Recognize This! – Creating a culture in which employees can thrive is the first step to protecting your brand in viral social networks.

Staying with the theme of the week on HR challenges, the Wall Street Journal recently asked HR executives, “What’s your biggest challenge?” The top challenge was, unsurprisingly, attracting technical talent. The second biggest challenge was “controlling your brand.”

This is also unsurprising to me in today’s day and age of rampant social media – and the unwillingness of most leadership teams to acknowledge the impact one viral video can have on your reputation and brand. The WSJ article put it this way:

Quotation

“HR professionals say managing a company’s image has become ever more challenging—and important—in the age of the Internet. Job candidates can easily use the Web to check out a company’s financials, culture or even the boss before deciding to take a job, and they are doing so in increasing numbers, according to Steve Cadigan, vice president of talent at business-networking site LinkedIn Corp.”

Take, for example, the case of Joey DeFrancesco, a highly disgruntled hotel employee who resigned in spectacular fashion – marching band and all. (Read the story on CNN or .)

Is it worth putting your brand reputation at risk to keep jerks at work? What does your organization do to ensure employee comments on social media platforms are largely positive and supportive of your brand and culture?