Linkedin - Company Requirement??

[Maggoty]

My company is insisting that I join the network site - LinkedIn. I have been with my company now for over 14 years and as a sales person - very successfully.

They are now saying that I have to join LinkedIn. In fact someone actually did put me on there but I have now deleted it. I am not doing it to be stroppy but I am in quite a cut-throat business and the last thing I need is my business rivals seeing who my customers are.

What is my stance on this? I am sure that legally they can't do anything and am happy to ride the storm of disapproval by not joining.

But all you clever employment law buds might have a different take on it

x

[Maydup]

I have a linkedin account but am not very active . However it is a useful way of keeping your contacts up to date. When people move job their info is updated and you still have them in your list. You can hide you contact list and put as much or as little in your profile as you wish. Just think of it as a modern replacement for exchanging business cards. When you meet a new person you invite them to link with you and you then you have access to all of their contacts. Unless they've hidden them but few people do. Can be very useful.

[Old_Geezer]

I think it is a cheek to insist, but my thoughts were, could you not simply open an account and add nothing to it ? Technically you'd be complying with the disagreed with demand thus stopping flak, but your concerns would be removed. But if you wish to dissent and refuse, then that is your choice.

I can't tell you the legal position though, no doubt someone will be along to let us know before too long. In my experience employers seem allowed to do many things I think they ought not.

[pixie373]

Perhaps you could join, but not name your customers? Just a description, such as "private individual", " international chain-store" etc.

[LazyGun]

Slightly odd that your company are so insistent you join, but if your only reservation is that competitors might pick up on your customers does not really hold, mostly because any competitor worth his salt is going to know exactly who is providing a target customer with their goods/services which they might provide. I know I always did!

And there is nothing within LinkedIn that says that you have to reveal who your customers are. As others have said - create the account, but do not do much with it - like me and thousands upon thousands of others :)

[tonywiltshire]

Your starting point should your contract of employment does it contain this requirement as an express condition; it is unlikely to be taken as an implied term? If it does you should have raised this at the time, if it does not and has not been added you have grounds for discussion with your employer, where much can be achieved.

[Maggoty]

No my contract was years ago - before LinkedIn was thought of. I take you point that my competitors know who my clients are - but not the contacts within the company. I also see it as a way of using it as a warm lead, a way they could be contacted non-cold.

I will investigate further and see if I can find how the actual contacts can be hidden.

My company do tend to go at things in an imperious way. At one point they all insisted that we must have photo driving licences and told all of us old style licence holders to apply for the new style. They backed down on that point.

Thanks guys

x

[Ellipsis]

You don't have to reveal who your contacts are.

LinkedIn is great for business and, to be honest, any salesperson who doesn't have a LinkedIn account is missing out.

[meglet]

My compnay was big on linkedin too and paid for all us sales team to have a course on how to use it effectively!! All you need to do is go to www.linkedin.com/settings/ and set the privacy settings so that only you can see your connections. Then no competetitor can see your clients. However I do have to agree with the point that when you're a good salesperon you don't need to worry about the competition!

[Ellipsis]

A typical salesperson will have 500+ contacts on LinkedIn.

Just one example of how it can help - when one of those contacts moves into a company that you've been trying to get a lead into for ages, LinkedIn will tell you this has happened, and that may allow a door to be opened ...

One more example - you're keen to become a supplier to a company as you know you can do a better job than their current supplier. You know the name of the lady you need to speak to, but she won't take your calls. With LinkedIn, you might discover that one of your 500+ contacts is also one of her contacts and can provide a direct, personal introduction ...