Damage Control

There has been so much in the press about it recently, think Google, Qantas, Rupert Murdoch and GoDaddy; however it seems that businesses are still willing to take the risk. What am I talking about? Social Media -the benefits can be immense, in particular for small businesses who know that, in the words of James Tuckerman, ‘it has never been easier to own the eyeballs’.  Social Media is a very cost effective way to advertise your business and engage and interact with both your current and prospective clients.

 The risks however are just as great and there are a couple of reasons for this:

1.       Education -employees don’t fully understand how it works or how to protect themselves

2.      Speed - the speed and geographic spread at which a blunder spreads virally

3.      Ease of access – employees can access it 24/7 from phone, iPad, desktop

4.      Lack of surveillance – no ability to review and monitor employee activity

5.      Legislation - is still catching up with the technological advances of social media

So I thought that we might try something different with the blog this week to see how great the risk is to the SME market? Please take a second to complete this checklist to find out what your Social Media risk is and how to protect your business!

http://employeematters.wufoo.com/forms/z7x3p9/

Next week, I will let you know how your business compares with others in your industry segment and more importantly how to protect your business and reputation.

Natasha Hawker owns Employee Matters Pty Ltd; an HR Consultancy that assists small to medium businesses with their HR functions to make them more efficient and profitable. Their offering includes HR Management, Recruitment, Training, Coaching, and Exit Management. – find them at www.employeematters.com.au