According to research conducted by the networking platform LinkedIn, 81% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) were turning to social media for growth in 2014. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networking sites have become part of growth strategy so quickly that many employers have not stopped to consider the legal implications.
Social media will help your clients connect with your brand on a regular basis which will provide you with more opportunities to win their trust and their business. However, using social media for marketing also means that employees might have a direct and unsupervised line of contact with clients. The risks may not seem obvious at first, but remember, social media profiles are ultimately about the individual, not the organisation for whom he or she works.
An employee could easily solicit freelance work or start their own firm with social media contacts they’ve accumulated while working for you. If a departing employee held a senior position or had intimate knowledge of your confidential information, such as pricing and sales strategies, the impact on your bottom line could be significant.
Set organisation-wide social media rules
The first step is to set clear company policy when it comes to the use of social media for client acquisition and retention. It would be wise to ask your employees not to use their private accounts to connect with clients. You can give employees access to your organisation’s social media pages; many platforms will allow you to add several users to an account. Alternatively, you could pay for ‘premium accounts’ on LinkedIn to demonstrate professional networks created in the course of employment as distinct from social networks.
All company rules on social media use should be put in writing and distributed to all current and new employees. You would be wise to consult with an employment lawyer while drafting these guidelines as they will be able to inform you of relevant laws in your area. These may not completely remove the risk, but it will make it more difficult for an ex-employee.
Add social media post-employment restraints to contracts
Post-employment restraints can survive after the employment relationship ends as long as they are drafted appropriately and are reasonable. They can be drafted, among other things, to restrain former employees from:
- using or disclosing confidential information and intellectual property,
- protecting legitimate business interests (such as client database) in a specified geographical area for a specified period.
Businesses, especially SMEs, are not necessarily aware of the risks that social media can pose for their business. This risk can be substantial and should not be underestimated.
It is always a good idea to have a lawyer risk review your contracts and policies from time to time. If necessary, with the assistance of your lawyer, draft new agreements for new employees to provide future protection from ex-employees. Whether you employ a lawyer or not, you should consider the following questions:
- If during employment an employee connects with hundreds of clients and prospective clients via social media, what happens to this employee’s contact list if their employment ends?
- Is the employee contractually free to contact these connections after their employment ends?
- Do you have appropriate contractual terms and policies in place
By taking these steps now, you may be able to avoid potentially devastating losses to your business while harnessing the marketing power of social media.
This information should not be considered (and is not) legal advice. You should always contact your lawyer in your own jurisdiction for appropriate legal advice.
