With the advent of social media a new truth has emerged.  Companies no longer own their brand.  Back in the good old days (the 90’s, ha ha), a company was responsible for the message and image it displayed for the public.  This came in many forms such as attending conferences, controlling mentions in news and editorial pieces, creating press releases, and by working to earn awards.  These attempts at controlling employer brand are not obsolete but they now hold a lot less weight than they used to.  The people who now control your brand are people out there that you cannot control. 

The most common groups that have control over your brand include past and present employees, vendors, and current clients.  The world of social media has ensured that any experience, positive or negative, can be shared instantaneously and widely. 

Think about your options if you have something you want people to know:  You can send out a Tweet (from your phone, no less), post a status update on Facebook or LinkedIn, comment on an article (including articles on credible sources like newspapers or TV stations), post a picture – the options are practically limitless.  And accessibility to these platforms via handheld devices means the person posting doesn’t mull it over until they get in front of a computer and potentially edit what he or she was going to say.  We’ve always had gut reactions but these are instincts that many times we didn’t act on.  Now the odds are higher that this will become THE reaction.

In addition, a sad fact is that these types of comments are considered more reliable than any good PR your company puts out.  So what if you’ve won an award as one of the greatest places to work?  A few disgruntled employees who are verbal on social media platforms can make this award almost meaningless.  There is skepticism that messages sent by a corporation are true and a desire to embrace the messages of people who have actually “been there”.

This is where Human Resources is so important.  It has long been known that productivity is directly related to happy employees and HR’s job is to make sure their people are happy.  But have you considered the effect of a strong HR department when it comes to company brand?  What if everyone who worked for you, with you, sold to you, or bought from you only had good things to say about you? 

This starts with HR and moves outward.  If the employees are happy and well-treated, they will support you to other employees, both past and present, spread the good word to your vendors and prospects, and reiterate it to current clients.  Now you are taking all the worrisome effects of social media and using them to your advantage. 

Realize that how you treat your employees will be shared instantaneously and often and encourage this.  Spend time on these platforms and learn what people say about you.  Humbly view this material and use it to make improvements when the comments are valid.  Get technologically savvy enough to follow alerts, bring the positive to the forefront, and bury the bad.  But know what is being said.

HR is about supporting people and people are controlling employer brands now.  Start a movement in your organization where you commit to treating your employees right, watch it grow and then show the company owners the effect this will have on your brand.  Soon HR may be the most valuable department in your company.