The Linkedin Dilemma for Employers. How do you prevent your staff 'walking off' with their contacts once they leave? Do you feel the 'deal' should be that the employer 'owns' the contacts - or is contact-building a legitimate right for individuals?
Answers (21)
Daniel J.
Division Leader with Primerica Financial Services
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They belong to the individual. First, not all the contacts are business related. Many are personal friends, former colleagues, classmates, etc. Is it reasonable for the company to "own" these contacts? Second, even if the company were to somehow demand that the employee disconnect from these contacts, don't you think this employee would have those names elsewhere? What are you planning to do? Erase his Blackberry? Invade his home to rummage through his personal files?
I don't see a dilemma here. The profiles are personal. The contacts belong to the individual.
Bryan C W.
Seeking a new opportunity in B2B technology; global experience
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No company owns a LI profile (company profile page not withstanding). The individual "owns" their contacts - they have built a relationship with them. You can't prevent them from keeping business cards so why worry about it in this day and age.
Tim T.
Senior Sales Representative
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if you are here acting on behalf of the company you represent, they own the contacts
it is the same when you bring your own laptop to work, the employer has the right to scrub your system clean to make sure that you are not taking information that is pertinent
but the employer cannot stop you from having a copy of the contact list
I do not think that the issue is the contacts. I agree with what others have said, contacts are based on personal relationships built up over a period of time and they would belong to the individual. I think the more concerning issue would be the tacit knowledge that employees take with them when they leave an organisation and the impact that this has on the business performance. It seems to me that very few companies seem to do detailed knowledge based exit interviews any more.
John M.
Partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn
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I think there are going to be more cases in 2011 on this issue, given the increasing use of LinkedIn and the more structured and "corporate" approach being taken by many companies. The issue will arise not just with contacts, but with Groups as well.
In my view the answer depends on the individual concerned and their role and responsibilities. If they have no need to use LinkedIn at all, but instead use it to keep in touch with people they have met, then the profile will belong to them. At the other extreme, if an individual has been given a project, a corporate objective, of building their LinkedIn profile, then the profile will belong to the company. They are creating intellectual property in the course of their employment.
The grey area is of course in between those two extremes. If an individual creates a LinkedIn profile to help them with their day to day job - for example anyone in professional services - then I think the profile will belong to the employer. Again, they are creating the profile in the course of their employment. If they build the list of contacts, but include personal friends and family, I don't think that changes the position. It is important to remember that we are talking about the electronic record that has been created. The employer cannot take away the right to speak to family and friends - but they can stop the contacts list being taken in the "LinkedIn form" to a new employer.
When talking about groups, if an accountant (for example) were to great a group about mountain biking, then that would probably belong to him or her. If it were about VAT or income tax, then the employer would have a good claim.
In answer to the "how do you prevent" question, clear contracts and policies are the way forward. Make it absolutely clear from the beginning how you are going to deal with LinkedIn and other online communities. Twitter is another interesting one where an individual can quickly build up a substantial number of followers.
Perhaps the more interesting question is how to deal with the situation if the issue arises. With Groups it may be easy enough to transfer ownership (as in administration rights) to the Group to another individual. But with a personal profile it would be wholly artificial to substitute someone else. The only practical route to stop use of the LinkedIn profile may be to shut it down. However that is not going to go down well with the corporate contacts that the employer is trying to hold on to - particularly if there are strong personal connections!
This is based on my understanding of UK law, so I would be interested to hear other perspectives.
John
Gary E.
Business Development, Brainstorming and Innovation Facilitator
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People do business with PEOPLE. The notion that you can terminate relationships here because they "belong to" an employer is ludicrous.
Mike G.
VP Sales, North America at The Advisory Council
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LinkedIn contacts belong to the account owner, not the employee's company. LI relationships are person-to-person, not b2b. It is, on the other hand, up to the employee, or rather ex-employee, to honor any non-compete commitments they may have with a former company. Tweeting or posting on LI about their new position and business, if in direct competition with the former employee, may in fact be a breach of the non-compete agreement if there are ex-clients in the network, so one in this position needs to be careful.
Dave M.
Professional trade show booth traffic builder and party entertainer. Corporate and private sector events.
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Linkedin profiles belong to the individual, not a company or employer...
This includes any contacts...
Surely, this is all part of this technological revolution that places the power back in the individuals/employee's hands. Some may even call it "empowerment". How does an individual take the contacts away from the existing company? The contacts are still available to the company, although someone may have to redo the hardwork of pulling them back in. The issue is not with linkedin, the issue is really how you enforce the "anti-competition" part of the individuals contract. If an employee steals the roladex (spelling) then they have just stole an item. If they then continue to do business with them after they have left then its subject to what is in the individuals contract.
However, the bigger issue prevails then in how do you stop a human plying his trade in an effort to support himself and his family.
Hmmm....My experience includes having to sign "Non-Disclosure" agreements...each agreement outlines responsibilities towards the "client" base and confidentiality....both the Fed's and Civies are prone to secrecy in contract access.
