What threats do internet trolls pose for employers?

Originally posted on 10 Dec 2013

The internet phenomenon of ‘trolling’ – making provocative or offensive online comments to get an angry reaction – has come tomainstream attention in recent weeks. Trolls usually hide behind anonymous accounts, but when they are unmasked there can be serious repercussions for the reputation of the company and the welfare of employees. In one high-profile case, colleagues of an outed troll (that is, one that has been unmasked) received death threats and the company was engulfed in a media storm. How should employers reduce the risk of this happening?

It can be no bad thing to have an effective social media policy in place. This should lay down in simple language what is considered acceptable, and what may lead to disciplinary action. It may also have provisions to protect an organisation against liability for the actions of its workers – and help employees draw a clear line between what they do in their private and professional lives.

While offensive comments against colleagues can be dealt with in a straightforward manner under an organisation’s disciplinary procedures, it may be harder to deal with instances in which trolling has happened in private time on a private device. Even so, it could be stated in company policy that there will be clear repercussions if employees bring a company into disrepute, regardless of where or when it is done.

Commentators have drawn parallels between trolls being outed today and football hooligans being named in the press in decades past, which sometimes led to their dismissal at work for bringing the reputation of their organisation into disrepute.

An Acas research paper Workplaces and Social Networking: The Implications for Employment Relations advises employers to take a ‘common sense stance’ and draw on ‘norms that might apply in non-virtual settings’ – by treating online behaviour in the same way as behaviour off-line.

A social media policy can only be effective if it is well communicated and understood by all staff. Induction programmes and training around social technology issues could help to keep everybody on board, and reduce the risk of employees overstepping the mark.

Source:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4617

• Author
• Recent Posts

Martin Pollins

Managing Director at One Smart Place

Martin Pollins is a Chartered Accountant and MBA with wide experience in corporate finance and business management. He has served on the boards of several companies, including those listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM and OFEX. He is Chairman and Founder of OneSmartPlace and was a Council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales from 1988 to 1996. He was managing partner of PRB Martin Pollins, based in Sussex, the first Accountancy firm to advertise on British television.He went on to create and launch the CharterGroup Partnership (the UK’s first Accountancy network) and then LawGroup UK (at the time, one of the largest networks of lawyers in the UK). In recent years, he helped to raise several £millions to fund British films such as The Da Vinci Code, Bridge of San Luis Rey, Head in the Clouds and Merchant of Venice with actors such as Charlize Theron, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, F. Murray Abraham. Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Hanks, Ian McKellen, Audrey Tautou, Penélope Cruz, Steven Berkoff, Lynn Collins, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes and many more.

He has written over 700 business publications (see Glossaries at https://onesmartplace.com/resources/glossaries/) and is editor of Better Business Focus (see https://onesmartplace.com/resources/better-business-focus-magazine). His Blog, on a wide range of subjects can be found at: https://onesmartplace.com/blog/

Latest posts by Martin Pollins (see all)

• Mysteries Galore - June 6, 2022
• Information about Telephone and Internet Banking - November 15, 2021
• Information about Falls: Why they happen and how to avoid them - November 15, 2021