Social Media In the Workplace Requires Balance Between Benefits and Risks According to Stoel Rives and Snapp Conner PR

- Stoel Rives labor and employment partner, Matt Durham and Snapp Conner PR’s managing partner, Cheryl Snapp Conner help employers mitigate risk while also leveraging and capitalizing on employees’ social media skills-

SALT LAKE CITY -- July 18, 2011 – More than 100 million users currently access Facebook from their mobile devices. More than 1.5 million companies have Facebook pages, and the average Facebook user is on the site approximately 55 minutes per day. Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are integral to millions of people’s personal and professional lives. Social media can be a strategic weapon; yet one false step can end a career, end a company, or alter numerous lives.

To that end, Stoel Rives LLP (www.stoel.com), together with Snapp Conner PR (www.snappconner.com), have created a seminar entitled ‘Managing the Use of Social Media In and Out of the Workplace’ to provide business owners with insight and help on using social media well. Durham and Snapp Conner presented the seminar live in Salt Lake City on June 24, 2011. Salt Lake City video education company BizVision has also filmed the seminar, which is now available for continued free viewing at http://www.bizvision.com/webcast/prod/11062

In the presentation, Durham and Snapp Conner agree that it is imperative that companies provide education to their employees about appropriate and beneficial use of social media. Both also strongly advise every business to have a written policy about social media use and to ensure that employees understand and agree to their policy’s terms.

The seminar covers
• Direct and indirect risks to employers
• Policy considerations and ideas for putting policies into effect
• The pros and cons of monitoring employee social media use
• Ways to enact and even leverage company and product social media campaigns
• Disciplinary actions for inappropriate use

“From a legal perspective, it’s vital that employers understand the benefits and risks of social media,” said Matt Durham, partner at Stoel Rives and seminar presenter. “From hiring practices to sales activities to interactions among coworkers, a proper understanding of employers’ liabilities and responsibilities is important to avoiding liability.”

Presenters:
• Matthew Durham is a partner of Stoel Rives' Litigation and Employment Law practice groups. He represents clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies in matters relating to employment discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, wage and hour, drug testing, leave, benefits and labor/occupational safety issues. He routinely advises clients on developing and implementing personnel policies and complying with state and federal employment laws. Matthew also represents clients in general civil litigation matters. He has also mediated employment disputes.

• Cheryl Snapp Conner, founder and managing partner of Snapp Conner PR, has more than 26 years of experience in public relations for leading technology firms. Snapp Conner has led four successful tech PR agencies since 1989, and has been recognized as one of Utah’s 30 Women to Watch. She is a trustee of the Utah Technology Council (UTC) and has directed its Communications Committee since 2004.

“We work with many businesses whose biggest PR opportunities involve social media,” said Cheryl Snapp Conner, Managing Partner at Snapp Conner PR. “However, companies need to be fully aware of the risks and dangers of social media as well. It is our goal to help them strike the right balance and to let their employees participate in programs that allow them to leverage and use social media of all varieties increasingly well.”

About Snapp Conner PR
Born out of 23 years of specialized experience in the technology industry, Snapp Conner PR provides all aspects of strategic and tactical PR execution for companies in the technology, health and wellness, and life sciences space. Snapp Conner PR assists organizations ranging from start-ups and growth companies to established ventures and public companies in creating and executing PR programs to achieve maximum possible business results. For more information about Snapp Conner PR, please visit the Web site at www.snappconner.com.

About Stoel Rives LLP
Stoel Rives is a business law firm providing corporate and litigation services to a wide range of clients throughout the United States. The firm has nearly 400 attorneys operating out of 11 offices in seven states. Stoel Rives is a leader in corporate, energy, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment, land use and construction, litigation, natural resources, project development and real estate law. The firm has offices in Alaska, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. For more information, visit www.stoel.com.