[Business] Social Media Investigations

[Hyve]

No, what you're supposed to care about is how well I can get the job done. As long as I do a spectacular job, getting sauced every night is a non-issue.

Perhaps that is your view, but that isn't the view of my company, myself and many of businesses out there. I've seen enough people, both as an employee & employer, that just take the piss and do the minimal amount of work needed.

[Badpaladin]

Why? If you're going to work for my company, I want to know the sort of person you are. If you're someone who gets drunk every night, I know that is going to have an impact on your work, and I don't want that, not when this is a buyers market.

That's getting too personal. Employer-employee relations are contractual only. That doesn't mean they can't be friendly, but attempting to get a "view" of a person before you even know them leads to irrational and perhaps outright incorrect assumptions that can very well hurt you in the end. It's not a buyer's market, but smart and talented individuals are in high demand and employers are happy to pay high sums to have them. What they do in their free time shouldn't be your concern.

Now, there's certainly a difference between someone who has parties every weekend and someone who posts ridiculous, abrasive political rants, "shows off" illegal or otherwise unsavory things, etc. Unfortunately confirmation bias is going to make distinctions between the two parties very difficult.

[smelltheglove]

On the one hand, a prospective employer has no right to invade your privacy to try and determine what you're "really" like.

On the other, with regards to social media sites specifically, you're the dumbass who posted that shit to the public. If you're stupid enough to post pics to your public profile of you getting drunk with friends, you deserve to have employers pass you over for someone with more discretion.

i wouldnt have to post drunk pics. some friends posted some 18n year old pics, tagged me in them, bam. i now have public drunk pics, and i quit drinking years ago

[Gamdwelf]

Perhaps that is your view, but that isn't the view of my company, myself and many of businesses out there. I've seen enough people, both as an employee & employer, that just take the piss and do the minimal amount of work needed.

Why would you do more than the minimal amount of work required when you get paid the same either way?

[Endus]

Who's job is it to just sit around and go through people's FB profiles.

It really doesn't take that much time for HR staff to punch your name into Google or a Facebook search. Same reason they call your references.

No, what you're supposed to care about is how well I can get the job done. As long as I do a spectacular job, getting sauced every night is a non-issue.

Nope. Plenty of jobs have image components where you need to portray the right public image.

If you're an IT peon who only sees the sun twice a week, they probably don't care. If you're the Vice President of Marketing, you absolutely can and will get fired for those pics of you dry-humping a statue in the park.

[Raiju]

Ok Hyve, this is why your idea is flawed and an upsetting thought:

When I go to work I am polite, as flexible as what I'm currently doing will allow with other employees, will aim to give my best with everything I work on and not cause any sparks with anyone.

When I am talking to my friends privately, I may swear a lot, make non-PC jokes, post links with no apparent explanation, etc. Since I am often continuing this as part of a phone or voicechat conversation or such. I may tell a friend I am going to post something to them later and then just post the link on facebook. They will know what I'm talking about after all. How does this reflect in the slightest how I will work for you or how I will act around strangers? It doesn't.

That being said, there isn't really anything embarrassing on my facebook.

[Gamdwelf]

It really doesn't take that much time for HR staff to punch your name into Google or a Facebook search. Same reason they call your references.

But he is saying they can special request whole copies of your entire profile, not just your public profile but the whole thing. That has to be hundreds of pictures and possibly thousands of Comments etc. somebody has to go through and read if they want to get a better idea of who you are.

[Badpaladin]

It really doesn't take that much time for HR staff to punch your name into Google or a Facebook search. Same reason they call your references.

I'm glad I share the same name as a politician who worked on some rather controversial legislation, and a popular Gospel artist. It actually takes some time to find me on Google.

[Rukentuts]

Perhaps that is your view, but that isn't the view of my company, myself and many of businesses out there. I've seen enough people, both as an employee & employer, that just take the piss and do the minimal amount of work needed.

Than that is a work related issue, because of in this case "the minimal amount of work needed".

I'm glad I share the same name as a politician who worked on some rather controversial legislation, and a popular Gospel artist. It actually takes some time to find me on Google.

It's actually impossible to find me, thanks to a lot more outgoing individuals with the same name.

[Hyve]

Why would you do more than the minimal amount of work required when you get paid the same either way?

