It’s never been easier for companies to lose the public’s trust. Between 24/7 news networks, billions of social media users and a media system that thrives on controversy and scandal, even small news stories can snowball into an avalanche of negative coverage. That’s especially true for stories that show the human side of the world’s largest corporations. People know what it’s like to work hard to support their family, so the public is heavily invested in seeing how workers are paid, supervised, cared for and respected.
So, to build trust with their customers and maintain a positive reputation, companies must first build trust with their workers. And when people think about corporate trust, they think about data privacy.
According to a 2021 PWC report, most consumers, workers and businesses view protecting data and cybersecurity as the main foundation of corporate trust. More than admitting mistakes, setting high ethical standards or tackling social issues, people want to know their data is secure. It’s true for workers who agree to background checks. It’s true for businesses that entrust sensitive information to their workers.
Simply put, if companies want to protect their reputation, they must recognize that corporate trust depends on privacy, and privacy requires buy-in from both employers and workers.
To save time and resources for their HR departments, millions of U.S. businesses send their workers’ income and employment data to major data brokers every week. This way, rather than emailing the company’s HR department, landlords and lenders that need to verify a worker’s income can purchase those records from brokers that collect and sell these records.
However, this system poses incredible risks to worker privacy. For one, the nation’s largest data brokers have suffered major data breaches, including those that exposed the Social Security numbers of 15 million Americans and the personal data of roughly 150 million consumers. When the Federal Trade Commission investigated the 2017 breach at Equifax, their report even noted the company’s “failure to take reasonable steps to secure its network.”
Moreover, most workers don’t know their employers share their private data. Earlier this year, for example, workers at Google and Apple publicly conveyed their shock when they learned their companies sent their data to Equifax.
To be clear, there has never been a real alternative to this broker-based system, so it’s understandable that most U.S. employers take part. Fortunately, new technologies are emerging all the time that empower workers to manage their own payroll data and share their records with specific third parties. These platforms, like Certree, bypass the broker databases that attract cyberattacks, and they enable workers to control their privacy.
For companies that care about their reputation, these platforms are worth investigating. Data privacy stories don’t just drive public opinion; they also drive the metrics and standards that shape how corporate leaders are viewed throughout the business world. A recent Bloomberg Law article, for instance, argued that 2022 will feature a record number of companies that explicitly mention data privacy in their quarterly reports as an element of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.
Most workers can broadcast any message with just a few clicks via social media. So, companies must rely on their workers to protect their corporate privacy and reputation. With social media, new legal questions arise every day as to what corporate information workers can share and what regulatory actions employers can take.
Just last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a decision that deemed it lawful for companies to prohibit workers from disclosing confidential information, using company logos and trademarks, posting photos of coworkers without their consent or using social media to disparage the company. This decision has far-reaching implications, including the fact that it creates enormous room for misinterpretation. For instance, this NLRB decision authorized employers to prohibit “the sharing of employee compensation information,” but it didn’t seek to prevent workers from discussing their wages with coworkers and unions. Rather, it aimed to stop workers from sharing sensitive information with market researchers and other outsiders collecting wage data. On its own, this small distinction could easily lead to lawsuits and bad press if employers don’t plan out their privacy standards and legal capabilities.
All this is to say that corporate privacy can be highly complicated, and if employers want to protect their most sensitive information, they should establish clear social media guidelines and ensure all workers understand those limits. These policies should: 1) outline the kinds of conduct that could result in discipline, 2) align with company culture and 3) comply with NLRB guidelines. Workers should also learn these guidelines early in their onboarding and receive frequent reminders and trainings.
When it comes to worker data and social media, companies must impose strong privacy policies. But in other cases, overzealous privacy measures can do more harm than good. For one, privacy measures should never interfere with workers’ ability to report dangerous or unethical behavior. Similarly, privacy is not a cure-all for systemic issues. If employers worry the public will learn how their workers are treated, they should spend more time addressing that treatment than writing policies to ensure it stays private.
The legal and social dynamics that shape public opinion are changing every day. Facing these new challenges, employers can safeguard their reputation by prioritizing the protection of worker data and setting clear social media ground rules. Workers will appreciate their commitment to privacy, and the public will appreciate their efforts to create spaces where people want to work.
Shellye Archambeau previously served as the CEO of MetricStream for more than 15 years. She currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Roper Technologies, and Okta, as well as national nonprofits Catalyst and Braven.