Social media nightmare!
Inappropriate posts can cost you your job and career
Who’s is Charlie Forkner?
He was the number one mechanic for Jaguar Racing. I say was number one because following an inappropriate post on Twitter he is now out of a dream job and in all probability his prospects in the top echelons of motorsport are all but over.
I may be a little biased in writing this post because, as a very keen cyclist, I’m one of the first out of the blocks to join in the ‘them and us’ debate between cyclists and drivers.
The number of times an innocuous post about road safety turn into all out war between the two factions always astonishes me.
Recently, Thames Valley Police tweeted about Operation Close Pass, which as its name suggests, discourages drivers from passing too close to cyclists.
Charlie decided to pitch into the debate with this remarkable tweet:
Regardless of whether cyclists should use cycle lanes, this is probably not the most appropriate tweet from a mechanic of a motor racing Formula E team.
Within minutes his team were being inundated with complaints and shortly afterwards Jaguar Racing put out the following tweet:
So Charlie is no longer associated with the organisation. His social media accounts are no more - no Twitter, Instagram or Facebook (that I can find). I can’t be 100% certain but it appears from the tweet above that he has been sacked.
Gross misconduct?
Jaguar Racing haven’t named names or been too specific, probably because they are mindful of possible litigation, or because they have agreed a joint statement with him as part of some sort of exit agreement.
Regardless, the post has potentially, through its association with Charlie Forkner, brought the company disrepute. It’s difficult to square a company producing cars with such an anti-cyclist outburst. In this digital era the reputation of a business can be severely damaged through inappropriate tweets and Facebook comments.
Many companies now have social media policies. In my opinion they are a must, simply because so much of our communication is now via social networks. Defining what is acceptable and what is unacceptable is crucial to protecting the company’s interests.
A well drafted policy will also provide an employer with the means to take measures to address breaches of the policy, which in serious cases can mean termination of employment.
The policy sets out the limits of what staff can post, if anything at all. It should also set out whether staff can access their social media accounts during working hours.
It should also set out the consequences of breaching the policy and tie this in with the disciplinary policy and sanctions. Serious breaches where offensive language is used, such as in this case, will probably fall under the gross misconduct tag resulting in summary dismissal.
in Charlie Forkner’s case it is unlikely any of the major racing teams will wish to be associated with him given his inappropriate tweet and he will be looking for work in a less glamorous setting.
Once the post is published the damage is done. He swiftly moved to delete his social media accounts but someone always takes a screenshot and then, no matter how much effort is put into damage limitation, the internet takes hold and the post is shared far and wide.
My advice - keep controversial views to yourself if they are capable of destroying your career. I’m sure Charlie Forkner would agree.
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