Don’t blog if your boss is Norwegian

Managers at Norwegian companies don’t like their employees to blog, according to a survey by Dagens Næringsliv. The survey asked what managers considered to be the greatest threats to their business. The primary worry was to lose key personnel:

1. Lose key personnel
2. Breakdown of IT system
3. Hacking
4. Identity theft/Phishing
5. Loss of intellectual property rights

The paper writes that one of four key koncerns for Norwegian managers is blogging. “Norwegian leaders don’t want their employees to blog. They don’t wish that internal information will be made public through that kind of channels.”:

Blogging: Norske ledere ønsker ikke at egne ansatte skal skrive blogger. De ønsker ikke at intern informasjon skal komme ut via slike kanaler. I USA har flere teknologiselskaper åpnet for ansattes blogging, innen gitte rammer.

Of course there is a risk involved in having blogging employees, but the potential rewards may be even greater. If your greatest concern is to lose key people, then maybe the strategy should be the opposite – let key people blog within given policies. There is a chance it will make them more committed, more satisfied and better spokes persons for your company. There’s also a risk they become so visible that someone else wants to recruit them, but having the most attractive work force on board is a luxury problem.