The idea of social networking evokes feelings of both fear and excitement in the minds of employers. This phenomenon is changing the way companies across the globe do business. It not only helps your company connect with its clients, it is also a valuable resource for drawing in potential employees and recruiting the finest candidates for jobs. Social networking has the ability to get your message across to thousands of people very quickly, which makes it a priceless public relations and viral marketing tool. However, popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+, can present a hazard to your company and its reputation depending on how you and your employees use them.
Industry leaders use social networking sites as places to advertise, and interactive tools for connecting with clients. However, not all publicity is good publicity. It is important to project a positive company image, which you can do through setting up your own social networking account; but it is just as critical that you monitor other users’ conversations about you.
Know Who’s Talking About You
Facebook, the largest social networking site today based on monthly unique visitors, has more than one billion active users. People older than 35 are one of the fastest-growing groups of users, which means it is likely that your workforce is involved with social networking. While this has many potential benefits, you also want to be careful no one—whether it is a competitor, former or current employees—is tarnishing your company’s name or reputation on social media. The same holds true for blogs, where damaging content may appear without your consent.
The key to keeping your risk low is identity management. The best way to prevent Internet buzz from becoming a hazard is to monitor the use of your company name. Periodically type it into a search engine and make sure that your official website is the top hit and that nothing offensive comes up in the first 20 results, which is statistically as far as most people will go in a search.
If you do find references to your company name in the first 20 results that could be hazardous to your business or your reputation, you have a few options. If social networking sites are the culprit, consider enacting a policy prohibiting employees from mentioning the company name on their personal sites. Explain the negative outcomes this could have for business and help employees understand how acting as poor representation of the company through scandalous photos or negative comments on a social networking site could affect them directly.
Negative References – What to Do
If negative or derogatory comments about your company have seeped into other sites outside the control of your employees, however, the risk to your business is even greater. What’s more, this type of hazardous publicity is more difficult to manage. One approach is to flood the Internet with positive information about your company so that the negative write-ups are no longer within the top search results. Contacting sites and asking them to remove fictitious and defamatory material is another option.
If you have a serious public relations issue and your company’s reputation or legitimacy is on the line because of material on the Internet or social networking sites, it could cost you untold dollars in lost business. Consider hiring an identity management company, which will help organize, analyze and control the information about you that appears on the Internet.
Using Social Networks to Filter Applicants
The practice of using social networking sites to further research potential employees and weed out candidates based on content in these sites is risky. Not only does it cause you to dabble in issues of legality, but it also could place you in thorny situations when it comes to personal differences you become aware of via social networking tools. Just under half of all employers are already using social networking sites to screen job candidates. Because this practice is rapidly growing, be sure you know what types of hazards you face before you engage in this practice.
The most obvious problem with this practice is how difficult it is to draw lines between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. It is unclear who gets to define what constitutes provocative, and if the candidate have the right to find out this is the reason he or she was not hired. Social networking is such a new trend, especially among the older workforce, that there are currently no ethical benchmarks in place.
By using social networking sites as a filtering tool, you are exposing yourself to potential lawsuits. Many users post personal information such as their religion and age. Even if you decide not to hire them for legitimate reasons, such as educational qualifications, the candidate could accuse you of illegally basing the decision not to hire them on information obtained from their social networking site.
When it comes to looking on the Internet for information on potential job candidates, there is no clear answer whether Internet research on candidates is a good idea. It is up to your company to weigh the options. Whatever you choose, remember to examine the underlying risks and consider all feasible scenarios and outcomes to make the most informed decision possible.
Please contact TIG Advisors for more information about this increasingly popular trend and how best to protect your business.
This Risk Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice. © 2009-2011, 2014 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
