age, gender, relationship status, religion, and political leanings. Some include interests that may offend your clients. By doing this background check, have you exposed yourself to allegations of discriminationé
Yes, and employees should try to make sure that ads are in line with corporate values. Yes, this leads to more authentic discussion. Yes: People will blog anyway, so you should at least be part of the conversation. Involve early adopters in the discussion Develop relationships with influencers Decisions Yes, but the guidelines need to be revised. Your new hires are glad to be part of the company, and they've added it to their profiles. However, their profile pictures are not business-appropriate, and these pictures are part of the results when people do a search for the company. What do you doé
Yes: Provides a safer internal haven for company-specific discussions. No: This takes away resources from other areas. Be part of the conversation Social networking Yes (possibly with disclaimers): Provide value and create stronger relationships with clients Be cautious about offering advice Blogging No, because contractors and other outsiders have access to the intranet. IBM did it on a wiki Can employees interact with their personal social networks during company time and/or on company resources? Hosted: Provides branding opportunities, provides greater control over content, makes it easy for others to see thriving blogosphere. Do executives have special considerations when blogging? Yes: The company can respond to issues before they snowball into something that attracts mainstream media. Are internal blogs supported? Should the company be able to influence/dictate what employees do with their personal use of social media? Remember your business conduct guidelines. Scenarios Yes: They can contribute insights too. Develop your guidelines together with your early adopters. An employee is selling a couch on Facebook. For some reason, the ad shows up in your company's Facebook flyer, clearly associated with your brand. What do you doé
No, social media does not benefit the company, and employees are not allowed to use company resources for personal use. Write as yourself. Be authentic. Disclosure: More transparency and authenticity, less risk of backlash when affiliations are revealed, more responsibility When in doubt, contact your manager / blogger oversight committee. No, employees should avoid possibly confusing the brand wth irrelevant advertisements. Don't forget your day job. Blogs and forums Third-party: Reduces liability risks, allows greater personal expression. Best practices Yes, because they are affiliated with the company. Yes: (Some third-party platforms insert their own ads) One of your coworkers has invited you to connect with her. You have some photos and blog entries that you do not feel comfortable sharing with her, but the social network does not allow fine-grained access controls that would allow you to share these items with only your close friends. Can you ignore or decline the request without repercussion? Are external blogs allowed? Can employees participate in social media during company time? No, because it requires additional time and effort. No, it reflects badly on the brand. Be nice. Share the company's goals in terms of social computing. A dissatisfied customer created a blog called ABC Company Sucks! . Hundreds of dissatisfied customers have commented, and the discussion is full of horror stories of bad customer service. The blog is now the second hit on popular search engines. How can the company respondé
Keep secrets. Yes, as long as it does not interfere with their work. The Internet can be used for reasonable personal use, just like the telephone. No: Save intellectual property for billable engagements, avoid liability exposure Yes, the guidelines cover all the basic cases. Yes, but only negatively: Will not contribute to competitors' sales. Does the company monitor and respond to discussions in the blogosphere? Will the company aggregate employee blogs? Yes: The groups will be there anyway, so employees may as well be part of the conversation. No: They are treated just like other employees. No: Employees may cause brand damage. Can employees offer advice? Should employees disclose or hide their company affiliation? No, social media does not benefit the company, and employees are not allowed to use company resources for personal use. Policies Compared: IBM Blogging Guidelines (discussion) Subtopic No: Exposes dirty laundry. Provide guidance on what to do, not just what not to do. Are there relevant business conduct guidelines? Corporate guidelines for blogs and forums No: Participation may legitimize groups which the company does not control. Are temporary employees, interns, and contractors allowed to identify themselves as part of the company on external social media platforms? Yes: Helps people discover company-related discussions. No mention of affiliation: Does not immediately associate brand with people's actions, reduces risk of mistaken authority Contribute to industry Own your content. Yes, but mainly positively: Promotes fair play and increases respect for the company. Can employees advertise? Yes: On one hand, they need to pay closer attention to disclosure regulations. On the other hand, they have had more training and experience in communicating publicly, so they can be trusted more than typical employees.
Are external blogs going to be hosted, or should employees use third-party blogging platforms? Are internal social media platforms considered safe for confidential material? An outsider has posted a blog post criticizing a company's recent move. The blog post contains some untrue assertions. Should bloggers from the company refute the blog posté
No: Employees have a right to a personal life, and the company respects that. Thomas Nelson Blogging Guidelines Provide an avenue for expression Can employees talk about the competition? Allow: Promote free discussion. What should employees do about negative comments on their blog? Yes: The company brand can be affected by what people do, even on their personal time. No: Requires additional IT support, distracts people from their real work. An employee posted some lessons learned from a project on an internal blog. Another employee took offense at the suggestions, seeing them as thinly-veiled criticism, and has asked that the blog entry be taken down. Should the entry be edited, deleted, or kept as isé
Cite and link to your sources. Are temporary employees, interns, and contractors granted access to internal social media platforms? No: The company has less control over them, and they may have less experience with corporate culture. Can employees disagree with the company or their coworkers? General Corporate social networking guidelines Contact PR when a member of the media contacts you. No: Avoid liability. An employee blogged about a public announcement externally. The comments became dominated by strong criticism of the company's labor practices, a matter unrelated to the original post. Should the employee moderate the discussion, engage in the conversation, or close all commentsé
Can employees start or participate in unofficial groups? Should there be an oversight committee? Yes. Participation in social media can contribute to corporate goals and increase employee satisfaction. Social networking Respect copyrights. Yes, to provide guidance and take action. No, because the company has less control over them and they may have less experience with corporate culture. Raise visibility