I can't confirm or deny the above statement. . . .
Joshua T.
Software Architect
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While I can see how employers would like to "own" contacts, the very idea of owning contacts is inherently insane.
First, consider it from the standpoint of the other end of the employment relationship: would anyone consider employing a sales/marketing/management resource with no connections at all? The assumption seems to be that the employee will bring contacts with them, but not keep them as they leave.
Second, consider it from the point of the contact: Unless the employee has /really/ botched the relationship, the contact will see any attempt to replace their point of contact with the firm as a bait-and-switch.
Ultimately, whether there is a contractual restriction or not, asking a sales or marketing person to stop being connected at the end of their employment is like asking a nerd to stop being smart, or asking a contortionist to stop being flexible. It's just not going to happen.
Greg P.
Audiovisual Services for Corporate and Special Events. Author.
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Contacts within social and networking sites are indeed contacts with a person. NOT a business.
In my time on this blue gaseous ball, I have found no one really does business with a company. They do business with 'someone'
It is, in the end, personal.
Robert H. T.
Senior Project Manager at Fidelity Investments, Business Plan Services and managing partner of private consulting firm
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There is a practical and ethical aspect to this. Ethically, the employee owns his or her contacts. Practically, there's not a method for a company to prevent continuation of contact between former and current employees, without leveraging negative pressure on current employees - a process likely to convert them to ex-employees as well.
A deliberately stifling and dominating corporate culture will not lend itself well to success in a market where the free and enthusiastic collaboration of intellects is essential to performance.
Vincent V.
Breakthrough Coach | Global Ambassador at Shaklee Independent Distributor
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The proverbial Rolodex is now in the cloud! More likely than not individuals will now also walk into an organization armed with contacts. So if the current employer fails to entice an employee to stay, then yes, it's the employer's loss of knowledge, experience and that contact database. I'll leave it up to the legal experts to consider whether an employer has any claim to that database, but from an ethical perspective it's clear to me that it belongs to the employee and that (s)he has every right to take it upon departure Stuart.
John M.
at LexisNexis
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Your question here is phrased in terms of an opinion. In practice, I suspect that the law in regard to contact will be applied to Linked In no differently than it is to other forms of contact building.
Hypothetical: Employee goes through an existing customer list and sends a network invitation to everyone on it.
In such a situation, a court is likely to find that the list is the property of the employer, even if it is on Linked IN.
In other words, Linked In is not likely to be perceived as changing the nature of ownership of contacts.
A person's contacts are just that - their contacts. A company cannot unwind or erase the knowledge of names, phone numbers, or addresses that a person develops while working for the company. However, this must be differentiated from a broader list of all of the clients or customers of a company or ongoing deals that potentially qualify for trade secret protection under the UTSA.
I practice law in California, not New York, and I've litigated both sides of cases involving employees running off with a company's client list. The cases are generally filed by companies out of fear and as anti-competitive (but legal) methods to interfere with the focus and cash flow of the employee's new business.
Although I do not practice in New York, there was an interesting case in New York about a niece who worked for her uncle's headhunting business. She took the company's client list and started her own competing business. My recollection is that the niece showed the court how she could obtain all of the list over linkedin and other networks, and the court held for her that the list did not qualify for trade secret protection.
I am not sure what your situation is, or if you are considering leaving your current employment; you should not consider this legal advice as to what you should do.
It is a legitimate right as all social networking is with the person and not the position.
The quick answer is - Maybe. I know this is a vague response that doesn't seem helpful, but there are many different issues at play here. Some of the initial questions that come to mind are: 1) did the employer pay for a premium account? 2) did the employer compensate the employee for building a presence on the site? 3) does the employer have a social media policy? and 4) is there an agreement between the employer and employee regarding intellectual property?
I am not aware of any U.S. cases that involve the ownership rights of a LinkedIn profile, but it is clear that the law (and corporate policies) have note evolved as quickly as the technology.
My suggestion is to make sure the issue is handled before a dispute arises. For employees - check your company policies/handbook now and address the issue before you the urge to leave hits you. For employers - make a determination as to how you want to deal with this and begin applying a clear and concise policy.
Please note this is not legal advice which you can rely on, just my thoughts to answer your question. Your client should seek legal advice from a lawyer.
Links:
Daniel F.
Attorney-at-Law. Experienced and effective litigator with a proven record of success at trial. NY and NJ.
There are legal ways that an employer can protect their client/customer lists from unfair competition, particulary as it relates to pre-existing clients, and those developed in the course of employment. You can enter into a legally enforceable written employment agreement limiting an employee's ability to contact and do business with the employer's customers. The Courts will enforce reasonable provisions to, as you state in your inquiry, "prevent your staff from walking off with your contacts."
Stephanie O.
Senior Technical Program Manager
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Here's a link for that uncle/nice case Robert Ross mentioned. SUMMARY: Your contact list wants to be free, and the judge agrees.
