Roger Goodell was right.
Your vision isn’t failing you. I’m not talking about the National Football League Commissioner’s handling of concussions, labor negotiations, Ray Rice or the broader issue of domestic violence. But I fully agree with Goodell not imposing any disciplinary action against the St. Louis Rams players who staged their own silent but powerfully visual protest over the Ferguson, MO/Michael Brown grand jury decision (as I write this, New York sadly has its own new horror story with the Eric Garner case). Goodell’s non-action may not justify a humanitarian award, but it was noteworthy nevertheless in the face of some furious negative reactions including from police organizations (the NFL has had a close and some would say incestuous relationship with police departments throughout its franchise areas).
Under our Constitution’s First Amendment, everyone has a right to freedom of speech, right? Well, I suspect we’re all familiar with some classic specific exceptions to this, such as not being able to yell “fire” in a crowded theater, and not being able to disclose troop movements and other immediate threats to national security. But when it comes to your rights as an employee, the workplace may often be the place “where free speech goes to die.” There is little question that in terms of legal precedent, what you say at work (or simply while working) can and will be used against you. From a “free” speech perspective, it’s not that much better than being an incarcerated felon.
NFL players are subject to a collective bargaining agreement with the League, which provides their Commissioner with a massive amount of discretion to act in “the best interests” of the league as he sees it. And virtually all employers have a similar ability to impose codes of conduct and conditions of employment which can effectively restrict the free speech rights of their employees. It’s a fair assumption that the typical employee isn’t doing their job live in front of 60,000 people and on national television like the NFL. But today’s reality is that your employees (never mind outside consultants, agents, and talent) are speaking in a very public way not simply in the office but on a host of highly visible (if not to you) social media platforms from Facebook to Twitter and beyond. The question is, not how restrictive of their speech can you be, but how restrictive should you be? And how should you get your own shop in alignment on this?
Get smart – Educate yourself and your executive team about the full range of social media tools that your employees (and your own team members) have at their disposal. Yes, everybody probably knows about Facebook and Twitter, but is your team comfortable with how employees may be using Yahoo!'s Tumblr (including posting your company’s IP without your knowledge), Pinterest, Google's Instagram, and Snapchat, not to mention WeChat and WhatsApp? Your young employees are likely way ahead of you on this – so tap into this in-house focus group. Without staying on top of this from a company leadership perspective, the gap between you and your employees in terms of how they communicate both inside and outside of the company will grow ever greater.
Get transparent – You can’t expect your employees and associates to act in a certain fashion (or NOT act in a certain fashion) if your expectations aren’t communicated to them. And I don’t mean simply having your lawyer (I used to be that guy) write up a policy that goes into the never-to-be-read-but-relied-upon-in-case-of-litigation employee handbook. I mean conducting regular interactive sessions with employees to share what your policies are and why they are. If having employees conduct themselves with dignity and respect is important to you and your company, share that. It doesn’t have to be the basis of threats, but you might be surprised about how receptive your employees are if take them into this process.
Get a thicker skin – Your rules should reflect a recognition that screwing up is frighteningly easy in the social media world. It doesn’t mean you tolerate all of them, but think seriously and thoughtfully about what types of speech really do impact your company and your brand – not every stupid thing any employee says about their place of work is worthy of recrimination.
Get real – You can’t and shouldn’t be everywhere. Yes, when employees share on social media, there is a treasure trove of data available to you. But don’t try to take on the role of the National Security Agency (come to think of it, maybe the NSA shouldn’t take on the role of the NSA either). Prioritize what is most important, pick your spots for setting and making examples, and hold back the heavy hand of oversight unless/until/where truly needed.
Get out in front (thoughtfully) – Sometimes it may not make sense to simply stick your head in the sand and avoid all comments on controversial issues about which your employees may have strong feelings. I’m not suggesting you need to follow the Ted Turner school of policy engagement. But if you selectively and thoughtfully engage in issues of public importance, it could set an example that others may seek to follow, and may help relieve the need for eruptions if lids are kept on too tightly.
