Are employees twittering the day away?

Whether they’re shooting off their own “tweets” or following others, workers using Twitter—the fastest-growing social networking site—are creating liability and PR risks with their 140-character rants, raves and company gossip, according to Business Management Daily.

Example 1: A PR exec landed in Memphis and promptly posted on his Twitter account, “I would die if I had to live here.” The problem: Memphis is home to FedEx, one of the PR firm’s largest clients. FedEx reps were not amused.

Example 2: A 22-year-old applicant who was offered a job with Cisco sent a “tweet” saying, “Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” Needless to say, the woman Twittered her way out of the job.

Advice: Draft a brief policy on your organization’s expectations for employees' use of Twitter and other social networking sites (plus video). It could serve as a complement to your e-mail or e-communication policies.

As the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) points out, “If your company ignores the impact of Twitter, the company’s silence might cause confusion.”

Here are some suggestions from SHRM for your Twitter policy:

--The personal use of Twitter or other social networking sites must not interfere with work time.

-- Employees must get supervisor approval to use the company’s electronic resources to send “tweets” or other public messages.

-- Any use of the organization’s name, trademarks, logos or other intellectual property must be approved.

-- If employees make personal comments about any aspect of the organization’s business, their profiles must carry a disclaimer that the views expressed are their own and not necessarily that of the organization.

-- Tweets, blogs or other messages should not disclose any confidential or proprietary company information.

Remind employees that they can be disciplined or terminated for making online disparaging remarks about the company—even if they’re made on their own time from their own computers.