Because if someone wants to just work a minimum wage job, and they think that is acceptable then I don't want them on my team. We pay above the minimum wage, because we want people who are enthusiastic and put a lot of effort into their work.

Simple thinks like, if they have a bad attitude or drink a lot are clear signs that this isn't the right person. We've no issues with people going out getting smashed, I personally don't care, and as I handle the recruitment process for senior-management that is how I operate it, but, and again I say this from experience on both ends, people are slackers and they hate the system for their bad choices.

I've turned down people who have what they see as harmless tattoos. I can't put someone with a skull on their arm infront of our potential new investors, I can't put someone who is half-hungover as a project lead for the week, because they're not getting the job done.

In our company, we operate this system because we want only the best, and even our own C-Suite (Chief ________ Officer) members get inspected a lot, ensuring that they're making dumb comments online, or getting into trouble that could impact the company.

If Tesco did this for everyone, I'd agree it was over the top, but again, this is a buyers market. If Tesco no longer want drunken fools who post shit online, that is their choice, and it is a choice you make letting us view it, when you log into Facebook as you agreed to the Terms and Conditions.

---------- Post added 2013-01-28 at 06:57 PM ----------

Than that is a work related issue, because of in this case "the minimal amount of work needed".

Okay. But you're saying how it should be purely my concern, if they get the job done, and I say this with all due respect, but how do you know what I should be concerned about? Have you run a business and had to put your 5 years of hard work to get it started in someone else's hands?

We adopted this policy after someone who worked for us bailed on a meeting we were having with some American Investors, in a new lubricant for machinery. I quickly log onto our Company Facebook after the meeting to check (as always) for a few updates and to post some more information, and I find he posted a few pictures of him messing around, and having a laugh.

He pulled his own cord from the computer, so he could go and play with a few mates, and have a few drinks, rather then have any input on a potentially multi-million dollar deal. That attitude, is what we want to avoid at all levels of our company.

That said, we do notify people that we will be doing a full background check on any applicants, using whatever services and means are available to us within the parameters of the law. They're warned we'll do a check on them.

[smelltheglove]

I'm glad I share the same name as a politician who worked on some rather controversial legislation, and a popular Gospel artist. It actually takes some time to find me on Google.

makes me wish my name was kenny rogers... both the singer and the baseball players have such stupendous public records - majority of which are acts of incredible stupidity - that i would show up on like page 100 or so, lol. unfortunately my name is not shared with any famous people

[Endus]

When I am talking to my friends privately, I may swear a lot, make non-PC jokes, post links with no apparent explanation, etc.

Anything that occurs in a public place isn't "in private". And anything posted to the Internet counts as public.

Nobody can tell if you go on a racist rant in the privacy of your home. If you do so in a restaurant, though, where you can be overheard, it's no longer "private", and absolutely is relevant. Both because of your lack of discretion and such, and because you represent your company, even while off the clock. This becomes more and more true as you get promoted higher in the company, and anything you did prior to that promotion still applies. If they have to pick between you and Bob to promote, and Bob's facebook is clean, while yours has tons of pics of you drinking with friends, that can be why Bob gets the promotion and you don't.

But he is saying they can special request whole copies of your entire profile, not just your public profile but the whole thing. That has to be hundreds of pictures and possibly thousands of Comments etc. somebody has to go through and read if they want to get a better idea of who you are.

Whether that's against Facebook's policy or not is up to Facebook. Still, that's not unusual for hiring, if we're talking about professional positions and not hourly call center work or the like.

[Raiju]

A bad attitude outside of work hardly seems an issue - what if that's just how I get on with my PRIVATE friends? Once again, you can see how I act publicly on my private profile, if you want to be underhanded about how I may be in a work environment couldn't you just ask for my previous employers facebook details through FB instead? Surely that would be circumventing the law in the same regard?

About the tattoos - most people get tattoos that will be hidden in work clothes. Seems ignorant to drop someone based on something you may never actually see if you hadn't had access to their private profile.

@Endus, and if you have a "private" booth in a restaurant and it turns out that your actions in there are sent to your prospective employer? Your average joe CANNOT see this, it is by definition not public and as OP states you have to be a company of fair size with a legitimate reason to even see this stuff.

My facebook for my friends doesn't use my real name anyway, on a personal note. As mentioned before there's nothing embarrassing on mine though.

[Tradewind]

You seem to still think that social media is private. It isn't.

