MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

MENUMENU
  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

What would you do? Employees slamming company on blog

Tim Gould
by Tim Gould
June 16, 2010
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

Periodically, we ask three HR managers how they’d handle a difficult situation at work. Today’s problem: Employees are saying negative things about the company on the Internet.
The scene
Supervisor Dave McGrogran stuck his head into HR manager Mark Burgess’ office.
“Hey, Mark,” said Dave. “Been surfing the ‘Net lately?”
“Checking the job boards, Googling a few applicants,” said Mark. “Just the usual. Why do you ask?”
“Because everybody else seems to be looking at a blog aimed at the company. There’s some not-real-flattering stuff on there.”
“What’s the URL?” asked Mark, turning to his computer.
‘This stuff could hurt us’
Mark’s face reddened as he scanned the blog. “A lot of this stuff is flat-out lies. It could really hurt our image,” he said.
“Listen to what Sam Hodgins in Operations wrote: ‘Management could care less about employees — if it comes down to a long-term employee and an extra buck, the extra buck wins every time.’ Man, that’s brutal.”
“This looks pretty serious to me,” said Dave. “What are we gonna do?”
“Not sure,” said Mark, “but whatever it is, we better do it quickly.”
What HR pros would do
Jim, HR manager, Dallas
What Jim would do: Step One would be to bring in the people who made the comments and ask them to share their concerns with us. Obviously, there’s a reason they haven’t felt able to tell us about these things directly, so we need to address that problem.
Reason: If our people have problems, we want to address them as directly as possible. We’d handle the public relations problem as a separate issue.
Laura, HR manager, New York
What Laura would do: The first thing I’d do is remind employees about our Internet policy. Going on this kind of site during company  time certainly violates our rules.
Then I’d speak to the employees who posted comments to find out why they hadn’t expressed their thoughts through the proper channels.
Reason: We can only control what employees do in  the office, and people may be visiting the blog from home. But they’ve also signed employment agreements, and it’s likely this kind of activity would be prohibited.
Len, HR director, Malvern, PA
What Len would do: Of course, I’d try to find out who was  behind the blog, and contact them if I could. I’d like to know what their motive was. As for the current employees being quoted, I’d bring them in and make it clear such a blog isn’t an appropriate forum for their concerns.
Reason: We have procedures in place to address employees’ problems. They need to follow those procedures. After all, how can a complaint on a blog be handled positively? We can’t solve problems we don’t know about.

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • HR Technology
  • Performance Management
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation & Payroll
  • Policy & Culture
  • Staff Administration
  • Wellness & Safety
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader