Dale J. Venturini
President/CEO, RI Hospitality Association
Facebook. Twitter. Google+. It seems like everyday is now filled with real life discussion about the online discussion. What are friends posting to their newsfeed? What topics are trending? Who’s in your circle? Everyone is a blogger and more importantly, everyone who works for you now has the opportunity to be a spokesman for your company. But, that’s not always a good thing.
With social media now a staple in our lives, businesses are racing to catch up with the creation of their own profiles on many of these sites. And with good reason too: these websites are among the most popular in the world, providing a new outlet to reach hundreds of millions, if not more than a billion, tech-savvy consumers.
This holds true for many restaurants and hotels in Rhode Island. From the mom-and-pop shop to the international chain, social media has emerged as a way to connect with loyal customers, in some instances actually providing a level playing field to compete in a new medium.
Although we’ve spent many hours crafting our own social media strategies to maximize our online exposure and developing responses to refute negative and often baseless attacks, one area which some of us have yet to figure out is how to respond to inappropriate comments or criticism leveled by our own employees in cyberspace.
Everyone has a bad day from time to time. We’ve all gone home and complained about a boss, a co-worker or a customer, but now social media has given each of us an online megaphone to announce these complaints to the entire world, all in 140 characters or less. Often times, it is harmless venting. But, sometimes it can be damaging to the reputation you have worked so hard to cultivate.
As an employer, you are strongly encouraged to develop your own social media usage guidelines for employees. For those of you who do not yet have your own policies, here are some good guidelines to consider when establishing one:
- Remind your staff to only represent themselves online. If they are not authorized to act as an agent of the company online, then they should not engage other users as an agent of the company.
- Remind your staff that if they broadcast their place of employment in their online profile, they are volunteering to become a representative of the company, similar to wearing a company logo in public. Accordingly, their actions should follow the rules of conduct set forth in your Employee Handbook.
- The internet is a vast place, but it’s still a small world. If you would not say something to your boss, co-worker or customer, do not say it online.
According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the National Labor Relations Board has reviewed over 129 cases involving so-called “Facebook Firings.” In some cases, the NLRB has sided with the employer, and in other cases the board has sided with the employee.
In cases where NLRB has sided with employees, it is because the Board felt as though free speech was being violated. Free speech is a cornerstone of our society, and as you evaluate the online conversations of your employees, it is important to consider what constitutes free speech. It may be difficult, but filter out comments which you may not agree with, or may not feel are appropriate, from those which are truly malicious, misleading, and libelous.
Usually, if you lay out some simple guidelines, the majority of your employees will cooperate. They understand the power, as well as the inherent danger, contained within social media. But, with so many people now blogging, tweeting, and sharing every tiny detail of their lives, do yourself a favor: take the time now to develop a social media policy for your employees to follow before you find yourself in a situation where you wish you had one.
