Status update

It might seem, anecdotally at least, that today’s employees change jobs as many of us would update our Facebook statuses – a bit too often and, sometimes, a little too flippantly. In fact, Facebook is often the platform to share the news when one has got a new job. We’ve all seen ‘starting my new position today’ or ‘excited to join this company’ posts on our feed before. On the flipside, social media can often be the place that individuals turn to in order to vent their disappointments when working life doesn’t go the way they imagined. For earnest HR practitioners, the latter can be a nightmare scenario.

Dealing with the fallout, from what might seem to be a tiny workplace gripe shared via an unassuming status update, can leave companies irreparably damaged. Whilst the worst accusations make the news, almost any social media criticism can leave a business battling to save their employer brand. It needn’t, and shouldn’t, be like this.

For this issue’s cover feature, I spoke with Caroline Price, Senior Vice President of HR in Canon’s EMEA region. For her, employee satisfaction, staff retention, learning & development and global mobility are all part of the same paradigm – even though they can often operate in silo. Eager to reforge the links between these integral aspects of employee life, Canon are working to ensure that no aspect of an employee’s professional life is left unattended to. It’s a lesson many can learn from.

Whilst it’s impossible, nor ethical or even practical, to vet everything employees post online, by being proactive firm’s can mitigate against the worst outcomes. This can involve creating a system whereby feedback and engagement, no matter how trivial or small it seems, is looked at thoroughly.

That way you’ll not be left red-faced when a pesky journalist rings up your press team to get a response to x employee’s status update on life at your firm.

Daniel Cave - Head of Content