How to handle an employee’s negative online behaviour

With the proliferation of social media it’s possible that at some point, one of your employees will behave badly online.

Here are some tips on how to handle an employee’s negative online behaviour.

Get to grips with the situation ASAP
If the insults, nasty comments, provocative pictures or bad language are already in circulation, get all the facts as soon as you can. A cyber bullying incident or a fight with an irate customer can be equally damaging to your business if you let them drag out. Find out who is involved and what happened. Look at the trail and postings yourself, as second-hand accounts may not be reflective of the full story.

Step in and provide leadership
With a full understanding of the situation, you can then assess the depth of damage to your business. Depending on the situation, an apology from your employee or taking down a comment may be enough, (though it may be too late if it has spread through other social networks).
If your company is directly mentioned or impacted, issue an apology or disclaimer on its behalf, ensuring that the apology is as genuine as possible and does not come across as “marketing speak” or stiff legalese, which will further inflame the situation. Calling in legal advice could also be beneficial if the situation is particularly serious.

Deal with the consequences
Online digressions should follow your company’s policy for dealing with bad behaviour in the real world. If swearing at a fellow employee or customer, or disclosing confidential information would not be acceptable in a face-to-face situation, it should be dealt with the same way if it occurs online. Consequences can range from a disciplinary hearing, suspension or even dismissal, as cases around the world have illustrated. Ensure that you are transparent with your staff when incidents arise, so that it becomes clear that what happens on digital platforms is taken seriously by the company.

Prevent a future situation
Have social media policy/guidelines which outline how communicating online should be carried out by employees. Keep it straightforward, simple to understand and applicable to the real world. Your guidelines should clarifying what your expectations are in terms of employees’ conduct, role and responsibilities, as well as clarify what is considered personal versus official conduct, as these tend to overlap online.

Bring the guidelines to life
Don’t just circulate guidelines by email or leave hard copies for people to sift through alone. Understanding how social media interfaces with your business is an important part of explaining the power of tweets or postings, so pencil in the discussion of the policy with your team or consider some in-house training to explain the reasoning behind such a policy.

Even though it can be a frustrating aspect of dealing with new media, negative online behavior can be handled successfully if employers engage with social media proactively.

Puseletso Mompei is a communications consultant and trainer. She offers communications and media training for corporate executives, spokespersons, managers, entrepreneurs, government officials, diplomats, academia and public relations officers. Contact her at puseletso@kwazicommunications.co.za, or visit www.kwazicommunications.co.za for more information.