LinkedIn Accounts Of Past Employees

az2wp0sye65487

OK, here's the scenario:

2 employees leave a company, and are no longer contactable.

They still have LinkedIn profiles stating that they work for the company.

Is there any route the company can take to have them removed or un-linked to the company?

mneylon

Yes

If you are the primary account linked with a company you have an option to "reject" their current employment status I think

You should see something if you move your mouse over their profile

RATM

Westley Flabby Babushka wrote: »

OK, here's the scenario:

2 employees leave a company, and are no longer contactable.

They still have LinkedIn profiles stating that they work for the company.

Is there any route the company can take to have them removed or un-linked to the company?

If the employees were involved in business development, sales, etc (basically any B2B or B2C role) and have made Linkedin contacts in the course of their work then you should also bear in mind that the connections remain the IP of the employer. It may be possible that there are some good contacts in their Linkedin connections which may be of use to your business in the future.

Before disconnecting an account do consider the above. Of course if you can't locate them then it is going to be tricky regardless.

mneylon

RATM wrote: »

If the employees were involved in business development, sales, etc (basically any B2B or B2C role) and have made Linkedin contacts in the course of their work then you should also bear in mind that the connections remain the IP of the employer.

That's a bit of a leap!

RATM

Blacknight wrote: »

That's a bit of a leap!

Yeah it is but this is a new enough issue and one that is especially pertinent to recruitment companies and those who employ front line people in business development, sales, marketing etc.

If any employee leaves he might have amassed 500+ Linkedin connections through the course of their work. If he moves job to a competitor then they are basically taking a ready made database of 500+ industry relevant contacts away from their former employer.

There hasn't yet been a legal case on this in Ireland but I'd say one is just around the corner. There has been a case in the UK where Hays went to court with a former recruitment consultant for ownership of his Linkedin contacts. They won on the basis that the contacts were made during work hours and therefore belonged to the employer.

http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/can-your-employer-claim-your-social-media-connections-2975537.html

Employers would be wise to adopt a Linkedin section into any IP/Confidentiality policies and get them signed by a new employee during the induction phase. Dealing with it in this way could help them prevent a costly trip to the courts further down the line.

Trojan

I've seen this in relation to Twitter before, but not LinkedIn.

Company sues ex-employee for his Twitter followers

and (different story):

How the BBC lost 60,000 Twitter followers to ITV

mneylon

It might work in some sectors, but I'd say that in others employees or potential employees would refuse to agree to this and I wouldn't blame them

Chet Zar

Blacknight wrote: »

It might work in some sectors, but I'd say that in others employees or potential employees would refuse to agree to this and I wouldn't blame them

Definitely. Smacks of hyper-regulation in a big way.

az2wp0sye65487

Blacknight wrote: »

Yes

If you are the primary account linked with a company you have an option to "reject" their current employment status I think

You should see something if you move your mouse over their profile

Thanks for that - unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a function available to do this when i hover the mouse over either of their profiles!...