Should Companies Feature Their Team Members on Their Website?

Many companies feature their entire team on their website in an attempt to put a face on the company and demonstrate the company’s expertise. Indeed, there are many examples of “meet the team” pages that appear slick, organized, and attractive.

Most of these include photos, bios, and social media links. Some even include animations and humorous elements to further engage the viewer and highlight the business's organizational culture. It also shows how transparent your company is, a value that’s inextricably linked to doing business in today’s world.

But there are some concerns about what this public display could mean for employees and organizations. Companies that want to show their team to the world need to proceed with caution.  

Social Media

Many of these sites include links to each team member’s social media profiles. This provides direct contact between potential clients and employees. Rather than just having a Facebook page for the company, now you have multiple points of contact.

But what if an employee has inappropriate or nonprofessional content on their social media profile? This could spell trouble for the company. Be sure to make a thorough check before you go live. And provide guidelines for your team about what’s acceptable to post on social media and what isn’t. Maybe even have them create a separate professional account to separate their personal life.

Risking Your Top Talent

Those social media links could run another risk — having your top talent poached by recruiters. You’ve just made it that much easier for your competition to see exactly who your best people are. The face and bio of your senior-level executive with decades of experience are right up there on your website, with their LinkedIn profile only a click away.

Weighing the Positives and Negatives

This doesn’t mean you should delete your team’s photos and bios. Providing that information can be vital to building relationships with potential customers and potential employees. If you only have a generic “about us” page, people are less likely to see your company as dynamic or different.

You should, however, be aware of the risks of doing so. One potential solution is to provide less information about individual team members. Perhaps only provide links to official company social media profiles and keep bios short and to the point.

Keeping the page up to date is important too. If everyone on the meet the team page no longer works for your company, that’s not very effective! Likewise, the page’s design should reflect current trends. A page that looks like it’s from the GeoCities era isn’t going to cut it.

Many companies have used meet the team pages to their advantage. It’s an ideal way to bring color and personality to an organization’s internet presence. But be aware of the potential risks in taking this step.

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