So true, craigh. Things can get complicated in a hurry.
Better have a plan! In doing my research on this highly charged situation (disgruntled employees, offensive employee behavior away from work, etc.), here is what I've learned: 1) companies need clear guidelines in their employee handbook regarding an employee's behavior during working
and non-working hours (I recall handbook language along the lines of: "you represent the company both while at work and away....") 2) these policies need to be clearly communicated to the employees and signed off on; 3) in the event of and before an incident, consult with both your HR and legal teams to reduce risk and liability and to insure safety of employees 4) develop and implement a value statement that also provides customer feedback (which is an easy thing to include in your marketing and advertising
today);here's Sonic's:
https://www.sonicautomotive.com/our-culture-and-values.htm 5) if you have a social media or rep man vendor can they provide support 6) Keep a reputable PR company in your contact list in case the whole thing gets out of control 7) I wonder if some insurance policies cover loss of business 8) Some companies monitor their employee's social media activity; and, finally I like the idea of dealers' posting their community contributions either on a blog or on their website. This is a testament to a dealer's commitment to their customers and employees, past, present and future. This dealer does it right:
https://www.brownscar.com/blog/index.htm. Thanks for reading this long response.