[Bigbamboozal]

You know, I think it's getting all a bit out of hand. And you know who's to blame? YOU! Yes you at home.
I saw an article in the paper telling people they should check a person on facebook before dating them.
It goes on to instruct the masses that if they just set up the account, red flag, if they have been a member for 6 years and only have a couple of friends, red flag.
AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE A FACEBOOK, THAT IS A MAJOR RED FLAG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111(ONE)

oh my fucking god, how stupid have we become that we will use media pressure and relational pressure to make people use this useless and shit eating program?
facebook is shit on a stick, I have no interest and will never use it. It's almost over already.
Seriously, no interest in it. Between email, text, phone, and (GASP!) face to face meeting, facebook does exactly nothing for me.

But you know, I like the up-side of that, if you avoid facebook, the sheep-headed yes persons who cannot form an opinion of their own, cannot think for themselves will not be interested in you, b/c the facebook and mass media told them you are a red flag for no facebook....lol, yah okay, shucks...I don't want to missed by the people who follow that regime to the letter hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahhaaha hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ahahahhahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


(no seriously, I think there is something wrong with the people who wrote that and the people who go along with that ideal. How dare you have a life that does not include facebook!)

[breadisfunny]

so no tattoos at all then? even if its hidden? sounds kind of controlling. i can see if its racist or something. makes me glad i never upload pics of myself save for one of me from 7 years ago in a sweatshirt and jeans sitting down. do they look at what kind of facebook groups you join?

[Gamdwelf]

If they are really getting information that is not in the public area of facebook that is illegal based on FB terms and agreements as Endus has already posted. If your company is doing this they should stop before they get indicted or something.

[Hyve]

A bad attitude outside of work hardly seems an issue - what if that's just how I get on with my PRIVATE friends? Once again, you can see how I act publicly on my private profile, if you want to be underhanded about how I may be in a work environment couldn't you just ask for my previous employers facebook details through FB instead? Surely that would be circumventing the law in the same regard?

About the tattoos - most people get tattoos that will be hidden in work clothes. Seems ignorant to drop someone based on something you may never actually see if you hadn't had access to their private profile.

Regarding the bolded part, it really isn't.

Again, I'm talking from experience from both sides of the fences. We put this policy in place and we continue to follow it because of issues related to that fact that people who do have more "wild" social lives are more prone to giving us issues and problems.

It is not uncommon for people to call in sick, and then go out and party. I've seen it loads of times, and as an employer in the U.K. I have to pay them for their sick leave, which angers me because I am giving away my hard earned money to someone who isn't willing to do their end of the deal. I don't tolerate that.

[Raiju]

so no tattoos at all then? even if its hidden? sounds kind of controlling. i can see if its racist or something. makes me glad i never upload pics of myself save for one of me from 7 years ago in a sweatshirt and jeans sitting down. do they look at what kind of facebook groups you join?

If they're willing to drop you for a hidden tattoo I bet they'll drop you for liking pepsi instead of coca cola.

@Hyve, that isn't on the same line though. Investigating an employee due to suspicions personally I have less issue with as you aren't just going to drop them once you have them if you find things you personally aren't a fan of..

I phrased that poorly too. I mean in a setting where it isn't available for anyone to see. It is comparable to a booth in a public place - you are supposed to have a certain level of privacy from everyone but the company involved (and you usually need a legal reasoning of some sort to view what occured)

[Rukentuts]

Okay. But you're saying how it should be purely my concern, if they get the job done, and I say this with all due respect, but how do you know what I should be concerned about? Have you run a business and had to put your 5 years of hard work to get it started in someone else's hands?

We adopted this policy after someone who worked for us bailed on a meeting we were having with some American Investors, in a new lubricant for machinery. I quickly log onto our Company Facebook after the meeting to check (as always) for a few updates and to post some more information, and I find he posted a few pictures of him messing around, and having a laugh.

He pulled his own cord from the computer, so he could go and play with a few mates, and have a few drinks, rather then have any input on a potentially multi-million dollar deal. That attitude, is what we want to avoid at all levels of our company.

That said, we do notify people that we will be doing a full background check on any applicants, using whatever services and means are available to us within the parameters of the law. They're warned we'll do a check on them.

I really don't give two shits about you checking them. I give a huge shit about companies intruding into private information (and often illegally to accomplish such) and companies providing private information when they apparently say they won't without your consent.