It may not seem a particularly important issue (how many of us have time to worry about what their employees are doing on websites such as Facebook and Twitter?) but did you realise employers are also liable if their employees write something derogatory on social media sites about someone linked to the business. Even if the employee writes the remarks outside of business hours and off business premises, the employer can still be liable.
So how can you protect yourself? The easiest way is to start with a social media policy that is given to all employees. Your social media policy should cover all aspects of how you expect employees to behave. Even if the employee is not making reference to your business, they still need to behave in a certain manner on public sites – for example, it would be unacceptable for your employee to make racist or violent comments/threats.
As an employer, you have responsibilities and you have to protect your reputation. Like it or not, your employees are an extension of your company image, brand and reputation. Comments they make can be linked back to, in extreme cases may significantly damage, the business.
Let’s take an example. A customer comes into the dental practice and complains about everything from start to finish. The reception area hasn’t got comfortable chairs, the appointment was running 10 minutes late, the TV in reception wasn’t on the channel she wanted to watch and so on… An employee recognises the customer (Mrs Smith) and tells their colleague the customer’s name and personal history. Later that day, the employee who’d been dealing with the customer writes on Facebook: “I’ve had the day from hell, and it didn’t help that Mrs Smith came in and the stupid cow complained about everything. No wonder her husband ran off with the next door neighbour lol!”
Through mutual friends Mrs Smith gets wind of the post and is extremely upset. The next morning, goes into the dental practice demanding action be taken against the employee. The employee argues that as there is no social media policy in place she can write what she likes, and the practice ends up paying compensation to Mrs Smith for the hurt and embarrassment caused.
This simple example shows what can happen when a seemingly private comment is made on social media sites. For the employer, it can quickly spiral out of control and ruin their reputation. If the employer had a social media policy in place, the whole episode could have been avoided as the employee would have known it was against their employment rules to post such a comment. Even if the employee had still posted the comment, the employer would have been within their rights to take the employee through a disciplinary procedure and potentially resolve the issue without having to pay compensation to the customer.
Excellent customer service is key is sustaining your customer base. Don’t let your employees risk ruining the reputation you’ve worked so hard to build up.