According to a new survey from Symantec Corp., the negative consequences from a social media misstep cost a typical employer close to $4 million per year. For a 140-character message on Twitter, that’s more than $28,000 per character — an eye-popping sum that will make HR/benefits professionals want to literally watch employees’ Ps and Qs on social media sites.
In its 2011 Social Media Protection Flash Poll, Symantec examined how organizations protect themselves from negative consequences of using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and other online forums. Although employers have been smacked down legally for monitoring employees’ social media habits, benefits pros have good reason to worry about how employees are using social media tools. Symantec finds that the typical company experienced nine social media incidents over the last year — such as employees posting confidential information publicly — with 94% suffering negative consequences including damage to their reputations, loss of customer trust, data loss and lost revenue.
