If you’re reading the latest news, the newest frontier for sexual harassment risk is in social media. It’s a particularly sensitive subject, however, the usage of readily-available, and instantaneous technology make potentially combustible conversations and content on social media more accessible and easier to carry out.
That said, I am compelled to address this issue to help raise the visibility of potential solutions for companies to alleviate the reputational and material damage these violations can cause as if they aren’t address immediately and decisively. The reality is for most companies, what transpires isn’t really their doing, based on the behavior of employees.
A recent lawsuit was filed based on a harassing communication that came through an employer-supported social media platform. In this case, a female was being recruited over LinkedIn and received inappropriate images over the messaging module by a male. Sadly, social media can provide the easiest way for employees to partake in inappropriate behavior, and most organizations aren't prioritizing how to manage this growing risk.
What is happening, as evidenced in this one landmark case, is that the company can be liable for what its employees do over LinkedIn, and other social media platforms. When a social media channel is used, and employees of a particular company use that channel as part of their job or are representing the given company, (officially or even unofficially) things are trending toward litigation against the company.
Gain More Visibility Across the Social Landscape
The solution for employers isn’t to turn off social media. Why? Because employees will ultimately adopt these platforms within the network walls with, or without approval if they can find a way, or perhaps on their mobile device. They’ll either honor the policy they signed upon on-boarding, or they’ll violate it without thinking, perhaps without caring about the ramifications or the actual violation.
The solution is to implement proper supervision, and to roll out this capability at scale. Digital Risk Management solutions are becoming an essential part of how organizations can better manage monitor activity, demonstrate they have controls in place and remediate quickly based on customized policies and recommended steps.
This will benefit the organization quickly in two ways:
- The company will be able to monitor activity to see exactly where inappropriate content is stemming from, and identify the parties involved quickly. By identifying this in real-time, companies can address it quickly.
- This will demonstrate a rigorous program and the ability to self-report in the event of a violation. This is where Social SafeGuard can become a vital part of your governance program.
Mitigate Social Risk Now
Security teams, governance professionals, marketing executives, and risk managers should all consider how they can play a role in protecting their organization. Mitigating the risks associated with social media start with looking for innovative technology that aligns with how quickly information can spread.
Social SafeGuard can help detect policy violations in real-time and notify administrators in real-time. The capability to roll back inappropriate content is critical for brand protection, and for future ramifications of the business. At the same time, so is keeping a full record of all relevant content regardless of whether it’s been removed, and an audit trail of all company remediation actions.
Automating this so it doesn’t take man-hours to search for violations is also what admins need to effectively mitigate risk and avoid the costly mistake of letting employees run rampant without proper supervision and enforcement.