Social-networking nightmares: Can firms protect themselves from their own staffers?

Employees say it’s their business what they say via social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. But most employers feel otherwise. 

In fact, 60% of execs say it’s their right to know how employees portray themselves and their organizations online.

How employees feel: 53% of employees believe their social networking pages are “not an employer’s concern.” And younger employees (ages 18-34) feel even stronger, with 63% stating that employers have “no business monitoring their online activity.”

These figures come from a recent Deloitte LLP survey.

Perhaps the most interesting figure in the study involves what employers are doing to ease their worries about staffers’ social networking. Only 17% of execs have a way to “monitor and mitigate” the potential risks of social network use.

What can you do? Experts suggest implementing a formal online posting policy and monitoring employees’ posts.

But such measures aren’t for the faint of heart. For one thing, creating any type of policy is bound to cause some backlash, and morale may take a hit if employees view the higher-ups as Big Brother.

And there’s also the issue of time and money: Monitoring can be both costly and time-consuming. Of course, it could pale in comparison to the effects of seriously detrimental postings about your company.

Should you decide a formal online posting policy is right for your company, make sure it includes these key components:

1. It clarifies that employees have no right to privacy when they post on social network sites, and
2. It reminds staffers that company policies on harassment, discrimination, ethics, etc., apply to their behavior online, as well.