These days many people enjoy blogging. One may blog about their hard day at work. One may blog to explain information about work. If you own a business you should have rules on your employees blogging. After all, you do not want your business ‘secrets’ that you are successful with out there for everyone on the Internet to read. You also do not want confidential items out there for everyone to read.
When hiring an employee have him/her look over the business handbook. Always have a new employee sign a document that he/she has read over the employee handbook and agrees by the terms. You will want a section dedicated to guidelines for employee blogging.
- Make it clear that personal or business blogs should not disclose information about your company.
- No employee will claim to speak on your business–he or she should type that this is his/her opinion.
- If you have a business blog, you should state that approval is needed before a blog is posted.
- Under no terms should your logo or business name be used in a blog unless permission is given.
- You have the right to remove any blog that you feel you do not want published.
By stating the above information in an employee handbook you are protecting your rights as well as the rights of the employee who has freedom of speech, yet needs to proceed with caution so as not to harm your business.
Tamara graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in Computer Science and Old Dominion University with an MBA. She started Apollo Hosting, Inc. in 1999 and sold it to Endurance International 10 years later. She also started and sold two other companies before starting Press8 Telecom in 2006. She lives with her husband and two children in Austin, TX.
