Almost 40% of British employees criticize their ‘workplace’ on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, one in five admit slandering their bosses on them. These are conclusions from a survey done by MyJobGroup.co.uk.

About 60% of the 1000 questioned employees said, they would change what they wrote on their social networking profiles if they knew their boss could read it.

53% of the employees find that their colleagues should be disciplined by their employer if they slander the company on social networking websites.

An important conclusion is that most employees aren’t aware of possible legal consequences when publicly criticizing their company. Furthermore, 70% has no idea whether or not their company has a policy on the subject.

It’s recommended for companies to undertake necessary steps. Employees should be made aware of the dangers that come with sharing certain forms of information while using social networks. Of course, users must know these risks too. When you’re tweeting publicly, you just know that the entire world is able to “read” your message.

This is different with social networks like Facebook. Adjusting your privacy there is more difficult, and the company is currently under heavy fire because of changing privacy rules.

Social media are a reality: how do you manage your employees that use them?

But a company should have a social media policy, even when it’s not actively practicing social media marketing itself. That policy shouldn’t merely be a list of things which are and aren’t allowed. You can’t tie up your employees and forbid them to use social media.
People will vent their opinions either way, and they will use social media, whether you like it or not. It’s much better as a manager to put together a social media policy that encourages your employees to be the face of your company, and to make this policy publicly known as well.

Social media are a reality, and your customers and prospects also use them.

In its press release, MyJobGroup.co.uk says that some companies can simply ban social media, yet is this realistic?

Can you reverse or put a stop to the evolutions going on in the world of marketing and communication by pretending they do not exist?

The author is an interactive marketing consultant and experienced blogger. You can connect with him via Twitter or visit his blog.