I ran across an interesting blog post a few days ago by Jeremy Robert, titled “Internal Communications- Freedom of Speech? You cannot be serious!”

In it Jeremy says he cannot understand companies like Coke and Ford letting their employees loose in social media channels – they’re planning to let them talk on behalf of the company without going through PR.  Here’s an exerpt:

You simply do not allow employees free rein. You don’t. It is accepted.

Then along come the social media strategists. “It’s all about content, it’s all about dialogue, it’s all about the quality of the conversation” – free spirits in the digital age. Not for them the rules of the old guard – no, the rise of the internet and FaceBook and Twitter has changed the world and we must move on or wither and die.

It appears that their lobbying – and the continuing spread of Shiny Object Syndrome – has convinced even the most conservative of organisations (Coke, anyone?) that they should be allowed to let employees post directly to the social media sites, without passing the sense/health check that is the PR department.

I stuck in my 20 cents here (employees should be empowered/let ‘loose’ but properly trained/guided as to what’s appropriate what’s not).  What do you think? Are employees encouraged to get out there in the social media world and represent the company? What kind of training/caveats are in place to ensure they don’t damage the company’s reputation?

Who in your company is speaking on its behalf and how has this worked for you?