Corporate Policy for Social Networking

In an age where a majority of US residents have their own online presence, it is important to consider the impact of such presence on corporate reputation and representation. Employees, whether deliberately or not, represent their company in their online behavior. This representation can either enhance the reputation of their organization, or tarnish it. Thus, guidelines are in order.

A company with high profile employees should make clear that any information shared publicly could either represent the employees’ own personal perspectives or the company’s. Thus, guidelines should recommend to employees to make explicit in online posts which point of view they are sharing.

Additionally, staff should be clear of the repercussions of reckless information sharing on social networks. While it isn’t in any company’s authority to actually police the social networking activity of its employees outside the work environment, it should be clear to all staff what the consequences are for such sharing, in the short-term and in the long-term.